Elite XC Ken Shamrock (Petruzelli) vs. Kimbo Slice

Sunrise, Florida—South Florida was alive Saturday, October 4th with Elite XC Cagefighting on the CBS Network. Street Brawler Kimbo Slice was set to fight the Legendary Ken Shamrock, but a last minute scratch by Shamrock due to a pre-fight training injury bumped UFC fighter and alternate Seth Petruzelli up from the undercard. Shamrock was disappointed at not getting a shot at Kimbo, especially after he turned his back to the former Wrestling star in weigh-in’s. Shamrock responded by pushing Kimbo off the stage and warning him never to turn his back on him.

In what may have been the bout of the night, current champion Gina Carano faced Kelly Kobold in the 140lb class. Pre-fight, Kelly said she wanted to “break something beautiful,” in which Carano merely smiled laughing and retorted “she called me beautiful.” Kobold came out like a pit bull ready to kill someone and charged right into Carano off the whistle, pushing her against the cage. In what looked like illegal hair-pulling, Kobold grabbed Carano’s head and introduced it to her knee. Carano came back in the second round and taught Kobold how to throw a real knee, laying shot after shot of smash knees to her torso. A jump knee by Carano didn’t quite land but looked cool nonetheless. Kobold managed a takedown and wailed punches down on Carano from inside her guard until the round ended.

Round three, while Kobold came into the fight looking like a mad dog, she came out of the last round looking like a dog that got hit by a car. With Kobold tired and sloppy, Carano turned on the heat, landing low and high kicks like something out of Soul Calibur. Gina Carano won by decision barely sweating and without a scratch on her while even the announcers agreed that the ladies needed and deserved three 5 minute rounds like the men.

Two Champions came out of brief retirements as Andrei Arlovski fought Roy Nelson. Andrei opened with a classic Gracie leg trip from the clinch while Nelson went with the momentum and flipped him over into guard. He passed to side-control and went for straight armlocks and Kimura’s until the round ended. Second round was spent with Andrei’s back to the cage pushing Nelson’s head out with Nelson in turn blocking Andrei’s knee. Andrei created some space and dropped a mean right cross to knock Nelson out cold in 3:15 of the second round.

For the Welterweight title, Jake Shields fought Paul Daley of the UK. The two fighters touched gloves and circled. Daley threw inside leg kicks that echoed of the walls. Jake’s single leg took Daley to the ground where he gained full mount. He punched from top to set up the armbar but slipped in his execution and ended up back in guard with Daley raining down punches on him. In the second round, Jake regained the full mount and set up the armbar again, this time isolating both arms and securing his far leg over Daley’s head to crank the arm in a way it doesn’t bend. Jake Shields taps Paul Daley by armbar in the second round.

For the main event, people were counting on a surprise, and a surprise they did get but maybe not the one they were expecting. Alternate Seth Petruzelli stepped up to fill Ken Shamrock’s spot against Kimbo Slice. Petruzelli unleashed hell, throwing a stop-kick to create space and a mean jab to stun Kimbo, making him fall and not get up. Petruzelli leapt on him and smashed him again and again with rocketing punches, causing the ref to stop the fight at 14 SECONDS of the first round! Seth Petruzelli wins by TKO in 14 seconds of the first round, however he was humble in saying that neither fighter trained for the other and they met under stressful last-minute circumstances. Surprise nonetheless. This was a great event.

Olympic Taekwondo Men's 59kg Women's 48kg Qualifiers

Olympic Taekwondo Women’s 49kg and Men’s 58kg- An Outsider’s Perspective

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Beijing, China—In an age of full-contact fighting and mixed martial arts, Olympic Taekwondo is proving to be hardly a pushover sport.

In the Women’s 49 Kilogram weight class of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Charlotte Craig of the USA went toe-to-toe against Venezuela’s Dalia Contreras Rivero. They came out throwing right-leg roundhouse kicks in the blink of an eye. Venezuela landed a high kick like something out of Soul Calibur 4 that almost took Craig’s nose off. She then went for another roundhouse, missed, and turned it into a spinning back kick. When do you see cool stuff like this in MMA? One last roundhouse by Venezuela won her the match over Craig by a score of 3-2.

The second match saw Buttree Puedpong of Thailand fighting Thi Ngoc Truc Tran of Viet Nam. Thai’s are famous for their kicking prowess, and Thailand certainly brought it with a stinging exchange of low kicks that threw a point on the board for the country that kicks tires. She then threw a high snap kick that I thought landed in Viet Nam’s throat! The first round ended with me rubbing my collar bone.

Third round, Thailand came out with a flying side kick that narrowly missed. I remember in Muay Thai we used to call that kick the “Almighty Boot.” The match went onto sudden death and Viet Nam came out with what sure looked like a flying knee to me. This is TKD and not some other more famous kicking martial art involving knees and elbows right? A last roundhouse by Thailand won the match.

In the Men’s 58kg class, Mexico’s Guillermo Perez faced Afghanistan’s Rouhulla Nikpai as chants of “MEHICO! MEHICO!” echoed from the stands. Perez hardly came out like a Mexican Jumping Bean while Nikpai squatted down into a modified horse stance, defending. Suddenly, both fighters leapt at the same time and threw one-two kicks at each other like one-two punches in mid-air. As Nikpai leapt in the air, Perez shot out a roundhouse while Nikpai was still airborne, sending him flailing to the mat like some blow-up pool toy. Third round, Nikpai’s high kick landed on Perez’s head while he was still touching him! Can you say flexible? Nikpai then threw a stop kick that landed right on Perez’s hip, sending him to the mat with a charlie-horse. When Perez came back, he came back with a vengeance, kicking Nikpai literally out of the air, catching his high kick with his hand and kicking him off his feet again. One more right leg roundhouse by Perez and it was all over. Victory was handed to an unlikely contender, Mexico.

Generation O (O for Octagon) is indeed a new breed of athlete and fighter, but fighters and athletes from other disciplines like Olympic Taekwondo have proven that they are worthy of respect as elite athletes. Olympic Judo has made the switch to the full-contact arena, I am confident that Olympic Taekwondo can and has to a certain degree. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is currently trying to make the switch backwards to sanction itself as an Olympic sport, but I’m sure that scenario would turn out something like Olympic Softball, we all know which country would take home all the medals.

Catch the rest of the action live on nbcolympics.com or check my blog for the latest updates at www.mma411.blogspot.com.

Olympic Greco-Roman Wrestling 84k/96k Finals

Beijing, China—Andrea Minguzzi of Italy took a few deep breaths and smiled as he stepped up to the podium to receive his Olympic gold medal. Victory gleamed in his eyes as he put his arm around the Chinese escort girl and kissed her on cheek in front of swarms of cameras. Suddenly, Ara Abrahamian of Sweden snatched his Bronze medal from around his own neck, threw it down in the center of the ring, and stormed out of the arena.

The 84 Kilo Bronze Medal Freestyle Wrestling bout of the 2008 Olympics saw Melonin Noumonvi of France face off with Ara Abrahamian of Sweden. Off the whistle, France jockeyed for underhooks and tried to create space for a hip-toss, but Sweden pushed him out of bounds. Sweden went down and France struggled to lift him over for a point. The second period saw little action as Sweden went down and defended for thirty seconds to win the Bronze Medal by points. France refused to shake Sweden's hand.

The United State's Adam Wheeler stepped up to the mat on a mission to fight Korea's Tae-Young Han for the Bronze Medal in the 96 Kilo match. Adam pushed his opponent around, man-handling him relentlessly on his feet. When Korea went down, Adam attempted to turn him from a high chest-lock instead of a gut-wrench, which Korea took advantage of by spinning and ending up on top of him. Then Adam went down and Korea attempted a turn from the gut-wrench, but Adam slipped out of it and ended up on top for near-fall as well. "USA! USA!” cheered fans as Adam Wheeler became the only American to medal in Greco-Roman Wrestling, and in his first Olympics nonetheless!

For the 84 Kilo Gold Medal, Hungary's Zoltan Fodor went toe-to-toe with Andrea Minguzzi of Italy. Right off the bat, Italy went after an arm-drag, while an aggressive Hungary shucked him by. Italy went down and pretty much scooted out of bounds, no points were awarded. Then Hungary went down while Italy smacked him against the mat repeatedly attempting for a lift. A bit of unnecessary roughness maybe seeing as Hungary only scooted out of bounds as well. The score remained tied at 1-1 in the first period.

Second period, Italy worked a gut-wrench on the mat attempting a lift unsuccessfully, while Hungary leapt out from under him, only to be pounced on again by Italy. Still no points awarded. They slapped hands into the third period.

Jockeying for hand control and underhooks, they stood shoulder to shoulder with little activity until Italy went down. Taking Hungary's strategy, Italy leapt up from bottom and scrambled back to neutral. Hungary went down and Italy exploded into an amazing back-suplex sending Hungary's feet flying in a wide arc over his head! Italy jumped up and down as the ref raised his hand, and both wrestlers hugged in a gesture of good sportsmanship.

After his grueling match, Andrea Minguzzi of Italy flew into a back flip and took a victory lap around the mats to his countrymen singing his national anthem, holding his flag above him like a flying badge of honor as he ran. Though exhausted and sweating buckets, the look of joy and relief on his face was amazing. This was his moment in the spotlight, he was a star, and as he jumped onto the railings to shake the Chinese audience members' hands, I thought of how cool it must have been to be there in person to see him become an Olympic Champion.

Live coverage of Olympic Greco-Roman Wrestling continues on nbcolympics.com. Previous results are posted on my blog at www.mma411.blogspot.com.

Olympic Judo Men's 81Kilo and Women's 63kilo Finals

Olympic Judo Men's 81Kg and Women's 63Kg Finals

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Beijing, China—When the bell sounded, ending the Gold Medal match of the Men’s 81 Kilo Judo competiton, Ole Bischoff of Germany and Kim Jaebum of South Korea were both flat on the mat with their hands over their faces. One was smiling, the other cringing. As they stood and fixed their gi’s, the referee declared the winner, and decided that it was Ole Bischoff of Germany who was smiling.

Olympic Judo of the 2008 Beijing Games commenced this morning with American Travis Stevens making his debut against Tiago Camilo of Brazil. Off the bat, Stevens got right up in Camilo’s face, exactly the way to handle a traditional fighter. Stevens dropped for a seoi nage that Camilo stepped over, while Stevens ended up standing behind him. They started kazushi-jacking each other, trying to load each other up on their hips. Stevens swept Camilo while Camilo used the momentum to pull him to the side and end up on top of him. A big uchi-mata by Camilo wasn’t quite enough for an ippon, but it was enough to send the American Travis Stevens home without a medal.

The Japanese dominated in the Women’s 63kg Gold Medal bout, with Ayumi Tanimoto mopping the mat with France’s Lucie Decosse. At first, Decosse was solid, not letting Ayumi man-handle her, tripping her with a footstop. That pissed Ayumi off and she tripped Decosse with the same footstop, it was all fight from there on out. Decosse threw her leg out for an osoto-gari leg sweep, while Ayumi spun around and turned it into an amazing uchi-mata that sent Decosse’s feet in a rainbow arc over the mats and planted her there, where she sat stunned as the crowd went wild for Ayumi. Aiko Sato of Japan had fangirls cheering for her in the stands, Ayumi had an army of fanboys chanting her name and even a Japanese television stations staged to interview her post fight.

Tiago Camilo came back to face Guilluame Elmont of the Netherlands. Camilo came out with an ankle pick that slammed Elmont to the mat. I’m impressed with the judoka in that even a simple wrestling move like an ankle pick can end in a slam. Back in neutral, Elmont tried for an inside leg sweep that sent Camilo flying out of bounds. Elmont then tried for a seoi nage, big mistake as Camilo stepped over and spun into an armbar that had Elmont hugging his arms for dear life. Camilo then showed his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu skills as he transitioned to full-mount, cinched his arm underneath Elmont’s head, grabbed his gi sleeve and threw his other arm over Elmont’s neck for an Ezekiel Choke! Tiago Camilo of Brazil became the Bronze Medal winner with the first tap of the Beijing Olympics.

The crowd got quiet as Ole Bischoff and Kim Jaebum faced off in the finals. Bischoff immediately footswept Jaebum and swiveled around him like a wrestler, hopping to the side and attempting to pull him over for a guard sweep. Jaebum controlled the mat but Bischoff controlled the kazushi, every scramble was a setup for a throw. Bischoff hooked a leg inside Jaebum’s for a big trip and pulled him into guard, finally getting that guard sweep. The bell rang, ending the match, and declaring Ole Bischoff Olympic Champion.

Olympic Judo streams live at 12:00am tonight on nbcolympics.com. Yesterday's competition results are posted on my blog at www.mma411.blogspot.com

Olympic Judo Women’s 56 Kilograms and Men’s 73 Kilograms- Day 3

Beijing, China—Day 3 of Olympic Judo in the Women’s 56 Kilo and Men’s 73 Kilo is underway.

First up in the Women’s 56Kilo Quarterfinals was Yurisleydis Lupety of Cuba vs. Jean Baptiste of Haiti. This match was literally bad blood as an ankle pick by Cuba sent Haiti careening head-first into the mat and bleeding tributaries. Cuba won the bout with an awesome double-leg lift which makes me think there is more wrestling in judo than there is in wrestling. There was also an incident involving an ippon-seoi nage shoulder throw and a flying referee’s chair.

Next bout in the 73Kilo Men’s Category was Erik Kibanza of the Democratic Republic of Congo facing Rasul Boquiev of Turkmenistan. If the last Women’s bout was Wrestling, this was Gymnastics. Boquiev dropped down for a circle throw and Kibanza completely cart-wheeled over it not just once, but twice on two circle throw attempts! Boquiev came back to win the match with an insane ippon-seoi nage into side-control and pin.

The Australians were downright angry judoka. Both Dennis Iverson and Maria Pekli came out aggressive like someone had just kicked over their brand new motorcycles and they’re coming to kill them (no one touches my Yamaha). Pekli came and just shucked Bernadette Baczko of Hungary out of bounds. Forget about tie-ups, she was throwing kicks like a Muay Thai fighter, somehow passing them off as footsweep attempts. Pekli, by sheer aggressiveness won by a shido, maybe they were just afraid she would go kill someone if she lost. Iverson’s temper on the other hand didn’t help him in the least bit as he pressured and punked Sezer Huysuz of Turkey around. Sezer waited for a failed drop shoulder throw by Iverson to take his back, pick him up like a freestyle wrestler, turn him like he was his bitch, and pin him with a scarf hold. Temper, temper.

Rinat Ibragimov of Kazakisan landed a beautiful sacrifice circle-throw on Korean Champion Wang Kichum, but Wang is the Prince of Persia. He stopped time already at 120 degrees into an ippon and practically rewound it, spinning off his head completely back over Kazaskistan to side-mount him.

Brazilian Leandre Guilheiro lived up to the legend and the stereotype of the Brazilian groundwork, pulling guard whenever he could, grabbing collars instead of sleeves, doing the cart-wheel guard pass on his head to flip out of sacrifice throws and sweeps. Mariano Daniel Bertolotti of Argentina was not happy after his bout with Leandre.

The match of the afternoon however was Aiko Sato of Japan vs. Xu Yan of China (ooooohh!). Japan and China generally hate each other as a rule and there was no exception here, they looked like they were ready to kill each other and China looked like she was going to eat souls. Fan girls in the stands chanted “AI-KO, AI-KO” as Aiko Sato showed her Judo finesse. Xu’s Judo was brutal, but Aiko’s was beautiful, she was quick and fluid and moved like water. She’d slip a throw and slide right into another one, pop to her feet and try it again, never letting up, but she’d just bounce into them like it was the most natural thing in the world. She missed a shoulder throw on Xu and turned it into a creative single leg snatch takedown. Her Judo was calligraphy. So it was a surprise to fans and audience when Xu Yan of China was awarded the victory for playing it safe, even the commentators agreed that the wrong athlete won the match and there were boo’s from the crowd. Aiko came back to pin Nina Koivumaki of finland, but was seriously injured by Ketleyn Quadros of Brazil and had to be carried out of the arena on a spine board.

Xu Yan went on to win the Bronze Medal in the Women’s 56 Kilogram Weight class.

For more live feeds of Olympic Judo, log onto www.nbcolympics.com. If you are not a cable subscriber, lie and say you are because the live-feeds will not play if you specify local broadcast. Replays of matches are available in the results section for a limited amount of time. Thank you for reading and I will be covering the remaining Judo and Wrestling competitions for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

EliteXC Renzo Gracie vs. Frank Shamrock Undercard Matches

Southaven, Miss.—After 14 years of fierce rivalry from the two families that started Mixed Martial Arts, Renzo Gracie and Frank Shamrock are finally going to step into the cage and do battle on Elite XC Showtime Pay Per View. But fortunately the under card matches were broadcast for the first time live and free of charge on Proelite.com. MMA was brought streaming live to millions of fans across the country who were not let down by the sheer adrenaline rush this under card turned out to be.

For one, the quality of fighters on the under card was superb. The line-up was stacked with fighters like Javier “Showtime” Vazquez coming back from a 3 year layoff and a horrible injury, and fighters like Chris Gates who took this fight just 5 days before the event, and even fighters like Riki Fukuda who graced us with his presence all the way from Japan for his first fight in the United States.

The announcers for this fight were Bill Golberg and Mario Lopez with Guy Mezger of the Lion’s Den in attendance. Celebrities in attendance included names like Mayhem Miller, Rico Rodriquez, Rampage Jackson and even Jimmy Kimmel! Not to mention the near five thousand fans present at the Civic Center in Southaven, Mississippi, all on the edge of their seats for some knock-down-drag-out combat, and they certainly weren’t disappointed.

The night started off with a heavyweight bout between Bo “Redrum” Cantrell and Tim “Big Perm” Persey, both top prospects from California. There was a lot of hype going around about this particular fight, fans expected it to pack heat, and though short in duration, it did not disappoint in the least. Tim Persey came out strong, unleashing a flurry of punches that pushed Bo Cantrell against the fence, took a step back and let loose with a stunning combination of heavy strikes to the head, dropping Bo Cantrell in 1:33 of the first round.

The second match between Mike Pyle and Ross Ebanez was much the same, short but intense. Pyle controlled the pace of the fight, throwing leg kicks and Ebanez answering with his own. Pyle took advantage of Ebanez’s kicks to shoot on Ebanez and take the fight to the ground. Almost in the blink of an eye, Pyle took Ebanez’s back, secured his hooks, and applied a rear naked choke on Ebanez for a tapout in 1:55 also in the first round.

But by far the most exciting match, unofficially dubbed the event of the evening, was Adriano “Nasal” Pereira of Brazilian Top Team vs. Javier “Showtime” Vazquez of Gracie Fight Team. Fans were actually not expecting too much of this fight, seeing as a match-up between two Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fighters often ends up being a snooze fest of slow grappling. But it was a surprise when these two ground experts actually stood up with each other! Right off the bat, Vazquez came out with fierce left hand swings, but Nasal seized one of his kicks for a single-leg takedown into Javier’s open guard. Nasal backed out though and the fighters were back on their feet very quickly. Javier ran into some solid left hands, answered with kicks that echoed off the walls of the Civic Center, and Nasal showed that he was not afraid to stand with Javier by unleashing a maelstrom of punches that pushed him against the fence. The first round ended and fighters touched gloves in respect.

The second round definitely went to Javier, who got his own takedown on Nasal and held him in the mount for nearly the entire round, pounding on his head and body and punishing him non-stop. Round three saw both fighters tired, Javier using uncommon mma moves like countering an elbow strike, and Nasal finding explosive energy at unexpected times. The round belonged to Nasal with a big takedown and the fight ended in Javier’s guard.

The fight was scored 29-28 Vazquez and Javier, sporting hot pink fight shorts, won by split decision, despite the booing from the crowd.

A fight that was perhaps overmatched was Chris Gates, fighting out of Memphis Judo and Jiu Jitsu, vs. Riki “Killer Bee” Fukuda hailing from the Land of the Rising Sun for his first US fight. Chris showed a lot of heart just by taking the fight, though a good 10 years older than Fukuda and an alternate, he walked down the ramp to the cage with a smile on his face from ear to ear. Fukuda on the other hand walked down the ramp like the crowd didn’t exist, like he didn’t even see the thousands of roaring fans around him or even the cage in front of him, not a nervous bone in his body. He bowed before entering the cage out of respect, but once he stepped inside, his demeanor did a 180˚ and he was ready to roll.

Off the bell, Gates clinched up immediately and Fukuda dropped his elevation and shot a flawless double leg takedown, picking Gates up and slamming him to the canvas, making it look effortless. Fukuda stayed very compact in Gates’ guard and Gates was just eating the Killer Bee’s stinging downward punches! Gates rolled over and tapped out pretty quickly and the fight was over almost before it began. Riki Fukuda gave Chris Gates a hug after the ref’s call, and offered his thanks to the American audience for allowing him to fight. And they say Samurai’s are dead.

In between fights we got to go back stage and see Edson “Little Tiger” Berto warming up for his match with John Shackelford also of Memphis Judo and Jiu Jitsu with a record of 7-4. Berto fights for Team Tiger Shootfighting with a record of 10-3-1, and his teammate/brother Andre Berto is very proud of him. Edson, known for his heel hooks, said that he doesn’t specifically go for heel hooks, it’s just what Brazilian Jiu Jitsu guys give him all the time. With Shackelford being a BJJ fighter, and with 66% odds in favor of Berto, it was wondered whether Shackelford would even be able to walk out of the cage after the match.

When it came time to fight, fans were expecting a battle and got a war. Berto walked down the ramp like a soldier, ready to do business, but he did laugh at a joke before he stepped into the cage. Shackelford on the other hand walked out slow, almost nervous-looking, but a downward glance cast at the crowd let us realize that his slow gait was actually relaxed. He was completely confident.

Round one, Shackelford came out swinging and Berto returned with heavy kicks and big left hooks. Edson was very light on his feet, while Shackelford kept the pace. Then just when it seemed like both fighters were settling into a rhythm, WHAM! Berto throws a big right hand making Shackelford stagger a bit, then leaps in the air throwing a flying knee and Shackelford catches it! Berto almost did a cartwheel over Shackelford, and they ended up in Berto’s guard. Berto reversed for side control on Shackelford and stood back up avoiding Shackelford’s ground game. On their feet, both fighters exchanged fast punches and heavy kicks nearly to the end of the round. And then once again, when everything seemed to be relaxed, Edson threw a hard jump knee and Shackelford ducked underneath it, Berto giving the fence a jolting slam (that poor fence was tapping out).

In the second round Shackelford controlled the action a little more, and this time it didn’t look like a Jet Li movie. Berto still made Shackelford move backwards a little bit, but Shackelford did not let up with takedown attempts. Berto answered with a big left hook that dropped Shackelford where he was standing with Berto landing downward punches. Shackelford managed to get back to guard, getting out of the fire and into the frying pan. A relentless Berto then postures up and starts pounding, Shackelford ends up upside down on Berto’s leg and eventually stops defending himself. Berto wins by Referee Stoppage in 2:27 of the second round.

At the mic, Edson called Shackelford a “tough kid” and told him he did a good job. He was gracious in his victory and very sportsmanlike, which is good to see in a sport that is still in many ways barely accepted by the public.

All in all, this under card was one of the best and most professional cage fights that I’ve seen next to the UFC, and kudos to Proelite.com for allowing poor college kids like me who can’t afford Showtime all over the country to enjoy some Extreme Cagefighting action!

ROYCE GRACIE LOST!!!!!!!

Hughes VS Gracie

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(Backposted from May 2006)

OH MY GOD! The Man, The Myth, The Legendary Royce Gracie lost yesterday in UFG 60 to Matt Hughes. OF ALL PEOPLE! I could understand Royce losing to Sakuraba in Pride since the Japanese fighters are of a very high quality, but to MATT HUGHES, the most cockey and hated fighter besides Tito Ortiz in all of UFC history!? Blasphamous!

Firstly I just don't know why Royce was sticking his left arm up around Hughes head like he was. I understand trying to hold his head down to avoid being punched, but you should at least have another arm tied up so that your opponent can't get both of his arms on one of yours to work a submission. Even I know to keep my arms in close in half-guard. If Royce could have gotten both of his legs around Hughes body, he could have pushed Hughes away with his hips and gotten out of the submission attempt, possibly even landing a submission himself. I just don't understand though, usually when Royce is in trouble, he starts hitting his opponent in one spot repetedly to make him uncomfortable and change position a little (this is called a "softening technique"), he just wasn't doing anything. He didn't even try to get out of the side-mount, he gave up his back possibly attemtping to go for some sort of throw, but failed miserably. I just didn't see Royce in that Octagon.

For those of you who are not fighters or Mixed Martial Arts fans, The Ultimate Fighting Championship is a No-Holds-Barred Cagefighting competition that until recently was PPV only. It was started to pit fighters of different styles against each other to determine which style was the ultimate martial art. Back in 1993, fighters from all styles came to represent...Karate, Boxing, Kung Fu, but amid all of these different styles, one style dominated them all. Brazilian Jiujitsu, a martial art that had never been heard of and had only recently been invented by a group of brothers in Brazil, dominated fighters who had lifetimes of study in their art, and a little 160lb guy named Royce Gracie defeated 10th degree black belts who outweighed him by almost double.

He fought in a gi, with a 4th degree black belt out of some godforsaken wild west ranch in some godforsaken part of the world. What Gracie brought to the world of Martial Arts was something that the world had never really thought of before...how to fight on the ground. Before The UFC, the assumption was that if you got knocked down or godforbid voluntarily went to the ground, you're dead! Gracie changed all of that and made Brazilian Jiu Jitsu the most sought after martial art, ending the rein of Mcdojo arts like Karate and Tae Kwon Do as legitimate streetfighting styles.

Soon, other arts emerged from the shadows of the third world. Wrestling, an overlooked sport that no one really ever concidered a martial art, and Muay Thai, a devestating kickboxing style that threw out the notions of form and kata replacing them with power and speed, both were found to be able to hang with the new generation of ground fighters that was emerging. Soon, Judo adapted to the nogi game and added its name to the list of devestating battle-tested arts.

Karate and Tae Kwon Do were not forgotten though. The Martial Arts now had a venue to evolve in, so they did just that. Karatekas studied wrestling to defend takedowns, and submissions to know what they looked like. Grapplers started knocking people out, the term Mixed Martial Artist was born. As existing arts adapted, other arts emerged from all parts of the world. Sambo, Shooto, Sumission Wrestling, French Savate, Vale Tudo and other arts took their turn in the UFC.

Today, The Ultimate Fighting Championship is no longer a ground to test style vs. style, but fighter vs. fighter, since "styles" have been integrated and the well rounded fighter is the fighter who is going to win. Finally allowed on the major cable networks, the UFC has reinvented Martial Arts as we know it, and it would not be anywhere without the works of the Gracie Family.

Royce Gracie, now 40 and coming out of retirement, took on UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Matt Hughes and pretty much got dominated. Hughes, a 175lb 32 year old wrestler beat Royce via referee stoppage in the first round. Royce is just past his prime. But the Hall of Famer Gracie still remains the Giant that he is. Every hero loses at least one, and it is not going to tarnish his image in the least. If it weren't for Royce, there would be no UFC.

If I were Hughes, I would have thrown that fight on purpose, now it doesn't matter that he beat Royce (who is 10 years past his prime), everyone just hates him more, but congratulations to Hughes for winning the fight, and props to Royce for not tapping ever in his entire career!