The beginning of the UFC saw a small stature man twisting his opponents into knots and putting them in moves most of the world had never seen before.
Royce Gracie (14-3-3) was that man. He introduced us to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or rather Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Fast forward to modern day and we had to sit in pain and watch him get beat senseless by Fighters.com eighth-ranked welterweight Matt Hughes (41-7) at UFC 60. Then at UFC 109 Rolles Gracie Jr. (3-1) put on what was a miserable and embarrassing performance in his defeat.

Enter Renzo Gracie who will face Matt Hughes, the man that beat his cousin, at UFC 112. Not only did Hughes beat his cousin but he also beat one of Renzo’s prized pupils in “The Terror” Matt Serra (10-6) after a long war of words leading up the fight.

Renzo told MMA Junkie Radio that his wife feels he is going through a mid-life crisis but rather than buy a sports car he is getting back inside a cage. Renzo said “I was able to set up all the goals I had before – to set-up my schools and tune-up my business so I could push my art to future generations of my family. I was able to do that, so now my business is running by itself, and I can just concentrate on myself for the first time in my life and just train to fight. I believe I’m going to surprise a lot of people.”

I am not sure he will actually surprise people as most of us still expect a lot out a Gracie, especially a well-respected and veteran fighter such as Renzo. What we can expect is for him to tep up and defend the family name.

When talking about the Matt Hughes that beat his cousin he states “I hope to fight that guy. That’s the guy I want to see in April – in that kind of shape. I want to test myself against the best that [Hughes] has ever been. I hope he’s in good shape. I believe where Royce came up short, I’m coming up to get the flag. We are a large family, and anywhere a Gracie comes up short, someone should be there to push that thing forward.”

This is what we have come to expect from the long line of the Gracie family. When one goes down another rises up to accept the challenge for the family. Excepting this challenge means Renzo will have to step inside the Octagon prepared to do more than work submissions.

Matt Hughes was an accomplished wrestler that used his wrestling to beat fighter after fighter, win the UFC welterweight title and become one of the most successful fighters in the history of the sport, cementing himself as a future Hall of Famer.

Renzo will need to utilize striking in order to get inside on Hughes. Trying to ignore the striking game and just go for broke with a take down would be a futile attempt against a Division I NCAA wrestler. “You cant take a wrestler down,” Gracie said. “If you’ve got a Division I wrestler, I’m not taking him down. I will need the striking to take him down. If I get him out of balance by striking, I’m able to shoot, and even a Division I wrestler will end up on his butt. But if you just go in, and he’s not afraid of getting hit by you, you’re going to be on your back every single time. How are you going to take a guy like Matt Hughes down if you’re not going to strike? That’s the reality.” said Renzo.

It seems like Renzo is in a good place in his life where he will be able to focus solely on him and his fight with Hughes. With a six-fight contract signed this is his first step in defending the Gracie name and taking the family back to the top of mixed martial arts.

Pride FC was a Japanese MMA organization that began in October of 1997 and ran until April of 2007 when Zuffa bought them out. There were some differences in rules from the UFC as well as the fights taking place in a ring rather than a cage. The difference in rules from the Unified Rules were significant.

Pride did not allow elbow strikes to the head of an opponent. Many think that this would have an effect on the numbers of fights that were finished in devastating fashion but that could not be further from the truth. They had a rule or two that led to some of the most devastating finishes in the sport. They allowed kicking and kneeing the head of a downed opponent. They also allowed what I call the Shogun Stomp to the head of an opponent. This move seemed to be perfected by Fighters.com third-ranked light heavyweight “Shogun” Mauricio Rua (18-4) who used it as a guard pass that just happened to be quite caustic.

Many Pride fans still debate which rules were better for the sport of MMA. They debate seems to revolve around fights ending due to cuts from elbows which can happen even if a fighter is winning the fight.

Fights in Pride seemed to never be dull and that may be due to the rule of inactivity. If fighters failed to engage they got a yellow card issued by the ref which took away ten percent of their fight purse.

Some of my fondest memories from Pride come from fights such as “Predator” Don Frye (20-8-1) versus Yoshiro Takayama (0-4) which was less of a technical fight and more of a raw and gritty battle that had me glued to the television in awe of what I was watching. These two men met in the middle of the ring at Pride 21: Demolition in what turned out to be more like a hockey fight than a mixed martial arts fight, none the less it was amazing.

There are many great fights that I remember from Pride and the for those that are unfamiliar with the now defunct organization I will list a few here:

“Shogun” Mauricio Rua versus “Minotoro” Antonio Nogueira at Pride: Critical Countdown 2005

Royce Gracie verus “The Gracie Hunter” Kazushi Sakauraba at Pride: Grand Prix 2000 Final Round

‘The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko versus”Minotauro” Antonio  Nogueria at both Pride 25: Body Blow and Pride: Shockwave 2004

Takanori Gomi versus Luiz Azeredo at Pride: Bushido 7

This is a small list and I could go on forever including men like Wanderlei Silva and Mirko Cro Cop but these are the ones that stand out to me. What fights stand out to you as the best Pride had to offer?

When you look back on an organization that hardcore MMA fans look upon as the holy grail in the sport what comes to mind first? The different rules, the crazy female announcer or the epic wars? No matter what Spike TV is bringing back those fond memories and I am eating it up.

You can join me and my co-host, Gary Friedman, on MMA Gospel Radio each Wednesday from 8-10 PM EST by going to www.blogtalkradio.com/mmagospel. Join in the live chat and tell us your favorite Pride memories or call in to the show by dialing 347-857-1337 and tell us on air what stand out in your mind.

The first fight that sticks out is “The Filipino Assassin” Phillipe Nover (4-2) versus “The Saint” Rob Emerson (9-8). This is a fight that has big consequences for both fighters. Both fighters are coming off of back to back losses staring at the three strike rule. When you have a fight in which one fighter must win to stay in the UFC, it tends to bring out the best in them. This is special because both men are trying to avoid getting the dreaded pink slip from Dana White and Joe Silva.

Emerson is a very aggressive fighter that loves to stand and trade shots with his opponent. Nover is no stranger to striking as he has trained in one martial art or another since he was ten years old. He has been focusing on his jiu jitsu for a while now and may want to try and end this fight early with a take down and submission. Now matter where the fight goes you can be sure that these two will leave it all in the Octagon in hopes of keeping their job with the most recognized MMA organization in the world. Fireworks should go off inside the Octagon during this one and sadly we may not see it.

The next intriguing match up you may not see is between Mostapha al Turk (4-4) and Rolles Gracie Jr. (3-0). Mostapha is a man who has not been able to have any success since his arrival in the UFC. He has been TKOed in both fights which I don’t think he will have to worry about in this match with UFC newcomer Rolles Gracie. Rolles is undefeated with all wins coming via submission which is not surprising being that he is a Gracie. I am always intrigued by the chance to see a Gracie step inside the Octagon. After all, it was another Gracie that many of us watched eyes glued to the television, as he submitted much larger men with moves most of us had never seen before. Now we have yet another Gracie entering into the UFC. Rolles has been splitting his time training between Greg Jackson’s MMA and Team Renzo Gracie (13-6-1). It will be interesting to see how far along his stand up game has evolved as most of the Gracie’s have lacked solid striking. However going against an admitted submission wrestler in al Turk, we could see the fight hit the mat very fast and witness the newest generation of Gracie pull off a submission reminding us all of Royce Gracie (14-3-3) and the start of the UFC.

The last fight that I wish was on the main card features “All American” Brian Stann (8-2) welcoming “Mr Wonderful” Phil Davis (4-0) to the UFC. I know Brian Stann has not come in with guns blazing since he came over from the WEC but the fact that he has transferred to Jackson’s Academy should intrigue anyone. Jackson has a knack for making average fighters become top ten fighters. Brian is very athletic and Greg Jackson is sure to have given him some new tools for his tool belt. Brian is also a fan favorite due to his hero status as a recipient of the Silver Star while serving in the Marine Corps.

Phil is one of the world’s top prospects in the sport being a four time All-American wrestler at Penn State University, a national champion and finishing his college career with a record 0f 116-20. These are major accomplishments that have the MMA world watching and waiting to see how he will fare in the sport. Training out of Alliance Training Center in San Diego he has managed to keep his record perfect even if it was only four fights.

All Star wrestler and world class prospect debuting against the Marine Corp Captain who many call an American hero. Intrigued yet? I don’t know about you but I get very excited to see fighters making their UFC debuts, especially when the guy happens to be such a major prospect. If he beats Stan his status of prospect becomes set in stone and he will sky rocket in popularity. That is if anyone other than those attending the event actually were to see the fight.

Those are three most intriguing fights we may not see at UFC 109. Is there a fight I did not mention that you feel belongs here? Maybe a fight I mentioned that you laughed out loud while reading about here? As always you can join me on MMA Gospel Radio every Wednesday from 8-10 PM EST by logging into www.blogtalkradio.com/mmagospel. We have the “Cageside Chat” open where you can talk with our other listeners as well as myself and co-host. Hope to see you there.

UFC President Dana White never misses an opportunity to point out his frustrations with boxing, being a former boxing manager himself.  He touts how his management of the UFC has transcended boxing’s chaotic system which often leads to disappointing match-ups, padded records, and confusing rankings.

But, performance enhancing drugs is an area where boxing beats MMA, at least in numbers of fighters who test positive in a urinalysis given by state athletic commissions.  Most concerning is the number of fighters at the top of the sport who’ve tested positive, including UFC Hall of Famers Royce Gracie (14-3-3) and “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” Ken Shamrock (26-12-2).

Gracie tested positive after defeating “Gracie Hunter” Kazushi Sakuraba (22-13-1) at K-1 HERO’s Dynamite!! USA in June 2007 and Shamrock tested positive after defeating Ross Clifton (6-10) at War Gods in February 2009.

And, at this point I’d like to emphasize that both Gracie and Shamrock deny using performance enhancing drugs.  In fact, I’d like to make a blanket statement that nearly every fighter who tests positive denies use.

The UFC even presented a lightweight title fight between Fighters.com’s ninth-ranked lightweight “Muscle Shark” Sean Sherk (33-4-1) and Hermes Franca (18-6) at UFC 73 in July 2007 after which both fighters tested positive.  (Franca actually admits using banned substances.)

The UFC is just the most prominent and active promotion; and, to White’s credit, under his leadership the UFC has worked with U.S. states not sanctioning MMA to put in place mandates on testing and the UFC implements its own tests when promoting events not within a sanctioning framework that mandates tests.

MMA’s problem with performance enhancing substances extends outside of the UFC.  The biggest heavyweight fight of 2009 between Fighters.com Champion “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (31-1) and eighth-ranked “Babyface Assassin” Josh Barnett (20-5) at Affliction Trilogy in August was cancelled when Barnett tested positive for banned substances before the fight.  It was the former UFC champion’s second positive test during his career.

Now, think of all the boxing champions who’ve failed a urinalysis.  Coming up a bit short?

I’m not naive.  Perhaps boxers are just more adept at techniques that obscure their use from a urinalysis; and, a blood test is beatable too.

But, a blood test administered by the World Anti-Doping Agency or a subsidiary, like the United States Anti-Doping Agency that Mayweather is requiring before he’ll fight Pacquiao, is the best contemporary sport has to detect banned substances.

And, blood tests can determine use of human growth hormone (HGH) in particular, which Mayweather is suspicious of Pacquiao using.

So, why shouldn’t the greatest athletic endeavor also be the cleanest?  It should, I think.  In fact, MMA deserves the strictest standards to match the prestige of the sport.

And, the Pacquiao-Mayweather debate has created a golden opportunity for White to step up to a podium and announce that the UFC will implement Olympic-style blood testing, eating the prohibitive expense to ensure the pinnacle of MMA is willing to go farther than boxing and ensure the integrity and honor of the sport.  Then, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker should match White and the UFC.

It would be the first major professional sport to go that far.  That would cement MMA’s growing legitimacy in the West and give MMA the air of prestige it deserves.  And, probably more importantly to White and Coker, it would draw attention from frustrated combat sports fans watching the Pacquiao-Mayweather negotiations break down over a request that should be acceptable.  The spotlight on drugs in sport is searching for a hero, and MMA fighters should be the heroes.

Ortiz and “The Natural” Randy Couture (16-8) cranked out five rounds in September 2003 while Ortiz was at the top of his game, having dispatched six consecutive challengers with names such as tenth-ranked light heavyweight “The Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva (31-8-1), Yuki Kondo (48-21-6), IFL Light Heavyweight Champion “The Janitor” Vladimir Matyushenko (21-3), and MMA pioneer “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” Ken Shamrock (26-13-2).

Ortiz also paid respects to Shamrock and Royce Gracie (14-3-3).

“The first thing I really looked at was Royce and Ken Shamrock – they were the two big names in the UFC, great athletes.

“Royce was the guy who was submitting all the wrestling guys with them being on top.

“I really look up to him – if it wasn’t for him our sport wouldn’t be where it is now. Royce, myself, Ken Shamrock, Frank Shamrock, Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell are the names that built the sport that is today.”

Shamrock is no longer “The World’s Most Dangerous Man”, as he’s billed in his CageRage debut versus “Buzz” Robert Berry (12-7) Saturday.

But, there was a time he damn well may have been.

“[In 1993] a student of mine brought me a flier [calling for fighters for UFC 1],” Shamrock remembers.

At the time, Shamrock was wrestling in Japan’s Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi, mentored by wrestling legends Masakatsu Funaki, Karl Gotch, and Yoshiaki Fujiwara.

Wrestling in Japan had avoided most of the kitsch of American pro wrestling.  His mentors taught Shamrock shoot wrestling, very real and effective submission techniques.

In 1993, Funaki founded a hybrid wrestling promotion called Pancrase.

“It wasn’t MMA,” Shamrock emphasizes.  “We used open-hand strikes and shin guards when kicking.”

In Pancrase’s first event in September 1993, Shamrock submitted Funaki in six minutes.  It was a testament to how far the former Tough Man competitor had come.

“What we did at UFC 1 was what you see today,” Shamrock traces MMA’s lineage.  “That was the beginning.

“Every time I had seen a no holds barred tournament, it was just for entertainment, you know?  In wrestling, it meant you could bring chairs in the ring.  It was ridiculous.  So, I was skeptical,” Shamrock explains.  “But, reality fighting, that’s what attracted me to the tournament.”

“We didn’t know until three days before that it was definitely happening.”

In the first round of UFC 1, the wrestler easily submitted kickboxer Patrick Smith (14-13) in a heel hook at 1:49.

After the fight, Shamrock was asked to compare UFC 1 to what he had been doing every month in Pancrase.

“This is easier,” he proclaimed brashly.  “This guy doesn’t know submissions.”

His confidence may have been his downfall in his second fight of the tournament.

“I didn’t know who Royce Gracie was,” Shamrock admits.  “When I saw him in his gi, I thought he was some karate guy.”

The eventual tournament winner, Gracie (14-3-3), submitted Shamrock in a rear naked choke in 57 seconds.

“It was setup for him to win,” Shamrock complains.  “I wasn’t allowed to wear my wrestling shoes, but he was allowed to wear his gi.

“You can watch it and see that I slip going for a leg lock and [Royce Gracie] wraps his gi around my neck for the choke.”

Shamrock went on after UFC 1 to bag wins versus a pantheon of fighters including Matt Hume (5-5), “El Guapo” Bas Rutten (28-4-1), and “Mo” Maurice Smith (12-10).

At UFC 5 in 1995, he’d get his revenge versus Gracie in a “Superfight”, this time knowing fully what to expect from the BJJ and MMA legend.  After 36:06, the fight was declared a draw.

The world’s most dangerous man?  Gracie had no answer for the wrestler after twice as long as any other MMA fight Gracie had previously participated in.

If Shamrock wasn’t the most dangerous man in the world, at that point he was at least as dangerous as Gracie, considered then to be the top reality fighter in the world.

Saturday, Shamrock makes his British debut.  A victory over Berry leads Shamrock to another accomplishment: MMA’s first American network television main event on CBS versus Kimbo Slice.

At the same time in Tokyo, Cro Cop shocked a press conference announcing the creation of a new Japanese mixed martial arts promotion called Dream.

“I’m very excited to be here again,” Cro Cop said.  “I’m so excited to be part of this.”

Cro Cop scored a single victory in the cage while disappointing twice, in a vicious knockout to Gabriel Gonzaga and a grueling tussle with Cheick Kongo.

Cro Cop indicated he preferred fighting in a ring, but hoped to return to the Octagon one day.

White welcomes him whenever he’s ready.

The 33-year old explained, “I left because I couldn’t wait any longer.  I asked for a fight earlier, as early as March 1; but, I was offered May, or even later.  I asked for a rematch with Gonzaga in Zagreb; but, he lost to [Fabricio] Werdum, so that fell through.  And I’m in shape, I gained muscle mass, I’m 105 kilograms and I want to fight.”

Cro Cop’s departure from PRIDE to the UFC in December 2006 was exciting, most predicting a virtual coronation as UFC Heavyweight Champion.

Cro Cop, however, was unprepared for the Brazilian Gonzaga and uninspired versus the Frenchman Kongo, leaving a bitter taste in the mouths of White, Cro Cop, and MMA fans.

Cro Cop admitted, “The last two years I’ve been in some kind of mental blockade.  I was empty before fights, depressed, I hated myself.  I’m sorry to have disappointed my English fans who welcomed me like a king.”

Dream will be a homecoming of sorts, returning Cro Cop to his comfort zone.

The promotion is a collaboration between ex-K-1 and PRIDE executives.  Norifumi Yamamoto, Shinya Aoki, Hayato Sakurai, Gesias Calvancante, and Royce Gracie have all joined Filipovic at Dream.

The Saitama Super Arena will host the first fight card March 15 when Calvancante and Aoki will finally showdown and Cro Cop will return versus an unnamed opponent.