The Gracie name is one that was been held on a pedal stool since the inception of mixed martial arts has come to existence--and rightfully so. Essentially, it was the Gracie clan the kick started this sport, which began in the early 90's by one Art Davie and Rorion Gracie. The two minds met, and coupled with Davie's business savvy and Rorion's ties through the martial arts community, they were able to create mixed martial arts, which is a blend of all styles: boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, wrestling, judo, and jiu-jitsu. Royce Gracie is perhaps the most famous of the Gracie's, since he became the organization's first real champion, winning the UFC 1,2, and 4 open-weight tournaments, where he was the smallest competitor in the field against some 200-plus-pound men. He was able to negate all of their strong suits with his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills. While Royce is the most recognized of the bunch, he wasn't the most talented. The Gracie's secret weapon, Rickson Gracie, was the best among the best, and will go down in history as such. ...

"My next bout will be organized in the USA," Russian heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko (27-1) told M1Mixfight.com. The Samboist from Stary Oskol hasn't fought State-side since breaking "The Hammer" Mark Coleman (15-8) in an armbar in Vegas in October 2006. "I can't say anything about my opponent at the moment," Emelianenko added, but claimed he's interested in fighting "top ten for sure." He left open the possibility of fighting friend "The Babyface Assassin" Josh Barnett (21-5) who recently returned from a 14-month break to tap judoka Hidehiko Yoshida (7-6-1) in a heel hook at Sengoku. "I'm aware of the fact such bout is planned but I haven't been told anything about it as of yet," he explained. He quashed rumours of a match-up with undefeated legend Rickson Gracie (11-0), claiming, "Rickson wouldn't take part in it." Ironically, the widely-ranked top heavyweight said, "I want Russian banner to be placed in the first lines of the magazines regardless their bias." Emelianenko's reign atop the weight class is increasingly controversial due to his choice of soft competition in the last 30 months. He countered UFC President Dana White, who's openly questioned Emelianenko's ranking, describing White as someone who "talks a lot, sometimes rashly without having thought before," and accusing him of offering him "a one-sided contract on unacceptable conditions." ...