First fight between R. Gracie (left) and M. Hughes (right) was in 2006 (Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC)
The news that the former UFC welterweight champion Matt hugs can return to MMA cheered one of his most notorious victims. Champion of three of the first four editions of Ultimate, the legendary Royce gracie admitted that he would like to have a rematch against the North American, to whom he lost at UFC 60, in May 2006.
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Despite having turned 50 at the end of last year, Gracie fought in February 2016, when he knocked out another old rival, Ken Shamrock, in a fight for Bellator. And he guarantees that he hasn't stopped training and that he's ready to take action again under MMA rules.
“Everyone wants to see this second fight. The first time, I wasn't in the fight. The strategy was right, everything we planned and imagined, he did, but I wasn't in the fight (…) I never stopped training. My body is in great shape, the machine is working and there is only one way to find out (who would win the duel): we have to do it again. If you want to fight me now, I'll meet you there. When you're a fighter, you have to be ready all the time. There’s no such thing as “I need another month”. When you are a fighter, every time is time to fight. Either you are a warrior or you are not – commented Gracie, to the North American website MMA Fighting.
Hughes, 43 years old, seven years younger than Royce, said goodbye to MMA in 2013, after losing to Josh koscheck by knockout, at UFC 135. He was UFC manager until the end of last year, when he was fired after WME-IMG took control of the event.
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