Larry Gude
Strung Out
...anyone care?
The young lion, Matt Hughes vs. the old lion, Royce Gracie.
There was NO appeal to this fight when announced; Gracie was too old and too far out of the current loop of competition and Hughes is just too strong, has enough experience and too much heart as champ for Royce to even have a chance.
For anyone mildly interested, this is the octagon fighting; Mixed Martial Arts; wrestling, boxing and the technical skills; jujitsu and so forth.
1. You can beat a guy with your fists, elbows, feet and knees (no kicking or kneeing if he is down) and no head butts or eye gouge. You win here by scoring better in the judges eyes or knocking the guy (KO) out or having the ref stop it, technical knock out, if you are pounding him and he is not putting up an effective resistance.
2. You can wrestle him to the ground which gains no statistical advantage is in normal wrestling but it puts you in a better position to attempt #1 or #3...
3. You can submit your opponent by choking or a joint lock where he either taps out (gives up, submits) or you put him to sleep or break the joint.
Hughes has it way over Gracie in #1 and #2 but #3 allows a very skilled fighter the opportunity, the chance of getting a good submission hold on and anyone, literally, can beat anyone with the right hold. Royce made his name by being taken down and then, from his back, finding a submission hold to win.
So, the idea that an old guy not nearly as strong as his younger opponent having a chance to win because of his skill and experience led to at least a chance. Hughes also has lost a few times in the past to arm locks and choke holds, so he had been beaten before. Gracie had never lost.
In the end, it was ZERO contest and Hughes simply beat him into a TKO in about a minute and a half. Gracie got some $1.3 mil for the azz whipping.
The big debate as MMA has risen over the years was always how a Bruce Lee or a Mike Tyson would fare in MMA, in other words, which is the best; the technical arts, boxing or mixed?
There used to be plenty of argument as many MMA guys were simply very good wrestlers who learned to hit or brawlers who could do nothing but hit or guys like Gracie who would break your arm in an instant.
The sport has advanced to where the best fighters would totally dominate the best boxers or technical fighters. It's not even close anymore. This is it.
The best MMA heavy weight in the world is a guy named Fedor Emeliananko from Russia and the dude is a master wrestler and combat martial arts expert and decent boxer. Hughes might be the best middleweight.
Anyway, cool stuff.
The young lion, Matt Hughes vs. the old lion, Royce Gracie.
There was NO appeal to this fight when announced; Gracie was too old and too far out of the current loop of competition and Hughes is just too strong, has enough experience and too much heart as champ for Royce to even have a chance.
For anyone mildly interested, this is the octagon fighting; Mixed Martial Arts; wrestling, boxing and the technical skills; jujitsu and so forth.
1. You can beat a guy with your fists, elbows, feet and knees (no kicking or kneeing if he is down) and no head butts or eye gouge. You win here by scoring better in the judges eyes or knocking the guy (KO) out or having the ref stop it, technical knock out, if you are pounding him and he is not putting up an effective resistance.
2. You can wrestle him to the ground which gains no statistical advantage is in normal wrestling but it puts you in a better position to attempt #1 or #3...
3. You can submit your opponent by choking or a joint lock where he either taps out (gives up, submits) or you put him to sleep or break the joint.
Hughes has it way over Gracie in #1 and #2 but #3 allows a very skilled fighter the opportunity, the chance of getting a good submission hold on and anyone, literally, can beat anyone with the right hold. Royce made his name by being taken down and then, from his back, finding a submission hold to win.
So, the idea that an old guy not nearly as strong as his younger opponent having a chance to win because of his skill and experience led to at least a chance. Hughes also has lost a few times in the past to arm locks and choke holds, so he had been beaten before. Gracie had never lost.
In the end, it was ZERO contest and Hughes simply beat him into a TKO in about a minute and a half. Gracie got some $1.3 mil for the azz whipping.
The big debate as MMA has risen over the years was always how a Bruce Lee or a Mike Tyson would fare in MMA, in other words, which is the best; the technical arts, boxing or mixed?
There used to be plenty of argument as many MMA guys were simply very good wrestlers who learned to hit or brawlers who could do nothing but hit or guys like Gracie who would break your arm in an instant.
The sport has advanced to where the best fighters would totally dominate the best boxers or technical fighters. It's not even close anymore. This is it.
The best MMA heavy weight in the world is a guy named Fedor Emeliananko from Russia and the dude is a master wrestler and combat martial arts expert and decent boxer. Hughes might be the best middleweight.
Anyway, cool stuff.
