royce returns

I don't think they exaggerate that fight. Helio was a small guy as far as weight goes. He looks taller to me though back then before he was shrunken with age. The man is still in great condition though. Anyways, Kimura is short but stout, and probably had a lower center of gravity. His size and experience definitely gave him an advantage, but do not forget that Helio took the match 8 minutes longer than Kimura predicted it would take, and Kimura even recognized how skillful Helio was. I think Rorion said in the video that Kimura was 40 pounds heavier...I could be wrong though, so someone correct me if you know for sure.

"but do not forget that Helio took the match 8 minutes longer than Kimura predicted it would take."

Actually Helio was submitted twice during that fight, he even admitted it in an interview that he passed out (not sure at what exact time it occurred but a competent ref would have caught it and stopped the fight)

Also I read that Kimura was asked to throw the fight but the Japanese Gov. officials told him not to bother coming back to Japan if that happened. He was told that he could carry Helio to make the match more interesting for the audience.

Two different interpretations to this fight but I am inclined to beleive Kimura's interpretation over Rorion's for obvious reasons.

On May 27, 2006, Royce Gracie would return to the UFC to face the current welterweight champion Matt Hughes. When the bell rang and the fight started, Matt and Royce got into a clinch and went to the ground. Matt was able to pass the guard (Gracie Jiu-Jitsu) and establish the sidemount (Gracie Jiu-Jitsu) from which he was able to attempt a Kimura lock (Gracie Jiu-Jitsu) from which he transitioned into a straight arm lock (Gracie Jiu-Jitsu). Royce was able to untangle his arm and in an attempt to get to a better position, he went to his knees. At this point, Matt quickly spun to a backmount and with his hooks (Gracie Jiu-Jitsu) in controlled Royce enough to be able to end the fight with an array of punches to the back of the head.

When the fight was over, the crowd was shocked, Royce lost but Gracie Jiu-Jitsu won.

The Gracie Academy would like to congratulate Mr. Hughes on his ability to recognize the importance of incorporating Gracie Jiu-Jitsu into his arsenal of techniques and on his dedication to achieving such a high level of proficiency in these techniques.

Guys...Its Royce fing Gracie. Doesn't he deserve a slice of the new pie? I mean he helped BAKE the original. If he has to get beat up to make a wonderful paycheck then more power to him.

Can't we go back to slamming Tito?

That statement is one of the reasons I am not inclined to believe anything that Rorion says. Why could he not just say congratulations to Matt Hughes, he was the better fighter that day.

All those positions are in wrestling which I am sure Matt Hughes at the very least has studied some instructionals on. :-)

GRACIE & LESNAR AT L.A. COLISEUM OFFICIAL

Fighting Entertainment Group (K-1's parent company), Pro Elite, and Showtime yesterday made official the news that broke earlier this week on MMAWeekly.com. The trio scheduled a press conference for Tuesday, March 27 to announce ?Softbank presents DYNAMITE!! USA in association with ProElite,? a major pay-per-view event at the massive Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

The press conference will introduce four of the key fighters for the event: MMA legend Royce Gracie, former WWE wrestler and NCAA national champion amateur wrestler Brock Lesnar, 7-foot-2-inch K-1 fighter Hong-Man Choi, and former NFL player Johnnie Morton.

It is believed, as reported here, that the pay-per-view event will take place under the K-1 Hero?s banner on June 2, 2007. It is also believed that the main event of the show will feature Brock Lesnar making his MMA debut against Hong-Man Choi.

"Guys...Its Royce fing Gracie. Doesn't he deserve a slice of the new pie? I mean he helped BAKE the original. If he has to get beat up to make a wonderful paycheck then more power to him.

Can't we go back to slamming Tito? "

i agree. No matter how much I bag on Royce , he still is one of only 2 legends in MMA along with Sakuraba.

"Hughes made Royce look very human."

And makes you wonder how good Royce's jiu-jitsu really is.

I'm sure Royce's Jiu Jitsu is very good, it's just that Matt is much better at MMA.

" think K-1 is over estimating Royce's drawing power. the big thing about Royce was that most casual mma fans assumed he was undefeated and still able to submit all of his opponents. He still had a "mystique".
Hughes made Royce look very human."

Tokoro made him look very human before that. Ignorant mma "fans" just didn't know about it. If Royce want to fight and an organzation will pay him then more power to him. That said I have little interest in watching him fight. Much as I had little interest in seeing him fight Hughes. It is pretty clear what will happen when he fights decent guys. 145lbs Tokoro exposed him badly.

either Frank or a rematch with Sakuraba would make the most sense.

"I guess Royce should ditch the Gracie diet and follow the Couture diet? Seems Randy's performing much better than Royce or Rickson ever could at that age."

if you seen the old man roll when he was younger about 85 yrs old then you would understand why they belive in the diet,carlos died at the age of 93 and the old man is still going .

i dont think it the best diet for a fighter,but damm those guys live along time and move well

Royce made one mistake against Hughes. He threw a right elbow during a clinch, missed, and Hughes ducked under to take Royce's back side. Royce tried to recover by sitting down on the ground, but from there it was a snow ball effect from one bad position to the next (side mount to back mount).

Not much anyone can do from there at that level of fighting skill.

It is more of a credit to Hughes for maintaining the advantage position gained during the standup, than Royce's "jiu-jitsu".

Everyone makes mistakes.. the winners are the ones who seize their opportunities and never look back.

Royce is not perfect, he makes mistakes like everyone else, but his jiu-jitsu is unquestionable, and is still excellent.

He should fight Hong Man Choi. Techno Titan!!!!

"Royce via tapout against anybody other than Hughes"

Okay that comment merits a "STFU noob". Royce didn't tap a 145 lb Tokoro. Royce wouldn't tap GSP, Sakurai, BJ or any number of other fighters.

A couple of losses on US soil (outside of the Hughes fight) will kill Royce's drawing power. The casual fan will conclude he has lost it, and the name will carry less weight. I hope Royce can load up and make as much money as possible and be selective on his opponenets. Methinks he is too far along to consider training outside of his current influences. (Two weeks at Fairtex is not enough)

When you hear the statments that Royce was a purple belt before entering the UFC, it just gives credence to the nagging thought that any good purple belt could have done what royce did in the early UFC's."

Royce was not a purple belt right before entering the UFC. I mean, he was at some point, but not right before. He received his black belt before he turned 18, and he was 27 at the time of the first UFC. So he was not purple belt level at anytime near the first UFC. That being said, a good purple belt might probably be able to do what he did. I don't know, because it never happened.

I'm one of those that always likes to see Royce fight. Freakshow (Akebono), no chance (Hughes), or whatever.

That diet has NO science behind it whatsoever.

Royce/Frank needs to happen