Joel,

I reserve the right to be an ass,Mark should be afforded the same priveledge.

Interesting observations by all. No way to tell for sure until game day.

As much as I would like to see Royce pull an upset, I don't see it happening. Royce was never a fighter. He was a kid that could use Jiu Jitsu. Other than incredible endurance, he is physically very average. It still amazed me that he got through as many of his UFC matches as he did. That was really a testament to his training.

Matt Hughes has been around the game and worked with better submission people than Royce I'll bet, and is prepared for Royce's closed guard attacks.

I see a replay of Royce vs Sakuraba but with time limits and Hughes being more motivated to punish Royce. If you watch the Sak fight, Royce was unable to do anything to him. I see that happening again.

Who knows though? Without the gi, Royce may be a tornado and steamroll Hughes. Not my bet though.

Mark Hill -


Who did Foreman fight?

I can definitely tell you that it wasn't Matt Hughes, nor was it MMA. It was heavyweight boxing....both the sport and weight division with the most tomato cans of any competitive sport.


-John

I'm looking forward to this fight. I expect to see a chess match on the ground, and I think both have at least a fighter's chance of winning. This isn't as clean cut as some think, but I definitely think Hughes is gonna try to keep the fight on the feet, simply because Gracie's not known for any standup. It all depends on who works to the best advantage. I don't want to say for certain who is going to win, but I really just want to see a great fight.

More than anything, I'm just hoping for a great fight, regardless of who wins. I'd love to see an epic battle.

For sentimental reasons I want Gracie to win. He's the reason most of us got interested in MMA, so it would incredible to see him pull it out, but Hughes is clearly the better fighter today. I give Gracie HUGE respect for having the balls to face Hughes. Say what you will about Royce, he's got guts.

I also don't think it's fair to say Royce has not evolved, although one can debate to what extent he's evolved. In the Yoshida fight, for example, Royce threw some decent strikes and his kicks looked pretty decent, so I expect we'll be surprised at some things when he faces Hughes. In the end, I still think Hughes will beat him, though. Go Royce!

I'm not sure if this has been said, but BJ Penn beat Hughes rather quickly w/ RNC. He might have been stronger than Royce, but I think Royce still has some tricks up his sleeve. I'm sure that Hughes has improved a lot since then, but maybe Royce has worked on his stand up game too. I'd like to see Royce win.

yer i got to admit hughes is a cocky arrogant kind of guy.. which i dont think has much respect for royce or his style!.. but i believe that royce is going to take this guy down.. a. because i believe even though matt is an allround fighter he still has lost to grapplers.. including bj pen which is a 2nd degree blackbelt in bjj.. royce is now a 8 or 9th dan now.. B. matt thinks he can take him on stand up.. but once royce grabs him and keeps him on the ground.. i dont think that matt could do much.. dont know if royce not wearing a gi makes much difference though. C. if u havnt seen royces latest fight against sakuraba then u really doesn't know how much royce has evolved. he is doing much more kicks.. and and he's striking ability has improved immensly. i believe that royce is going to choke matt hughes out. once he takes it to the ground..

Boo you moved the thread! Have you guys seen the ticket price for this fight? $1000 to $100 and the $100 are nosebleeds. I sense alot of people flying in to see Royce hence the rediculous price.