Gracie vs. Hughes II
Jake Rossen Apr 6, 2010
Wind the clock back a little bit and a guy like Renzo Gracie
would be big-time, big-ticket fighter on the UFC circuit. He
doesn’t manufacture personality or bulls--t posturing. You get what
you get -- usually some macho-pugilistic wisdom that would sound
like garbage from anyone else. Renzo says it and it starts to sound
pretty good.
But at 43, and as much as we’d like to think otherwise, his best days are probably behind him. The gift of being an engaging presence has stuck, though, as evidenced by footage of Renzo talking up the Matt Hughes fight Saturday in Abu Dhabi. Renzo has been there plenty for the submission wrestling tournaments, assisted with the UFC’s relationship with the United Arab Emirates, and will probably be the most comfortable fighter there. Win or lose, Hughes won’t pancake him in the same fashion as he did Royce Gracie in 2006. In a win, it would mark the fifth time Renzo bested a former UFC divisional champion. A resume like that, and you can talk all you want.
But at 43, and as much as we’d like to think otherwise, his best days are probably behind him. The gift of being an engaging presence has stuck, though, as evidenced by footage of Renzo talking up the Matt Hughes fight Saturday in Abu Dhabi. Renzo has been there plenty for the submission wrestling tournaments, assisted with the UFC’s relationship with the United Arab Emirates, and will probably be the most comfortable fighter there. Win or lose, Hughes won’t pancake him in the same fashion as he did Royce Gracie in 2006. In a win, it would mark the fifth time Renzo bested a former UFC divisional champion. A resume like that, and you can talk all you want.
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