***spoilers*** UFC News and Discussion Thread

[Enter Blue Guy]

According to Meltzer, due to Ticketmaster giving 30% off all tickets for this event, that it is not selling too well. Didn't they expect this to be a huge show? This cannot be good news.

--Ticketmaster has 30% off all tickets for the 5/27 UFC show at the Staples Center, which is an update that tickets are not selling well. For more info you can go to www.ticketmaster.com/channe_partner/?brand=tmdeal

[Dingle]

Isn't Royce Gracie the guy who's never received a punch in his career and his family never lost for like, years?

Not that I follow UFC, but my old boss used to kind of watch it.

[Enter Blue Guy]

Isn't Royce Gracie the guy who's never received a punch in his career and his family never lost for like, years?

Not that I follow UFC, but my old boss used to kind of watch it.

[Dingle]

Ah, alright, cheers a load for that.

I just heard loadsa stuff about him from the hype machine that was my boss. I'll definitely HAVEto watc this, maybe I can make this my starting point with UFC, since I recognise a lot of the names for once.

[Guest Takayamanofear]

Interesting card to be honest I am not very excited for it though.

Royce Vs Matt – You know I really hate Matt, thanks to him being what I consider a boring ground and pound wrestler. That and the Ultimate Fighter kind of made him the heel of the UFC… That and I am also a huge Royce Gracie just because he is what got me into fighting. Oh I hope is that the old master has one more fight left in him. One more mountain to climb and can pull off the upset.

Vera and Silva should be great, if Silva is smart he will go to the ground. If he wants to put on a fight of the year candidate he will stand with him. I also hope this is a lot better than Sylvia – Silva.

Diego and Alessio – I have not seen to much of Alessio, he has beat some good fighters this will defiantly show where Diego really is. I don’t think this is going be a exciting fight.

Riggs – Swick – I don’t know why but something about Riggs just bugs me. He is good but its just when ever I look at the guy. I think it’s the tattoo that says Diesel. Swick has been built up but I think he could get knocked down. He has not beat anybody and this is his first real test. If Riggs comes out and does what he is capable of doing it will be an easy fight for Riggs.

Horn - Sorren has already lost to Horn twice… Why are they fighting a third time, Hat Trick possibility for Horn. On the Trivia note Chael ran for state reprehensive of Oregon in 2004.

Dean should beat Sakara, The rest of the fights I don’t really know about Mevlin might be on TV just because the UFC seems to like Melvin.

I don’t know about this card, Away from the Novelty of the Gracie Hughes fight I thought UFC was going to pull out all the stops…But I think they used all the big names in 59. I don’t thing Gracie and Hughes are big enough names to sell out the staples center and the only other names some one outside of the MMA fan would know is Diego. Gracie might be but I really wonder how many people have forgot about him since he has not be in the USA since UFC 5.

I thought Daniel was going to be the future of the gracies...then he drew with Wes Sims and now I have my doubts. Ryan is still good but he is getting up in the ages

[Enter Blue Guy]

Ryan's not that old, 32. The only problem is he's an ultra shit disturber. He goes night clubs with his boys and starts fights with people they know they can kick the shit out of. Of course, starting street fights with others is common in those groups, with rivial BJJ dudes going at it, but starting shit with random people is just plain moronic. Anyways, about 6 or 7 months ago, Ryan shot himself in femur while fucking around with a gun. He was in critical condition going into the hospital and lost a lot of blood. Thankfully, his condition stablized quickly. I haven't heard much about him since. The sooner he recovers, the sooner we can see him back in Pride, being accompanied to the ring by Kyra Gracie, who is pretty hot.... made even hotter because she can probably break my arm before I could even think of attempting to fight back.

Edited May 11, 2006 by Enter Blue Guy

[Enter Blue Guy]

Tonight is the night. Another highly anticipated UFC event in the year 2006 takes place live from the Staples Center in LA. Matt Hughes, legend in the making, goes head to head with the most iconic fighter in UFC history, Royce Gracie. It's new school vs. old school. Hughes thinks Royce's time has long past, but Royce is out to prove that he can still hang with the very best of today's MMA competition. Both have been considered the top dogs of their era, now it's time to determine who the UFC's most dominant of all time is. Royce will not only be defending his claims that he is still the best, but will also hope to bring some lustre back to the Gracie family name. Royce Gracie vs. Matt Hughes is only the main event of what appears to be a spectacular card on paper. It all starts tonight at 10 pm EST on pay-per-view.... and eventually free in UK, I guess.

Results of the weigh-in, which went down yesterday afternoon, credit to the MMANews.com.

Prelim Bouts:

-Melvin Guillard (156 lbs.) vs. Rick Davis (155 lbs.)

-Gabriel Gonzaga (244 lbs.) vs. Fabiano Scherner (263 lbs.)

-Spencer Fisher (154.5 lbs.) vs. Matt Wiman (155.5 lbs.)

-Jeremy Horn (186 lbs.) vs. Chael Sonnen (185.5 lbs.)

PPV Bouts:

-Joe Riggs (184.5 lbs.) vs. Mike Swick (185 lbs.)

-Brandon Vera (226 lbs.) vs. Assuerio Silva (234 lbs.)

-Diego Sanchez (169 lbs.) vs. John Alessio (169 lbs.)

-Dean Lister (205 lbs.) vs. Alessio Sakara (204 lbs.)

-Matt Hughes (175.5 lbs.) vs. Royce Gracie (175 lbs.)

Edited May 27, 2006 by Enter Blue Guy

[ACCBiggz]

Prelim Bouts:

-Melvin Guillard

-Fabiano Scherner

-Spencer Fisher

-Jeremy Horn

PPV Bouts:

-Mike Swick

-Assuerio Silva

-Diego Sanchez

-Dean Lister

-Matt Hughes

[Numbahs]

Every fight could go more than one round in my book....should be entertaining.

Prelim Bouts:

-Melvin Guillard (156 lbs.) vs. Rick Davis (155 lbs.)

-Gabriel Gonzaga (244 lbs.) vs. Fabiano Scherner (263 lbs.)

-Spencer Fisher (154.5 lbs.) vs. Matt Wiman (155.5 lbs.)

-Jeremy Horn (186 lbs.) vs. Chael Sonnen (185.5 lbs.)

PPV Bouts:

-Joe Riggs (184.5 lbs.) vs. Mike Swick (185 lbs.)

-Brandon Vera (226 lbs.) vs. Assuerio Silva (234 lbs.)

-Diego Sanchez (169 lbs.) vs. John Alessio (169 lbs.)

-Dean Lister (205 lbs.) vs. Alessio Sakara (204 lbs.) DRAW

-Matt Hughes (175.5 lbs.) vs. Royce Gracie (175 lbs.)

[ACCBiggz]

-Brandon Vera (226 lbs.) vs. Assuerio Silva (234 lbs.)

[Enter Blue Guy]

Joe "Diesel" Riggs (USA, 24-7-0) vs. "Quick" Mike Swick (USA, 8-1-0): Mike Swick seems to be on roll and a win here would wedge him into the Middleweight title picture. Joe Riggs is his biggest test to date and is quite a step up from his last three opponents, which Swick dominated. I'm not a Riggs fan and his weight class juggling from Middleweight to Welterweight was a bad, bad judgement call. Still, Riggs can put up one hell of a fight, he can throw leather standing as well as on the ground. He's got very heavy hands and has tremendous strength, if he gets Swick on his back and can keep him there, Diesel has got this one in the bag. However, Mike Swick is a hell of a slick fighter, Diesel may be the stronger slugger, but Swick has the advantage with hand speed and though Swick may not be as powerful as Riggs, he still packs a hell of a punch. Standing, I'm going to give it to Swick, though Diesel will make it a war. I believe the key for a Joe Riggs' victory is ground n' pounding Swick, if that's what Diesel wants to do. Knowing Riggs, he's probably content to go toe to toe with Swick. Riggs looked like the better fighter against Nick Diaz, but gassed out midway through the fight, due to his weight dropping. Nick Diaz is great stand up fighter, if that Joe Riggs shows up and doesn't gas out, Riggs is going to impress a lot of people. Being back at Middleweight, Riggs should have a much easier time dealing with his gas tank. But for some strange reason, I feel this is Mike Swicks coming out party. In my head I see both men slugging it out, then Swick landed a quick shot right on the button and putting Diesel out. Really, it could go either way, but that's my gut decision.

Mike Swick by KO in the 2nd Round

Assuerio Silva (Brazil, 10-4-0) vs. Brandon "The Truth" Vera (USA, 6-0-0): The Brandon Vera bandwagon is growing every time he fights. He's won his two UFC fights with ease and ending both by KO, he's entertaining, extremely confident and equally charismatic. The Truth is exactly what the UFC heavyweight division needs and he's the favorite to go over Assuerio Silva in this bout. Assuerio didn't exactly set the world on fire in his first UFC fight against Tim Sylvia, but that was definitely a lackluster first impression for American audiences. Assuerio Silva is very well rounded, he's got good submissions, strong stand up, and brutal ground n' pound. People talk about how much better the Pride Heavyweights are... Silva was 2-1 in Pride, his only loss coming by way of spilt decision to Aleksander Emelianenko. To me, this fight is very much like Swick vs. Riggs. Both guys can slug it out on the feet, with Silva being the more brute, power slugger, and Vera being much quicker and technical. And just like Riggs vs. Swick, I believe the key to win this fight for the powerhouse slugger to take it to the ground. If Silva takes Vera down and pounds him, it's going to be a tought night for the Truth. Silva can also pull out the submission if he needs to, and as strong as he is, you can bet that when he cranks on a sub his opponent is going to tap. Vera is going to want to try and finish this on the fight and quick as possible, because he doesn't want to be facing a bull like Assuerio Silva in the third round, when Vera will be fatigued and easily susceptible to Silva's ground and pound. Silva also has a solid chin, so it will take some work for Vera to find that KO. My prediction is that both men are active standing up, with Vera getting the slight upper hand, but Silva answers by taking Vera down and playing his game there which will lead to...

Assuerio Silva by Spilt Decision

Diego "Nightmare Sanchez (USA, 14-0-0) vs. John "The Natural" Alessio (16-7-0): This match was originally supposed to go down at UFC 58, but Diego pulled out due to illness. Of course, Alessio, who was talking shit before, started talking serious shit after Diego pulled out. I really don't think Diego sweats John Alessio enough to duck him. Let's get serious here for a moment, John Alessio is a good fighter. He's been training with Jeremy Horn and co., so you know he's going to be prepared. But Diego Sanchez is unreal. He IS the real deal. People got on his ass because he was brought up through a reality show. Let's forget the fact he was 11-0 before he was on TUF. People said Diaz would dominate him, said Diego would be exposed. Instead it was Diego who had Diaz' number. That still didn't shut all the haters up, and now people say Alessio will expose Diego. John Alessio is no Diego Sanchez. John Alessio is no Nick Diaz. John Alessio may not even be a Kenny Florian. A shitload of MMA keyboard warriors just want to see Diego lose, so they jump on the bandwagon of whoever his next opponent is. For this fight, I see Alessio being active, staying in the fight, but Diego dominates the majority of it on the ground, raining down elbows and punches whenever possible. Enough said. Hopefully Diego gets a tad more credit after this, because he clearly deserves it.

Diego Sanchez by 3rd Round TKO (strikes from the full mount) or Unanimous Decision

Alessio "Legionarius" Sakara (Italy, 10-3-0) vs. Dean Lister (USA, 7-4-0): This is a very interesting fight, a great example of grappler vs. striker with Sakara being the striker and Lister being the grappler. Sakara is a dangerous striker with 5 of his 10 wins coming via KO or TKO, he ain't too shabby on the ground either. However, Dean Lister is one of best grapplers in the game right now with all 7 of his wins coming by submission and with very close losses coming to BJJ ace Ricardo Arona (quite possibly the most dominant ground fighter in the world) and another top American grappler Jeremy Horn. Dean's got a mean armbar that has finished off the three of his opponents, but his stand up is weak. Not weak... Weak as fuck, especially compared to Sakara. Unless Dean's picked up a shitload over the last on his feet, he does not want to stand with Sakara for a second. It's crucial he takes this to ground ASAP and do what he does best, or Sakara is just going to pick Lister apart and KO him. But Dean is very smart, he knows his role and what he has to do in order to win. But like I said, Sakara is no stranger to the ground, but it he'll be in the fight of his life on the ground against Deaner here. Sakara needs to keep his distance, don't let Lister get close, pick his spots while being cautious, pick Lister apart like that. Then, once he's beaten on Dean for a bit, look for the big openings and try to knock his block off. I think Dean is too much of a grappling pro not get to takedown and dominate on the ground.

Dean Lister by submission in the 1st Round

Matt Hughes (USA, 38-4-0) vs. Royce Gracie (Brazil, 13-2-3): Ok, I could go on for days about this, and I'm pretty sure I did a few months ago. So let's go for the abridged version. Matt Hughes is a wrecking ball holding a 12-1 UFC record, he's the most dominant champion in UFC history and has shown very few signs of letting up. Royce is an MMA and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend, the most dominant of his time, hasn't been nearly as dominant in his hand full of fight in the last 5 years, and he's on the edge of 40 (turns the big 4-0 this December). Ok, the way I see it, Hughes stands with Royce right off the bat, out boxing him, battering him a bit. Then after he's weakened Royce, he'll go in for the kill with a huge slamming takedown and try to pound Royce from there, just to prove that he can beat Royce on the ground. It'll be interesting to see how Matt works inside Royce's guard. Royce has an top notch guard, I'm looking to see how or even IF Matt can pass into side mount or full mount. Either way, this is the position Royce wants to be in. He wants Matt to work to pass the guard and try to secure a submission when Hughes' is least expecting it. Royce doesn't want to stand with Matt and I don't think Royce will able to take Hughes down, Royce's best case scenario is that Matt goes for the takedown right away. All Royce has to do is pull guard and play the waiting game, which could result in three ways. 1) Royce catches a submission and Matt taps, 2) Matt lays on top of Royce, throwing punches from the guard and Royce defending, with both locked in stalemate, or 3) Matt dominates inside of Royce's guard, either finishing him off or taking a decision. But Matt isn't retarded, he even flatout said he was going to stay on his feet for the majority of fight, he knows that Royce can pull out submission from nowhere and make him tap, he's not going to go to the ground unless he knows for sure the Royce is either tired, hurt, or both. I really have no clue how this fight is going to go. I think everyone in the MMA community has been weighing the outcome of this fight more and more since the fight was initially announced. Your first thought is Matt Hughes by annihilation, but as the weeks passed, you think that maybe, just maybe, Royce can pull off a sub. Then come to your senses and go for Hughes again... Back every time you think about it, there is that little voice in the back of your head telling you that a slick submission can only take a split second to secure and Royce has the ability to do that. I dunno. This fight is a lot harder to figure out then it seems. Both Royce and Matt know what the other is capable of. Matt is taking Royce seriously because Matt knows submission have always been his kryptonite. BJ Penn and Dennis Hallman (twice) made him tap, Frank Trigg had him in an near fight ending Rear Naked Choke, Charuto was dangerously close to finishing their fight via submission a few times, Carlos Newton choked Hughes out, dropping Carlos from the top of the cage and knocking him out in the process. The evidence is there. This could be a walk in the park for Hughes or this could be a colossal upset.

Who knows?

[JoeMimic]

Also Leben Vs Anderson Silva has been signed for the next Ultimate Fight Night. WAR LEBEN!

[Enter Blue Guy]

Really? Can you direct me to a link? I haven't seen that yet. I know it was supposed to Loiseau vs. Anderson Silva for a bit, but nothing came of it.

The only way Leben would beat Silva is on the ground, because that's Silva's weak point, especially submissions... My lord, the scissor heel hook Ryo Chonan caught him with out of nowhere is a thing of beauty. Standing up... You don't get much better than Anderson Silva at Middleweight. The guy is so fucking fluid with his knees and high kicks, it's unreal. I really like Leben, he's one my favorites at 185, but standing up against Anderson Silva's technically flawless Muay Thai with Leben's hard hitting brawling style spells disaster for the Crippler, IMO.

Edited May 27, 2006 by Enter Blue Guy

[Numbahs]

-Brandon Vera (226 lbs.) vs. Assuerio Silva (234 lbs.)

Curious as to how you think this fight will shake down. KO, Sub, Stoppage?

Edited May 27, 2006 by Numbahs

[Toe]

I don't care if he wins, I just want to see Royce Gracie be competitive. And even if his stand-up is atrocious, he is still a master of Jiu-Jitsu and Hughes has to be careful.

[Guest TheLiLBean]

Slightly off-topic, but I don't want to start a new thread about this.

Did anybody see the SpikeTV Countdown to UFC:60? More specifically the part where Hughes is talking about how the first match he saw Gracie in was when he fought Dan Severn at UFC:4. Then they showed the clip and I thought I saw Al Snow in Severn's corner... does anyone know if it was actually him?

[ACCBiggz]

Slightly off-topic, but I don't want to start a new thread about this.

Did anybody see the SpikeTV Countdown to UFC:60? More specifically the part where Hughes is talking about how the first match he saw Gracie in was when he fought Dan Severn at UFC:4. Then they showed the clip and I thought I saw Al Snow in Severn's corner... does anyone know if it was actually him?

[Docpepper]

Matt Hughes is the man ! He won me a good chunk of cash on this event . Drinks are on the house boys. overall it was a good ppv.

[ACCBiggz]

Matt Hughes is the man ! He won me a good chunk of cash on this event . Drinks are on the house boys. overall it was a good ppv.

[Toe]

That looks like it was a sweet show. Only one decision, look at all of those submission victories!