Royce Gracie UFC comeback?

[MoFo]

Speaking of retired greats, Dana White confirmed several swirling rumors that UFC Hall of Famer and the company's first-ever champion Royce Gracie was indeed plotting a return to action.

"We're actually doing a fight in Brazil on Aug. 29," White said. "It's our first time ever going to Rio de Janeiro.

"We went down there to do a big press conference. [Gracie] came with us and was part of the press conference. He's still very close to the UFC, and we talk to him all the time. He still wants to fight one more time."

The 44-year-old Gracie hasn't fought since a 2007 decision win over fellow MMA legend Kazushi Sakuraba. His last octagon appearance was a 2006 loss to Matt Hughes.

White declined to comment further on the potential for Gracie to fight at the UFC's Brazilian event, but he had nothing but kind words for the man whose victories revolutionized combat sports.

"He's retired right now," White said. "He's a good guy, though.

"We look at him as the father of this whole thing. We've got nothing but respect for him, and he's still very much involved with us."

[The Show Off]

Royce Gracie v. Ken Shamrock

or

Royce Gracie v. Dan Sevren

Both of those matches would be a nice little flashback match for Rio.

[The Mask]

ugh whyyyy.

[Kris P Lettus]

Bad idea..

[Krimzon7]

Why??? Cause Gracie is GAWD in Brazil!

[Reavant]

No hes god here... not there. He got beat in a lot of fights in brasil but they werent sanctioned ones

[Fignuts]

I have a handful of friends from brazil, and they don't really care about Gracie. They are all about Silva.

[MoFo]

UFC president Dana White has indicated to MMA Fighting that the promotion has no interest in offering a fight to Brazilian pioneer Royce Gracie for the UFC's upcoming August event in Rio de Janeiro, refuting previous reports that talks between the two sides could result in a Gracie return.

Just last week, Gracie told Brazilian news site Esporte.UOL.com that negotiations for his return were ongoing.

Gracie is considered the sport's early seminal figure, winning three of the first four UFC tournaments with a jiu-jitsu style that was then foreign to most fight fans but has become a necessity in modern MMA. At just 6-foot-1 and around 175 pounds, Gracie used his ground skills to tap out opponents who sometimes outweighed him by 50 pounds or more.

At 44 years old though, Gracie (14-2-3) has not competed in the sport in nearly four years. In his last match, which took place in June 2007, he defeated Kazushi Sakuraba via unanimous decision, but afterward tested positive for steroids and was suspended for a year by the California state athletic commission.

The legend has not fought in the UFC's octagon since May 2006, when he returned after more than 11 years away from the promotion, only to suffer a first-round drubbing at the hands of then UFC welterweight champ Matt Hughes. The fight took place at a 175-pound catch weight, and Hughes dominated Gracie en route to a first-round TKO.

While Gracie would like one more chance to close out his career in style, it looks like the legend is unlikely to see the inside of the octagon at UFC 134.


I would have understood Gracie being given one more fight to close out his career, but this is the right move. It will have been more than four years since his last fight by the time this event comes around and with how badly he was beaten by Hughes in his last UFC fight, it was hard to think of who they possibly could have gotten for him to fight. I'm sure he'll be on hand for the event in some type of role anyway.

[Kris P Lettus]

He is a great BJJ fighter not a great MMA fighter.. Like Rogan said at the last weigh-ins (while talking about Fedor), a guy like Carlos Condit would kill any of the guys from the first UFC regaurdless of weight class or whatever..

That why Hughes murdered Gracie in 06.. Hughes had evolved from a wrestler to a pure MMA fighter while Gracie is still just a BJJ guy..