Is the UFC making a mistake honoring legendary Gracies by letting them fight?

The mixed martial arts world is fired up for the UFC to hit Brazil. The sport, built upon the backs of great Brazilian fighters like Royce Gracie, is still on the fringe in his homeland. The UFC has a chance to make it mainstream.

Once the Olympics announced it would hold the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, the UFC decided it was time to make a push in Brazil. Rumors began swirling immediately that Gracie would fight on the card.

He was the champion, in a tournament-style format, back at UFC 1 and UFC 2. Gracie was the smallest fighter in the field. That was 1993 and 1994. He's 44 years old now without a professional fight since 2007.  Gracie wants the chance to close his career in the Octagon and it sounds like the UFC is willing to give him the opportunity:

"It would be the perfect place to do my last fight," Gracie told UOL Esportes (via Bloody Elbow). "I never fought in Rio de Janeiro and I couldn't be more psyched. We are negotiating [the fight deal], but we should have it finalized in two weeks. We only had an initial contact and I don't even have an opponent yet, but we should have that finalized soon ... My weight is the same as it was twenty years ago [80kg], I am still training, keeping the blade sharp. I follow a very strict diet. I never drank, never party, Carnival, none of that... I'm ready to fight"

There's also rumors that his cousin Renzo, 43, will fight on the card as well. It may be a feel good moment for a few seconds when they enter the Octagon, but it seems like the UFC could be walking a fine line with this one.

In 2006, Royce was never in his fight against Matt Hughes at UFC 60. Hughes grounded and TKO'd him in just 4:39. Renzo was slightly better against Hughes, losing at UFC 112. But it doesn't appear either should be in there with anything resembling a top 20 welterweight.

UFC heavyweight Roy Nelson was tweeting last night asking fans for their opinion on a Royce fight:

Nelson's "on the juice" mention was a reference to Gracie's positive steroid test following his last fight against Kazushi Sakaraba.

Eliminate Matt Serra from the list of candidates. Serra, a Gracie fighting disciple, isn't going to cross his mentor Renzo to fight a member of the family. The other names are puzzling. Could Royce really be competitive against Dan Hardy or Amir Sadollah?

Tip via MMAMania

Nuvogene Tea
Boresha B Latte
Boresha International
Nuvogene Skinny Tea
ARG Matrix

Study: Weight-cutting affects brains, not brawn

Cutting weight before fights is a part of MMA. Usually, a fighter who has had a tough weight-cut is assumed to have problems in strength and endurance, but a recent study questions that assumption.

Researchers at Cal State Fullerton took a look at how weight-cutting affects wrestlers, and the results might surprise you. Cutting six pounds or more in a short period of time tends to lead to confusion among the athletes, but their strength is not affected.

The researchers found that wrestlers who lost 4 percent or more of their body mass had significantly higher levels of confusion on the day of the competition. There was no increased confusion for those who lost less than 4 percent of their body mass. Body mass reduction had no effect on other psychological functions or on grip strength or lower body power, said the researchers at California State University, Fullerton.

The weight-cutting that wrestlers do is generally of a smaller amount than fighters because they do it more often, and at the collegiate level, wrestle the same day that they weigh-in.

Fighters generally get at least 24 hours to recover from cutting down for weigh-ins, but also usually cut more weight. The study noted that decision-making is affected by weight cuts. Both Efrain Escudero and Thiago Alves did not look like themselves in bouts where they had blown weight the day before.

Consider that the next time you watch a fighter who has had significant weight-cutting issues. Is he slowing down, or is it his mental skills that are breaking down?

Thanks to the Open Mat.

Nuvogene Tea
Boresha B Latte
Boresha International
Nuvogene Skinny Tea
ARG Matrix

Yamato-Damashii Diaries - Day 8: The Infamous City of Minamisanriku

Filed under:

In the wake of the March 11 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, former Shooto heavyweight champion and Pride and UFC veteran Enson Inoue has been on a one-man charity mission, traveling to northeast Japan to directly help those in need.

For his next visit to the Tohoku region, MMA Fighting joined Inoue to document the journey and bring new light to the ongoing crisis in Japan.

On day eight we travel to small town of Minamisanriku. It was incomprehensible after what we had seen so far, but this once-scenic coastal town accounted for one-third of the deaths and was hit worse than anywhere else.

Nuvogene Tea
Boresha B Latte
Boresha International
Nuvogene Skinny Tea
ARG Matrix

Bellator Books Top Prospect Tony Johnson vs. Carlos Flores

by Michael David SmithWhether the Bellator Fighting Championships can carve out a niche for itself and survive in the UFC-dominated world of American mixed martial arts is an open question. But there's no question at all that Bellator continues to sign talented fighters.

Heavyweight Tony Johnson is the latest acquisition to demonstrate just how good Bellator is at attracting top fighters: Bellator formally announced Thursday that Johnson has signed, and that he'll fight the 4-0 Carlos Flores at Bellator 41 on April 16.

"Tony is a fighter we have had our eye on for quite some time," Bellator boss Bjorn Rebney said. "He's one of the top heavyweight prospects in the world right now, and will make a great addition to our already impressive heavyweight lineup."

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Nuvogene Tea
Boresha B Latte
Boresha International
Nuvogene Skinny Tea
ARG Matrix

What you need to know from this week on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’

Welcome to the weekly recap of "The Ultimate Fighter." In the last episode, Team Lesnar turned the momentum in their favor as Chris Cope won his fight and Team dos Santos' Keon Caldwell left the show. What will happen in tonight's epsiode? Why is Junior smiling? Will anyone learn how to pronounce the name McGillivray? Read on for answers to those questions and spoilers.

Wait, what did he call us? of the week: Brock Lesnar said many times in this season that he was turning chicken [expletive] into chicken salad. After the 700th time he said it, his team said, "Wait a second. We're not chicken [expletive]" They were quick on the uptake, ya see.

Lesnar tries to explain away his statement but it seems that his definition of chicken [expletive] is different than the popular definition.

New guy of the week: Team dos Santos meets Justin Edwards, the replacement for Caldwell. He has an uncanny resemblance to Randy Couture, or at least what Couture looked like when he was younger.

That's gotta hurt of the week: Lew Polley runs dos Santos' practices with an iron fist, which appears to makes Junior uncomfortable. After Shamar Bailey gets cut over the eye, dos Santos speaks up, telling his team that he's not comfortable with Polley's style.

Fight pick of the week: Len Bentley (Team Lesnar) vs. Ryan McGillivray (Team dos Santos)

Meanwhile, at the house of the week: Cope has made friends on both teams, which in the fish bowl world of a reality show, means he's a spy for the other team. Bentley gets slightly paranoid before his fight and takes his concerns about espionage to Lesnar, who tells him to calm down.

Communication breakdown of the week: Dos Santos reminds Polley who is in charge. Despite what commercials have touted, it has the drama of a status meeting about the TPS reports in conference room B.

Weight-cut weirdness of the week: We get an up-close look of dos Santos and the coaches as they help McGillivray cut down to welterweight, and a get a bit closer look at McGillivray's backside then he wanted. Afterwards, both fighters made weight.

Absentee of the week: Lesnar won't be present for Bentley's fight because of "a personal issue in his personal life." Awkwardly, Lesnar tells the camera that his personal life comes first, then runs away.

Awwww of the week: McGillvray's daughter is his motivation, and he asks dos Santos to hold onto a picture of his daughter in the corner. He is also missing her birthday, so he puts aside a pie to celebrate when the fight is over.

Fight of the week: Bentley vs. McGillivray

Round one: A left hook early in the round from Bentley sends McGillivray to the canvas. Bentley follows up with a full mount, peppering McGillivray with punches. McGillivray pushes Bentley to side control then closed guard, but Bentley punishes him with elbows along the way. McGillivray gets out from underneath Bentley, and they return to their feet. This time, he sends Bentley to the canvas with a straight left, and follows Bentley to the ground. After some time grappling, Bentley tries for an armbar. He can't get it. McGillivray tries for a choke, and he can't get it. The time runs out on the first round.

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, who is watching the fight, asks Dana White, "Who won the round?" Dana answers that he doesn't know. It's a round that could go either way, as both fighters scored knockdowns and submission attempts.

Round two: Both fighters start the round more conservatively than they did the first, but McGillivray breaks it up with an elbow, and Bentley answer with kicks. They both start to land more strikes as the round goes on, but their fatigue is starting to show. Bentley tries a spinning backfist but ends up just hitting McGillivray's back. McGillivray charges in and pushes Bentley to the fence in an attempt for a takedown. Bentley succumbs to the takedown but gets back to his feet. The two finish the round by throwing every strikes under the sun at each other. Was it technically perfect? Nah. But it was two fighters giving everything they had in a bout, which is always fun to watch.

Surprisingly, it was finished in two rounds. The judges scored it 19-19, 20-18, 20-18 for Ryan McGillivray. In good news for Bentley, White found Bentley to tell him specifically that he had fought a great fight. TUF is about catching the UFC's eye and getting a contract, and if you don't win the show, impressing White is crucial. Bentley did that.

Back in the locker room, McGillivray emotionally looks at the picture of his daughter, while dos Santos and his teammates tell him to be proud. Awwww. Pie for everyone!

Boresha
Skinny Coffee
Boresha BLatte
Bsweet
Boresha Business