Sorry Folks, I've been hiding for the last few days. Honestly I am still in shock over the bomb dropped this past weekend (UFC completely dominating the MMA landscape by their purchase of Strikeforce). After making announcements and reading articles on MMAJunkie, MMAWeekly and Five Ounces of Pain the last few days (which included Zuffa's brass making the announcement that elbow strikes will now be allowed, as well as the PPV debut of Strikeforce that may include the Grand Prix), I have decided to come out from under the smoke.
Now, leads me to my next topic : Various MMA outlets have reported the UFC is in discussions to bring back the prodigal son of MMA, Royce Gracie, back in the fold for the announced UFC card scheduled to take place in Rio De Janeiro this August 27th.
I can't see how this move doesn't make sense. After all, while the UFC organization is American, the roots of the sport rest in the streets and dojos of Brazil. It was the Gracie family who brought Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to these shores, and without it we'd still think WWE was exciting!
Only question however, is if this is a retirement bout (which i bet it is) who would be a decent matchup to pit against a 44 year old Gracie?
A list of names that comes to mind would include Paulo Thiago, Demian Maia and Martin Kampmann. Kampmann has great boxing and a lot to prove, coming off back to back decision defeats. Thiago and Maia can provide a good stand up base as well as both have exceptional jiu-jitsu, and it would be interesting to see how well Royce could do against a "new generation" Grappler.
That being the case, why not Jake Shields? Although Shields would have bigger fish to fry on his plate, if he were able to beat St. Pierre in Toronto for the 170 lb. title.
Questions? Comments? get back to me at mmarmaggeddon@gmail.com
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