How can you have a UFC event in Brazil and not include a Gracie? That’s a question that many fans have continued to ask as the date draws closer and closer to “UFC: Rio”, the UFC’s return to Brazil after a hiatus of approximately a decade. Now we have words from an actual Gracie on the situation. Here’s what Renzo Gracie, who last fought in the UFC against Matt Hughes, had to say. ...

By John Moody Chris Liguori’s MMA career has been a wild ride -- from early wars against Pete Sell in Ring of Combat to a quick call up to the UFC in 2003 to a return to ROC mixed with a marquee win in Elite XC along the way.  As part of the Ricardo Almeida Fight Team he trains weekly with Frankie Edgar, Almeida, Nick Catone, Eddie Alvarez, Renzo Gracie and an on-going cast of visiting MMA stars.  Now on a three fight win streak and facing an April 8^th fight in the Ring of Combat, Liguori is an evolved fighter, but it seems opportunities from the top organizations are still held hostage by the scars of his very early career losses, before he took the sport and training as seriously as he does today. At 28, now fighting at lightweight, Liguori has seen it all in MMA and believes he is competing on par with the best in the sport and ready to return to the UFC. As one of Edgar’s primary training partners and corner men, he is not in awe of the flash and bright lights of the big stage and plans to keep winning fights wherever they happen until the call from UFC matchmaker, Joe Silva, comes in. Liguori, a New Jersey native, recently took time to review his career and the future ahead with Fighters.com. ...

Welcome back to “All I Want for Christmas”, fans and friends, my special four-part Christmas Day mini-series that celebrates a day of well-wishing and familial bonding. I’ve got high hopes for MMA in 2011, and hopefully these various Top 5 lists have filled you with a sense of wonder as well. Take it as my little effort to spread some holiday cheer, to get some spirits up and inject a little positivity into a medium that so often only focuses on the negative. With that said, let’s head right into the final entry of today’s list, the Top 5 things I’m looking forward to for the UFC in 2011. ...

Renzo Gracie spoke his mind in part two of our exclusive Fighters.com video interview.  The MMA legend looks back to his fight vs. Matt Hughes in Abu Dhabi, expands on why Frankie Edgar has blown up, who will win Edgar/Maynard 2, why Matt Serra disregarded his Jiu Jitsu against Chris Lytle, and if he ever plans to fight again.  Click through to watch the video. ...

MMA legend Renzo Gracie took some time this week to speak on-camera with Fighters.com in New York City. In this clip, Gracie shares his thoughts and predictions on all the main card fights at UFC 121. Find out why he is picking Jake Shields over Martin Kampmann plus his thoughts on Brock Lesnar v. Cain Velasquez. Stay tuned to Fighters.com for Part 2 of our video interview where we talk about Matt Hughes, Ricardo Almeida, and the upcoming Frankie Edgar v. Gray Maynard lightweight title fight.  Coming soon. Click through to watch the video. ...

After a prolonged period of restless uncertainty, the future is now set for famed ufc fighter BJ Penn. Widely regarded as the best Lightweight Mixed Martial Artist of all time, “Baby Jay” has hit some tough times recently, and although a November return was seemingly confirmed, an opponent was still very much unknown. No longer. It’s recently been confirmed by MMAFighting that BJ Penn will meet arch-rival Matt Hughes at UFC 123, which is scheduled to take place November 20 in Detroit, Michigan. It is widely believed that the fight will be the co-main event of a show headlined by a Light Heavyweight showdown between former UFC Light Heavyweight Champions Lyoto Machida and Quinton Jackson. ...

UFC Hall of Famer, and one of the most recognized fighter's in the sport today, Matt Hughes will step into the octagon for the 52nd time, against welterweight contender, Ricardo Almeida. A Renzo Gracie student, Almeida has made a successful transition to the 170 pound division after a well established career as a middleweight, which has seen him garner wins over the likes of Kendall Grove, Kazuo Misako, and perennial contender Nate Marquardt. Matt Hughes, has had a long and storied career in the UFC. After making his debut nearly 10 years ago, a 20 second submission loss to nemesis Dennis Hallman, Hughes would then go on to capture the welterweight title with a knockout slam over then champion Carlos Newton, and would then go on to set the precedent for 5 consecutive defenses--the most ever cemented in the welterweight division. ...

Former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes (42-7) became the eighth person inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame on Friday. ...

Two-time Bellator Fighting Championships fighter and Renzo Gracie (13-7-1) student Dave Branch (6-0) has signed a four-fight deal with the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC). Renzo Gracie announced the news about his black belt student making his way into the UFC. Branch is an exciting fighter who turned pro in 2007 and since then has a record of 6-0 all coming via stoppage. Three were technical knock out (TKO) victories and the other three were submission wins. It is rare to see a jiu jitsu black belt who also possesses good striking and knock out power so early on in his MMA career. This makes Branch a unique prospect who could end up making some big waves in the UFC considering their ability and willingness to bring a fighter along slowly. Stay tuned to Fighters.com to find out when Dave will be fighting and who is first opponent inside the Octagon will become. ...

Saturday the UFC will be live in Abu Dhabi for UFC 112 and we will witness Fighters.com eighth-ranked and former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes (41-7) taking another another Gracie. This time it is Renzo Gracie (13-6-1) who is tasked with the challenge of defeating the dominant wrestler. Sure, this is a fight of two past their prime fighters but there is more to this fight than just that. ...

There was once a time when the Gracie name struck fear in the hearts of their opponents. That time has passed and now Renzo Gracie (13-6-1) is headed to Abu Dahbi for UFC 112 to defend the family name and put them back on top. ...

"The Croatian Sensation" Pat Miletich (29-7-2) spoke with Five Ounces of Pain and told them he and Frank Shamrock (23-10-2) had verbally agreed to fight but there are some issues still on Frank's side. Pat said that right now there are some hold ups due to Frank and that they verbally agreed to fight in March but it may be April, May or never. Here is the full statement for Pat: ...

UFC 109 takes place February 6 in Las Vegas and is headlined by two legends in the sport on mixed martial arts (MMA). Fighters.com tenth-ranked heavyweight "The Natural" Randy Couture (17-10) faces off against "The Hammer" Mark Coleman (16-9) in the light heavyweight division. There are a couple of fights on this card that I find very intriguing and are likely to not find their way onto the pay per view. ...

A matchup between Fighters.com and UFC Middleweight Champion “Spider” Anderson Silva (25-4) and tenth-ranked “Phenom” Vitor Belfort (18-8) has been rescheduled for UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi April 10, according to Tatame. ...

Fighters.com fourth-ranked light heavyweight "Sugar" Rashad Evans (14-1-1) received his black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu from Rolles Gracie (2-0) Saturday before UFC 108. The awarding of black belts today in mixed martial arts (MMA) is becoming homogenized as many fighters seem to be able to get them as easy as a Big Mac. It is a disgrace to the fighting style of Jiu Jitsu, the black belt lineage and to Helio Gracie himself. ...

UFC 112 will occur April 10 in Abu Dhabi and feature a previously reported matchup between Fighters.com seventh-ranked welterweight Matt Hughes (43-7) and PRIDE veteran Renzo Gracie (13-6-1), Hughes confirmed at his website Thursday. ...

Fighters.com seventh-ranked welterweight Matt Hughes (43-7) mentioned an April 10 return to the UFC Octagon in a blog post at his website Tuesday. ...

A welterweight showdown between former UFC champion Matt Hughes (43-7) and PRIDE veteran Renzo Gracie (13-6-1) is rumored take place at UFC 109 in Las Vegas February 6, according to a report by Jeremy Botter at Heavy.com. ...

New Jersey State Athletic Control Board Counsel Nick Lembo has called on mixed martial arts fans to submit their comments to the Association of Boxing Commissions Professional and Amateur MMA Rules Committee by 17 September. "We are interested in any comments," said Lembo.  "All comments will be passed on to the Committee for their consideration." Topics on the Commitee's agenda include: Adding smothering of the nostrils or mouth as a foul (as per the Montreal document). Removing manipulating the clavicle as a foul (as per the Montreal document). Removing heel kicks to the kidney as a foul (as per the Montreal document). Removing the allowance of stomps to the feet by two standing fighters  (as per the Montreal document). ...

IFL titleholders “The Janitor” Vladimir Matyushenko, “The Thorobred” Jay Hieron, and Wagnney Fabiano will defend their belts when the International Fight League returns to the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J., with a nine-bout card on Friday, April 4.  In addition to the three Championship bouts, competition between camps will feature athletes from Renzo Gracie Academy, Midwest Combat, Miletich Fighting Systems, and American Top Team. Tickets went on sale on Monday, Feb. 25, and are available at the IZOD Center Box Office (located at the Meadowlands), www.ticketmaster.com, or by calling (201) 507-8900. Of particular interest is the addition of Florida-based American Top Team, which is “outside” of the core IFL camps to compete under the new IFL format which encourages challenges from the top MMA camps across the world. Matyushenko, who defected to the U.S. while a member of the Belarus national wrestling team in the early 1990’s, was the IFL’s first individual champion, capping an unbeaten 2007 by winning the light heavyweight title by defeating Alex Schoenauer last November in Chicago.  On April 4, Matyushenko will battle “The Suit” Jamal Patterson, a Colgate University graduate who now serves as regional sales manager for an orthodontics company in addition to his MMA career. Hieron, a Long Island native who will be fighting in front of a decidedly hometown crowd, knocked out “Pe de Chumbo” Delson Heleno in Connecticut in December to claim the welterweight crown.  His opponent in New Jersey will be Mark Miller, a former machine gunner in the U.S. Marines who was one of the big surprises at 170-lbs. last year in the IFL. Fabiano is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert who used that skill to record five submissions, four of them in the first round, in a perfect 2007, culminating in a win over LC Davis in the featherweight championship in December.  He takes on Shad Lierley, a former collegiate conference wrestling champion at New York University who moves to 145-lbs. after impressing with two victories and a well-documented thrilling battle with “The Polish Hammer” Chris Horodecki last year. “I like the local feel of this card,” said Bas Rutten, IFL Vice President, Fighter Operations.  “In addition to three outstanding championship matchups, featuring fighters from New York and New Jersey, you have Renzo Gracie’s camp, which was the champion last year, Midwest Combat, which features our top fighters from the Chicago area, and great battles with the Miletich camp and American Top Team, which we are very excited to have on board.”  Among the intriguing matchups in the Miletich-ATT pairing are those between welterweights Rory Markham and Emyr Bussade and light heavyweights Mike Ciesnolevicz and Lew Polley.  LC Davis will also compete against a yet-to-be-determined featherweight opponent. The Gracie-Midwest bouts include a rematch of last year’s exciting Deividas Taurosevicius vs. “Bartimus” Bart Palaszewski matchup.  Delson Heleno will also fight at 170 lbs; his opponent is TBD.  Outside of the camp matchups, Chris Horodecki will battle a yet unnamed lightweight for a planned minimum nine-bout card. IFL East Rutherford, N.J. Friday, April 4, 2008 (order TBD) Additional Bouts 155 lbs.: Chris Horodecki (London, Ontario) (7-1 IFL, 11-1 overall MMA) vs. TBD American Top Team vs. Miletich Fighting Systems 145 lbs.: TBD vs. LC Davis (Kansas City, Mo.) (2-0, 9-1) 170 lbs.: Emyr Bussade (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) (0-0, 10-5) vs. Rory Markham (Chicago) (6-2, 12-3) 205 lbs.: Lew Polley (Coconut Creek, Fla.) (0-0, 6-0) vs. Mike Ciesnolevicz (Williamstown, Pa.) (5-3, 13-3) Midwest Combat vs. Renzo Gracie Academy 155 lbs.: Bart Palaszewski (Wonderlake, Ill.) (8-3, 29-10) vs. Deividas Taurosevicius (Lithuania) (3-0, 9-2) 170 lbs.: TBD vs. Delson Heleno (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) (6-3, 13-4) *205 lbs.: **Vladimir Matyushenko (Belarus) (5-0, 20-3) vs. Jamal Patterson (Jersey City, N.J.) (4-1, 4-1) Additional Championship Bouts *170 lbs.: **Jay Hieron (Freeport, N.Y.) (6-2, 14-4) vs. Mark Miller (Chicago) (2-1, 8-2) *145 lbs.: **Wagnney Fabiano (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) (5-0, 9-1) vs. Shad Lierley (Seattle) (2-1, 2-1) *Championship Bout **Current Titleholder ...