Gracie recently talked to MMA Fighting regarding the UFC’s upcoming return to Brazil, and here are the highlights: “I have no time now. I was planning to [fight at “UFC: Rio], I began the training, but my life is so crazy I couldn’t dedicate 100 percent to that… I hope Royce fights. To have a Gracie fight there would be great — great for the fans, to have someone from my family fighting.”

Royce Gracie has been a rumored addition to the UFC 134 card ever since it was announced. Gracie vocally campaigned for another shot in the UFC, even going as far as to say that he couldn’t picture a better way to officially retire than to go out fighting in the UFC in Brazil. At one point, several old-school UFC fighters including Dan Severn announced that they would be glad to fight Gracie in Brazil.

So far, though, the UFC and in particular UFC President Dana White have been opposed to this idea. Gracie last fought in the UFC all the way back at UFC 60 in 2006. Gracie’s opponent was Matt Hughes, and the fight ended in the first round with Hughes thoroughly dominating Gracie and Gracie mounting practically no offense. Gracie then fought one more time and has never fought since.

Recently, though, it’s been rumored that Royce Gracie’s return may be back on the table. Dana White seems a bit less hostile to the idea now, as seen in several recent interviews. This may have something to do with Royce publicly appearing at UFC events, at least one, in order to talk to Dana White. But of course, everything is still a rumor at this point.

I still contend that a UFC card in Brazil just wouldn’t be complete without a Gracie. This is a very important event for the UFC, as stated previously they’re returning from an absence of at least ten years. Both Brazil and the fight game have changed drastically since the UFC’s last show in Brazil, but what hasn’t changed is the Gracie name in Brazil. Brazilian Jui-Jitsu is one of the cornerstones of MMA, and that all started with the Gracies. There have been innovators that have adapted and tweaked the style so much and for so long that some choose to brand their style with a different name… but BJJ did not exist before the Gracie clan.

So, here’s what I continue to contend: what could it hurt? Win or lose, I’d like to see Royce Gracie fight in Brazil. Even if it’s a glorified “freak show fight”, I think Royce deserves it so he can retire in the promotion that he helped create. The UFC has been putting an end to old chapters and starting new ones a whole lot recently, thanks in no small part to the unparalleled successes they’ve had in recent years. But if they truly want to close the book on the old-school, I can’t think of a better way than to have Royce Gracie back in the Octagon one last time, fighting in front of tens of thousands of fans and friends.

Here’s what MMA Fighting had to say on the situation: “UFC president Dana White has indicated to MMA Fighting that the promotion has no interest in offering a fight to Brazilian pioneer Royce Gracie.”

UFC 134 is currently scheduled for August 27, 2011 at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Royce Gracie currently holds a 14-2-3 record in MMA and has been out of MMA competition since 2007, when he tested positive for steroids following a match-up with Kazushi Sakuraba. Gracie started his fabled career at the very first UFC event, and would go on to win the first, second, and fourth UFC tournaments. Gracie is widely regarded as one of MMA’s greatest pioneers, and also the main figure that led to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu’s esteemed place atop the MMA fighting styles hierarchy.

I’m honestly pretty conflicted about this news. It’s tough to be a realist and an optimist, but I’d like to consider myself both. Here’s what the realist in me thinks.

The realist in me thinks that Royce Gracie has been gone too long and likely wouldn’t have had a good fight even if he fought a hand-picked opponent. Gracie’s dominance in the early UFC tournaments will always be a shining hallmark of what BJJ can accomplish in MMA, but Gracie’s inability to adapt with the times and become a well-rounded fighter means that he’s best served as a forefather and not an active competitor. We really need to look no further than the thrashing Gracie received all the way back at UFC 60 by Matt Hughes for an indication that Gracie’s unevolved style isn’t good enough to beat a well-rounded fighter. And UFC 60 was almost five years ago. The sport has evolved a lot from that point.

So the realist in me recognizes that Royce Gracie competing at “UFC: Rio” would be more of a novelty than anything else. But here’s the interesting thing: the optimist in me understands that it would’ve been one hell of a novelty.

How can you book the UFC’s return to Brazil after over a decade and not have a Gracie? The Gracie family invented Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Royce Gracie is arguably the most-famous member of the Gracie clan. I know Dana White hates making “freak-show fights”, but would it really be so bad to feature Royce Gracie on the card? You’d practically guarantee a sellout in Brazil, just with Royce Gracie’s return alone. And Royce Gracie’s return isn’t nearly as much of a “freak-show fight” as James Toney vs. Randy Couture was.

In the end, part of me thinks “this is smart decision-making” while another part of me thinks “what would have been the harm?” And what about you, fans and friends? Any thoughts on Dana White shooting down these Royce Gracie rumors?

“We’re supposed to sit down and talk in Toronto (about UFC Rio),” said Gracie, regarding the UFC brass and he on a recent episode of Inside MMA. That said, Gracie still noted some uncertainty about whether or not he would be on the card. If Gracie were to fight in Rio, he indicated that he had a potential opponent in mind.  Though he didn’t come out and specifically state it during the telecast, it was hard to miss that he was talking about Hughes. In fact, the whole thing became so obvious that Kenny Rice, one of the hosts of the show, said, “We look forward to that fight with Matt Hughes,” to some laughter.

After a more than 11 year absence from the Octagon, Gracie returned to face Hughes at UFC 60. Unfortunately for him, he was thoroughly dominated by the then Miletich fighter on the ground, eventually succumbing by way of TKO in the round one. We’re talking about being mounted, flattened out on the canvas, and having his arm stretched beyond normal limits. Afterwards, Gracie blamed overtraining for his loss and indicated the desire for a rematch.

But what if the fight Gracie seems to want doesn’t happen? Well, there’s a couple of names from the past that want in. One of them is Art Jimmerson, a man that finished his boxing career with an overall record of 33-18. Old “One Glove” is known as such because at UFC 1 he attempted to fight Gracie with only one boxing glove on. In what amounted to Gracie’s first UFC win, he took Jimmerson down, mounted him, and scared him enough there to compel him to tap. Well, Jimmerson has since done some training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and wants to right the wrongs of the past.

“I want to stay as close as we can to the Original Rules! I AM IN GREAT SHAPE,” Jimmerson told FullMount.co.uk. “I will DEFINITELY BE MORE AGGRESSIVE! I WILL THROW MORE PUNCHES AND FIGHT MY FIGHT! Royce will not dictate this one! I will not allow him to take me to the GROUND!…. Yes, I WILL WEAR THE OTHER GLOVE!”

Adding fuel to the fire here, no matter how improbable this match up may seem, is that in addition to Jimmerson training at the UFC gym, he’s also been added to their roster of fighters on UFC.com.

Hmmmm.

Finally, there’s Dan Severn. Severn is 52 years old and is still quite active in the sport. With a 99-16-7 overall MMA record, he’s already fought three times in 2011, albeit against less than stellar competition. Still, he wants to erase the memory of his first tournament experience at UFC 4 where he dominated Gracie on the ground until such time as he found himself caught in a triangle choke.

“Since the hint of a UFC event in Brazil hit the online rumor mill, Dan Severn has been passionate about his intentions to take part in this event as his finale match to his fans and the MMA community,” a statement from Severn’s camp read. “Dan has said on numerous occasions that if he had the opportunity to have such a match in Brazil, he would want it to be with Royce Gracie.

“In light of Royce publicly announcing his intent to take part in a UFC event in Brazil, Dan Severn is, officially, throwing out the challenge to Royce Gracie. Wanting to take it to the cage, one last time, in an all-out ground war – two legends of the octagon can thrill and amaze the UFC audience of yesterday and today, one last time.”

So who will it be? Will Gracie get his we-can-only-assume wish and fight Matt Hughes at UFC: Rio? Will a strange set of circumstances somehow pit him against someone from his past? Or will he fight someone not yet named, or be left off the card altogether?

Can’t wait to find out.

Royce went on to win three of the first four UFC tournament championships.  When you add in the fact that his eldest brother Rorion was one of the founders of the UFC, it’s hard not to see the importance of the Gracie family as MMA pioneers.  They started the whole thing.  So it’s good to know that Royce, the first UFC superstar, feels that the UFC organization gives his family the respect they deserve.  Confirming this, when Sherdog.com’s Marcelo Alonso recently asked him if he felt that the world today gave his family and father the recognition they deserved for the role they played in MMA history, here’s what he had to say.

“The staff of the UFC does completely, no doubt about that, so they want to bring the event here (the UFC is coming back to Brazil, in Rio). Without Gracie jiu-jitsu and the Gracie family, there wouldn’t be the UFC. They know of this connection, so they want to bring the event back here. We talked yesterday, and they said my family was the reason they are bringing it here: ‘What your father created and what you did in the ring is the reason we’re bringing the event back to Brazil.’ They are with a sport that is growing worldwide, so they want to give back what they earned with our family.”

At a time when respect for those that benefitted us previously seems to have fallen by the wayside, this is good to hear.  Many of us were downright flustered when Gracie used those unusual ground techniques of his to defeat all comers back in 1993.  In essence, it was an eye-opening experience for the masses.  Now looking back, there’s a little nostalgia there, for sure.  The Gracie family simply deserves the respect of the MMA community at large, and that should start with the biggest and best mixed martial arts organization on the planet.

Besides, the goodwill Royce feels might translate to him actually fighting in the UFC Rio event, which most hardcore fans that have been there since the beginning would love to see.  Before Royce, many of us only knew the Brazilian martial arts as a dance style by the name of Capoeira.  Nowadays, our understanding is different.  It’s only fitting if we see Royce Gracie fight when the UFC comes back to Brazil.  He isn’t getting any younger, after all.

So we wait.

5. The UFC 126 “Super Bowl Super-Show”.

It’s not enough that the UFC is giving us Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort, oh no. In addition to the mega-fight that’s been several years in-the-making, we’ve got Rich Franklin vs. Forrest Griffin and Jon Jones vs. Ryan Bader. Basically, we’ve got three fights that could each easily, and I do mean easily, headline an event on their own. And it all goes down during Super Bowl Weekend, where everyone is hosting parties and having fun anyway. UFC fans are in for a real treat with this one.

4. UFC in Brazil for the first time in over ten years.

Georges St. Pierre in Canada. That’s the kind of reaction I think the Brazilian fans will give if they get someone like Wanderlei Silva or Anderson Silva or even Renzo Gracie or Royce Gracie to compete at the upcoming UFC event in Brazil. From the beginning, from the moment the idea for the first UFC tournament popped into the head of Rorion Gracie, Brazil has been tied to the UFC. While the UFC will most likely forever be headquartered in Las Vegas, heading back to Brazil is almost like coming home. It should be an amazing show featuring an unbelievable atmosphere.

3. UFC in Toronto in front of over 60,000 fans.

But even the tentatively-titled UFC: “Rio” virtually pales in comparison to the UFC’s upcoming debut in Toronto. The UFC owes almost as much to Canada as it does to Brazil, Canada was the first major step on the road to the UFC becoming a global brand and it remains a key player in the UFC’s international development. And UFC’s debut in Toronto will be in the Rogers Centre, better known as the Toronto SkyDome, which can seat anywhere from 50,000 to 70,000 people. I can hardly begin to imagine how epic the crowd alone will be, let alone the amazing card the UFC will likely put on in order to attract the most fans possible.

2. The thirteenth season of “The Ultimate Fighter”.

It’s been repeated so many times by so many fans and insiders that it’s practically a cliché, but it’ll always be true: “The Ultimate Fighter” broke the mainstream barrier and is perhaps the single most important thing to have ever happened to the UFC outside of its original founding. We’re heading into our thirteenth season of TUF, and things just keep getting better. No season is perfect, but the steady ratings and improved fight quality of Season 12 have left me incredibly pumped up for TUF Season 13. Even though I’m a bit sad that we won’t see Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva coaching against each other, there’s really no reason to miss out on Season 13.

And #1 on the list goes to…

1. Better per-event fight quality thanks in no small part to the influx of WEC talent and the addition of the Bantamweight/Featherweight divisions in general.

As a WEC super-fan, could I have really picked anything else to top this list? With two new divisions and a host of world-caliber talent, the WEC/UFC merger should begin paying out enormous dividends almost immediately. I have a great feeling that this is going to be a “best of both worlds” scenario, where we get the same great WEC action except on a much larger scale. Both the merger and the new weight divisions should give a lot of otherwise-underwhelming UFC events a big shot in the arm, especially the international events. It should be an awesome, awesome year of fights.

And that’s the end, fans and friends! My four-part “All I Want for Christmas” mini-series is now officially over and done with. I’d like to thank all my readers for their continued support, and once again I’d like to wish you all a very happy and very merry Christmas, and happy holidays in general. So, what about you? What are you looking forward to for the UFC in 2011?

The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu master was last seen inside the cage when he was soundly defeated by then welterweight champion Matt Hughes by TKO inside of the first-round in their non-title bout in May of 2006.

Gracie rebounded with a decision victory over rival Kazushi Sakuraba under the K-1 banner in 2007, but has since been absent from the mixed martial arts scene.

“My father has always agreed with this”, said Royce to TATAME.com, speaking of his father Helio whom originally taught him Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. This is the sport that’s been growing more within the martial arts. It’s the symbol of the sport to the world. The first is soccer, but people like martial arts, Boxing, Taekwondo, Jiu-Jitsu, Wrestling… It’s what people like. It’s on our blood.”

And while it’s customary that every Gracie man eventually compete in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or become a mixed martial artist, it’s Royce who has set the bar for his entire family, becoming the original tournament winner under the UFC banner. The 7th degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt is a legend in our sport, having won the UFC 1, 2, and 4 tournament championships, and while the learning curb of MMA has increased dramatically, Royce is up for the challenge.

TATAME.com proposed this question for the Gracie fighter: “What everybody wants to know is there’s a chance of you returning to UFC. You haven’t fight since UFC 60 and now UFC has done 124 editions. Will you return on this comeback of UFC to Brazil?”

And the 44-year-old Brazilian responded simply: “We’re negotiating it (laughs).”

So, MMA peeps, what do you make of the news? Who would you like to see Royce fight in Rio de Janeiro on August 27? Sound off in the comment section below.

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.

While both have had successful careers, it’s Hughes who will be garnering the most attention come this Saturday, for several reasons dating back since 2000.

In 2000, Hughes was a participant in the Abu Dhabi competitions, where he crossed paths with Ricardo Almedia, winning on points in the grappling tournament. Six years later, at UFC 60, Matt Hughes defeated former multiple-time UFC tournament champion Royce Gracie, and made it look easy. After taking the fight to the floor–which most eluded to being the Gracie’s sweet spot with his obvious ground prowess–the two Hall of Famer’s engaged in what turned into a one-sided beatdown, with Hughes able to secure back mount, and after a failed submission attempt, settled for pounding the legend, before he was saved by the referee.

Thereafter, Hughes would go on to eventually lose his title to current kingpin Georges St. Pierre, and follow up the loss with another to top contender Thiago Alves, before bouncing back with back-to-back wins over foe and former champion Matt Serra, and the aforementioned Renzo Gracie.

In the bout with Renzo at UFC 112, the bout saw Hughes take advantage of the aged Gracie, where after a sluggish start in the third round for the brazilian Jiu-Jitsu master, would eventually signal the end, as the 35-year-old, Hughes would end the welterweight contest after crippling him with leg kicks, and ending it with powerful punches against the fence, marking the first time that the former two-time champion had ended a fight with strikes, on the feet.

While Almeida has attested that he requested this bout, not out of malice or out of a sense of “revenge”, it would be hard to imagine that while his master Renzo, and fellow idol Royce had fallen short to Hughes, that Almeida wouldn’t feel a sense of urgency, to reclaim what was lost.

While Matt is riding a two-fight win streak, and with a “win” over Almeida, it’s Ricardo who appears to have the upper hand. More athletic, explosive, competent striker is Ricardo over his predecessor Renzo, and with time on his side, it seems that Hughes’ run through the Gracie clan may be short lived.

Do you think Hughes still has the upper hand? Or will Ricardo reclaim the Gracie name, and exact revenge?

The ceremony took place during the UFC Fan Expo on the main stage at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. UFC President Dana White made a presentation of Matt’s achievements and then presented Matt with the award. Matt Hughes thanked the fans for the award.

“To be honest, it’s you guys that pay that admission that write my check, so I’ve got to take my hat off to you guys,” Hughes said.

Dana stated that Matt could have taken other offers to move to other promotions but he chose to stay in the UFC all these years.

“He’s acting very humble here; he’s been a great partner and been one of the people who have helped build this sport and the UFC to what it is today,” White added.

Hughes’ first fight inside the Octagon came at UFC 22 before Zuffa purchased the company. He defeated Valeri Ignatov (0-2) via unanimous decision. Since that time he has fought 22 more times in the UFC going 17-5.

His most recent fight came at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi where he beat Renzo Gracie (13-7-1) in the third round via TKO. This is his second win in a row after defeating former Renzo student and rival “The Terror” Matt Serra (10-6).

Matt’s next fight will be against another Gracie pupil as he steps inside the Octagon to take on “Cacharrao” Ricardo Almeida (12-3) at UFC 117 in Oakland, California.

Matt holds the record for the longest welterweight title run in UFC history with five consecutive defenses from UFC 34 to UFC 45. He lost the belt to “The Prodigy” B.J. Penn (15-6-1) before regaining the title with a submission win over current UFC welterweight champion “Rush” Georges St. Pierre (20-2) at UFC 50 and defended it another two times before Georges avenged the loss at UFC 65.

Matt Hughes joins Fellow UFC Hall of Famers Royce Gracie (14-3-3), “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” Ken Shamrock (27-14-2), “The Beast” Dan Severn (93-16-7), “The Natural” Randy Couture (18-10), “The Hammer” Mark Coleman (16-10), “The Iceman” Chuck Liddell (21-7) and Charles “Mask” Lewis Jr.

How do you feel about current fighters being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame and who do you feel should have been inducted?

Matt Hughes was one of the most dominant fighters the UFC welterweight division. Matt has stepped into the Octagon 21 times and only tasted defeat a total of five times with three of those coming in the last four years.

The former champion controlled the Octagon like no other before him using his far superior wrestling which included highly dominant top control. That dominant control lead to a UFC record nine straight title defenses in which he beat a legend in Royce Gracie (14-3-3) at UFC 60.

I know that for many the fight between Royce and Hughes was hard to watch. It is difficult to watch the man many give credit to for bringing them into the sport and falling in love with jiu jitsu and mixed martial arts (MMA) get thoroughly beaten. Enter Renzo Gracie to defend the family name.

Renzo has been involved in MMA for a long time now and as a Gracie, he feels the need to defend the family name. This is something we have seen time and time again from the Gracie family. When one man goes down another steps up to take his place. Renzo very well could be on the verge of revenge.

Royce was dominated in his fight with Hughes but that was almost four years ago. The Matt Hughes then is not the same Hughes we see today. This is a fight many would think would end up being a stand up war like so many fights between wrestlers and jiu jitsu guys. They cancel each other out and end up trading. I don’t think this is how this fight will go down though.

Hughes has said he needs to get back to what got him the title in the first place. That would be his wrestling and even though he seems to have lost a step, I believe he can get Renzo down. The problem is that Renzo works very well off his back unlike a former opponent Matt faced.

Matt fought “The Terror” Matt Serra (10-6) at UFC 98 where he won a unanimous decision. During that fight Hughes put Serra on his back often. Serra is a jiu jitsu black belt but rarely have we seen him work well off his back. Yet in that fight he did well off his back and some believe Serra could have won that fight. Renzo is a different beast altogether though.

Renzo will work to not just tie up Hughes on the ground but will be looking to use the infamous Gracie jiu jitsu to submit the man that beat his cousin.

This may be a fight between two men who are past their primes but how can one not be intrigued by another Gracie inside the Octagon looking to defend his families honor against a dominant ex-champion? Regardless of age or recent defeats, drama can be found in this fight and should be rather than be dismissed as a battle between two men who have no significance in the division at this time.

You also have to take into consideration that if Renzo wins this fight he will be looking to drop down to 155 so that he can work to avenge his own loss to the top-ranked and UFC lightweight champion “The Prodigy” BJ Penn (15-5-1) which came at K1: World Grand Prix in 2005. Renzo dropped a decision in that fight and has talked of dropping down after this fight. A win will allow him to do that while a loss makes that possibility very slim even though BJ has talked about moving to 170 once again if he can get past “The Answer” Frank Edgar(11-1) on the same night.

As fans we must be willing to look past age, significance of the fight in the division and many other factors. We can always find something that makes the fight worth watching and something to look forward too.

Saturday will be round two in the battle between Gracie versus Hughes and I am one that is excited to see the results.

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.