On pay-per-view, in May, the current champ has a fight against the former king of the ring. Matt Hughes has accepted a fight against the man who made UFC popular, Royce Gracie. Who will win this fight? Will age previal, or will it be experience? (And if you're not a UFC fan, don't post please!) I don't want this to turn into my football post! Thx!!!

I hope Hughes smashes that bastard. I'm thankful every time I watch UFC that the whole Gracie clan is out of the picture now. I used to dread his matches. As soon as he possibly can, he gets them tangled up on the ground and they stay there for 15 minutes until an opportunity shows up because the other guy gets bored.

Royce Gracie gets the most boring winner award. I wanna see some F*CKING blood, and not some sissy tangled-up around someone's leg like a horny dawg.

I'm old school UFC, I'm going with age and Royce! 8)

hughes is going to lay him out, hughes has some own ground work of his own and as long as he avoids royce he'll end it fast

Royce hasn't had a meaningful fight since UFC 5 vs Shamrock in 1995. Since then he's fought 5 times, 2 wins, 2 draws, and 1 loss. All of those matches were outside the UFC and against mediocre fighters.

Hughes fights 2 or 3 times a year and hasn't lost since his fight with BJ Penn in January of 04. Hughes is going to end this in the first round and it will be pathetic.

This year will be big for UFC though. BJ Penn is back. Tito will be facing Forest Griffen his first fight back. Couture VS Liddell 3, not that Randy stands a chance, but I believe this is his last fight and he wanted to make it big. And the fight I'm looking forward to most is Franklin VS Loiseau. Franklin has been fighting cupcakes for far too long.

I don't think it will be a first round fight. Second though for sure. I went with Hughes on this one though. I think Gracie is all washed up now and has nothing going for him. Age, strength, speed, and any other winning factor goes to Hughes. I didn't know that much about Gracie, but I did know a little. So I went and looked up his record in UFC. He has never won a fight by TKO all by submission, and one decision.

I've been watching UFC since the beginning. When my dad would fly over to visit he would sneak me UFC tapes so my mom wouldn't find out. Gracie isn't a mixed martial artist, he's a brazilian jiu jitsu specialist. In the early days of UFC when it was a full contact, no rounds, anything goes event, he would clean house. Nowadays, you have to be well rounded to get anywhere, and Gracie is not.

I'm also wondering why you don't think it will end in the first? Hughes always wins in the first, against much stronger fighters than Gracie is.

I strongly think you guys are underestimating his knowledge. He may be older, but I'm willing to bet he hasn't been just sitting around the house these last few years. Toe to toe, I belive Matt is going to have a problem with Gracie's reach. I believe if Matt can put a good throw on Gracie, it's all over. I'll give you that. I've never seen anyone slam as good, or as hard as Matt. But let's not forget how dangerous Gracie is on the floor. I believe that's where most of this fight will take place. Standing up, I give Matt the advantage - but on the floor, Gracie for the win.

I'm really a n00b to UFC, I just started watching it a month ago or so because they showed free matches on Spike TV. When I first heard of the UFC, I recall somebody biting or hairpulling, and I found that to be cheap and stupid. The UFC, since then, has evolved into a battle of technical skill, determination and intelligence. I like fighters who are more technical and smart, like Jeremy Horn? I think his name is, but he still got worked by Liddell. I have never seen either Hughes or Gracie fight, but I'd assume I'd like to see more of Gracie fighting, since grappling and groundwork seems, to me, what makes this sport more entertaining than just straight up boxing.

On that note, whenever I watch, my dad asks me a question like, "Who do you think would win, one of those guys or a karate master?"

How do you think a perfectly one-dimensional fighter could handle someone in the UFC? This is basically what this match will be anyway.

The good news is, UFC doesn't allow extended non-productive grappling anymore, so those 10 minute pu$$y that Cracie loves are out of his game now. He's gonna get fucked up if he tries to fight someone standing up.

The only reason I don't think it will end in first round is because Gracie will probably get a hold of Hughes on the ground. And to Bald, I agree his knowledge might be an advantage, but you have to look what he is going up against. Sure Gracie has a reach advantage, but Hughes is known for beating the hell out of people. I am sure he will do it with a guy who is not in his best shape. He may have once been unstoppable in the UFC in the beginning, but now is a different story.

Interesting MMA sidenote, Butterbean has been doing MMA. I just find that funny.

Gracie would be a great fighter if they still did UFC the old way. New UFC is a different animal. Since he's had to wear gloves he's 2 wins, 1 loss and 2 draws, all in Pride and K-1. Pride and K-1 are like the AA and AAA of MMA.

Hughes is also going to want this match to end quickly. Some people forget Hughes is a 2 time Div A all American wrestler and trains with Jeremy Horn.

I'll call it right now, Hughes pounds it out in under 3 minutes in the first round with Gracie looking like a 42 year old rusty has been.

This reminds me of Tyson... sad :cry:

Yeah but Tyson rapes women and bites people's ears off.