So just when I get interested in the Judo and Jiu Jitsu, this:
http://www.411mania.com/MMA/columns/1827......yce?.htm

Royce Gracie, the guy who (along with his brother Rorion and the rest of his family) started it all, the UFC, the grappling craze...
is coming back to the UFC.

*edit*
Okay, I looked it up and he's actually 2 years younger than Randy Couture. So if he's been cross training to mix up his game and adapted his pacing to the 5 minute rounds then he might have a shot.

Jimmerson has been training with the gi. And of course the one glove.

AH!!! The one glove!!!


Seriously, I think Gracie should stay out. Similarly with Ken Shamrock, who I love but who just kept losing at the end. I don't think Gracie can keep up with the top people today.
I could be wrong of course, that would be awesome. We'll see.

I tend to agree. I hated seeing what Matt Hughes did to him. I don't really want to see him get whipped again and I don't want to see him fight some can just to get a win.

I watched that Ralek Gracie vs. Sakuraba fight and that was some awesome stuff. That kid is so quick.
I have no idea what to think of this Royce Gracie thing. It takes some guts, at the very least.
I think it depends on if he's planning to go in there with the one style just to prove something (like James Toney) or if he's really been training to be a true mixed martial artist.

Once they put in all the rules Gracie stepped away. He felt it no longer meant the best man won. Interesting position.

Yeah, I've heard him and others in his family say that in interviews. I never thought he'd even consider coming back after those kinds of statements.
Never say never, I guess.
I think he is now the underdog, so I hope he does well. Either way, I respect that he is willing to take the risk. I think it's probably a family honor thing with all of the people saying the Gracies are old news.

Should make for good publicity. Ironic they complained about the rules, when they had their own "unwritten" rules they played by when it came to picking competitors.

I agree. And it wasn't really "no rules" even then. There were rules against specific strikes. I think it was implementing the 'rounds' that piffed the Gracies off the most though.
A lot of the Gracie strategy seems to come from waiting out your opponent to better your position and gain that submission. That's a lot tougher to pull off with rounds.

Mostly the death and crippling blows were pretty much ruled out only. Once gloves and uniforms, and such restrictions came into play, that was when they backed out I think.

I respect the hell out of those guys and while they themselves have not participated many they have trained directly and indirectly certainly have.

No one can deny their legacy. Not convincingly. All BJJ came from that family first, and it's pretty darned hard to find anyone in MMA that hasn't used something from BJJ at some point in time.
And both of the best P4P's in the UFC (GSP and Anderson Silva) have black belts in BJJ.
BJ Penn has awesome BJJ and he was on the best P4P list until recently. I think he's still up there, just not a #1 in weight class any more.
Even the wrestlers usually add some BJJ to their arsenal.
I would sure like to see what Ralek or Rener could do in the UFC.
Gotta' say it again, Ralek is so fast!

I would like to see Rickson Gracie fight again.

DON'T THINK IT WILL HAPPEN THOUGH...

Ralek vs Saku, round 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sYBs1-SI0o
Watch how quick Ralek moves his whole body around once he gets Saku on the ground, it's insane.

Efficient as hell...that first strike knocks him off balance, and the round's over for all practical purposes.

That's on my list of all-time favorite fights now.

Well, apparently now he's not fighting at UFC 134:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/67289......na-white
I don't know what happened.
I would have bought the event to see Royce fight again. Kind of doubt I'll be wasting that much money on it now.
Would like to see the one at the end of this month though. Randy Couture says it will be his last fight.

I'm glad he isn't on the card. It'd be a waste of space IMO. His last fight against a past his prime Hughes was just embarrassing.

I am pretty sure that Art Jimmerson was the highest paid person at UFC 1. Obviously he's a boxer. And apparently when he learned there aren't any gloves or wraps he tried to pull out of the fight, because he had a boxing/prize fight coming up. So I think they upped his pay to keep him in. And he didn't want to break or injure his jab hand due to his boxing match in the near future.

I disagree. I thought he was doing alright at the start of the Hughes fight. I do think his game is too one dimensional, but he's still very good at what he does.
I don't think it would be a waste of space for him to fight one last fight in the UFC. It'd be kind of like the Couture/Machida fight. Couture lost, but he went out giving it his all. That's got to be worth something.

Yep.. Royce should fight one more time.