It was the spring of 2006 and Matt Hughes, then the UFC welterweight champion, had a problem. The problem was his back. More specifically, the problem was the three bulging discs that made every day its own little carnival of pain. He had a fight coming up in a month's time – a catchweight showdown with early UFC legend Royce Gracie. He had a decision to make. Only if you hear Hughes tell it, there was no decision. The matter had already been settled before the injury ever occurred. "I'm probably a little different than most people," says Hughes. "If ...

 Strikeforce cagefighting champion Nick Diaz is only 26 years of age, but the young Stockton California native has fought in almost every legit MMA promotion there is, including a three-year, 10-fight stint with the biggest and best one, the UFC. All his matches have been tremendously entertaining, the best one possibly being the "news reel-style" knockout win over a heavily favored Robbie Lawler at UFC 47 in April of '04. Diaz, in my opinion, is one of the top "pound for pound" fighters in the world today, and the eldest of the two fighting siblings was recently in Las Vegas to race in the Xterra Triathlon, an "iron man" contest; but ...

  While many people have complained that Dan Hardy is not a worthy challenger for UFC welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre, and there is a solid argument to be made there, it's also worth emphasizing that any opportunity to see one of the best martial artists in the young history of our sport perform is not to be missed. To celebrate this rare treat I thought I would do a Judo Chop on one of the moves most associated with St Pierre: the superman punch.  In his most recent fights, especially his triumphs over the highly credentialed amateur wrestlers Jon Fitch and Josh Koschek, ...

Matt Hughes finally finished an exhausted and defeated Renzo Gracie in the last round of the fight. Both fighters tired as the fight went on and the crowd  booed the legends of MMA. This was a true legends fight between the man known as the gamest of the Gracies, Renzo Gracie and the greatest welterweight champion in UFC history, Matt Hughes. The match represented a thank you to Renzo from the UFC. Neither fighter seemed to want to shoot for a take down in the early moments of the fight. Gracie began landing punches standing. That's when Hughes shot in for the clinch. Renzo fought off the take down and it was back to the feet for the rest ...

As Renzo Gracie prepares to fight Matt Hughes on Saturday at UFC 112, he says he's going to use the skill that his family is famous for around the world -- Brazilian jiu jitsu -- to win the fight. Gracie, who is a grandson of Carlos Gracie and a grandnephew of Helio Gracie, said in a chat with MMAFighting.com readers that he believes his superior Brazilian jiu jitsu skills will more than make up for Hughes' excellent wrestling. "Better jiu jitsu is what will make the difference in this fight -- I can ...