Why did Royce Gracie come back to fight Matt Hughes ?

[Joe_Armstrong]

I never understood this. Did Hughes challenge him or something ?
Although I found the fight very satisfying to watch,
I could never figure out what made Gracie think he could beat Hughes
I believe it was at a catchweight of 175,
which meant Hughes didn't have to cut as much as he regualrly did.
That kimura must've hurt Gracie for a few months

Did you enjoy the fight ? Imo it was a freakshow

 

[Stargazer Rex]

 

[Elvis.]

Money

 

[Kowboy On Sherdog]

Guessing the same reason as fighting Shamrock at 205... Money... or Pride. Royce gives zero f**** and if he ever fights again, will probably still be listed as undefeated.

 

[EndlessCritic]

Money. An official "changing of the guard".

 

[Emporio Alnino]

dis my house, i build it.

 

[smooth assassin]

Because Hughes was a stud and Royce is a fighter, that’s what they do
No I was heartbroken

 

[ThaiSexPills]

He thought he could win and it was a good payday. Pride and money, the same reason a lot of fighters fight

he made 400k disclosed purse. The rest of the card combined made 360k.

 

[jeff7b9]

Must have had yes men around lying to him that he could win.

I’m pretty sure they paid him in money too.

 

[Ares Black]

Money

 

[TheBrownGosling]

Because "Superfight"

 

[Pierced7681]

This is the fight that made Royce start using roids. Hughes made him look like a little kid and then Royce juiced for the Saku rematch.

 

[Skarr]

classic example of how self belief can lead you astray

 

[maximus__]

I never understood this. Did Hughes challenge him or something ?
Although I found the fight very satisfying to watch,
I could never figure out what made Gracie think he could beat Hughes
I believe it was at a catchweight of 175,
which meant Hughes didn't have to cut as much as he regualrly did.
That kimura must've hurt Gracie for a few months

Did you enjoy the fight ? Imo it was a freakshow

It wasn't the worst style match up on paper. You have to remember Royce was used to fighting massive wrestlers and Hughes would have seemed beatable to him as just another wrestler vs BJJ guy. Definitely the wrong decision though to come back. Still better than the shamrock fight...

 

[rob mafia]

the funny thing about that is that there were still a LOT of people who thought that royce would win.

It wasn't the worst style match up on paper.

i mean, outside of even bigger fighters, it really was.

 

[Fahcough]

loved that fight. super early stoppage though

 

[maximus__]

the funny thing about that is that there were still a LOT of people who thought that royce would win.



i mean, outside of even bigger fighters, it really was.

I would have fought Matt Hughes for 400,000 at that time. Look at that pay difference.
It really was his best option for any chance of a good payday and win. Atleast Hughes would take him down and open up the chance for a hail mary triangle or similar.
Rich franklin was out with a broken hand from a title defence and would have arguably been a worse match up if Royce couldn't take it to the ground.
Wiki below. It's worth a read just to see how much pay has changed and how big a fight this was at the time.

Headlining the card was a non-title catchweight (175 lb) match between then-current UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes, and UFC Hall of Famer Royce Gracie, the winner of UFC 1, UFC 2 and UFC 4. This was Gracie's first match in the UFC and in the United States since UFC 5.

The event drew 620,000 buys, becoming the best-selling pay-per-view in UFC history up to that point, and the first to break the $20 million mark in gross PPV sales.[3]

Results[edit]
Main Card
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Catchweight (175 lb) Matt Hughes def. Royce Gracie TKO (punches) 1 4:39
Light Heavyweight Dean Lister def. Alessio Sakara Submission (triangle choke) 1 2:20
Welterweight Diego Sanchez def. John Alessio Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
Heavyweight Brandon Vera def. Assuerio Silva Submission (guillotine choke) 1 2:39
Middleweight Mike Swick def. Joe Riggs Submission (guillotine choke) 1 2:19
Preliminary Card
Middleweight Jeremy Horn def. Chael Sonnen Submission (armbar) 2 1:17 [a]
Lightweight Spencer Fisher def. Matt Wiman KO (flying knee) 2 1:43 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFC_60#cite_note-6
Heavyweight Gabriel Gonzaga def. Fabiano Scherner TKO (punches) 2 0:24
Lightweight Melvin Guillard def. Rick Davis KO (punch) 1 1:37

1. ^ Sonnen was a late replacement for Evan Tanner, who reportedly withdrew due to personal issues.
2. ^ Wiman replaced Leonard Garcia, who broke his leg in training.[4]

Reported Payout[edit]
Royce Gracie: $400,000

Matt Hughes: $110,000

Jeremy Horn: $70,000

Brandon Vera: $32,000

Diego Sanchez: $24,000

Mike Swick: $14,000

Spencer Fisher: $14,000

Joe Riggs: $12,000

Gabriel Gonzaga: $10,000

Melvin Guillard: $10,000

Alessio Sakara: $10,000

Dean Lister: $10,000

Assuerio Silva: $8,000

Chael Sonnen: $5,000

Fabiano Scherner: $3,000

Matt Wiman: $3,000

John Alessio: $3,000

Rick Davis: $2,000

Disclosed Fighter Payroll: $740,000

 

[RightToBareKnuckles]

the winner also took home a Matt Hughes Country Breakfast, so that really sweetened the deal for Royce to get in there

 

[Dbreiden83080]

I would have fought Matt Hughes for 400,000 at that time. Look at that pay difference.
It really was his best option for any chance of a good payday and win. Atleast Hughes would take him down and open up the chance for a hail mary triangle or similar.
Rich franklin was out with a broken hand from a title defence and would have arguably been a worse match up if Royce couldn't take it to the ground.
Wiki below. It's worth a read just to see how much pay has changed and how big a fight this was at the time.

Headlining the card was a non-title catchweight (175 lb) match between then-current UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes, and UFC Hall of Famer Royce Gracie, the winner of UFC 1, UFC 2 and UFC 4. This was Gracie's first match in the UFC and in the United States since UFC 5.

The event drew 620,000 buys, becoming the best-selling pay-per-view in UFC history up to that point, and the first to break the $20 million mark in gross PPV sales.[3]

Results[edit]
Main Card
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Catchweight (175 lb) Matt Hughes def. Royce Gracie TKO (punches) 1 4:39
Light Heavyweight Dean Lister def. Alessio Sakara Submission (triangle choke) 1 2:20
Welterweight Diego Sanchez def. John Alessio Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
Heavyweight Brandon Vera def. Assuerio Silva Submission (guillotine choke) 1 2:39
Middleweight Mike Swick def. Joe Riggs Submission (guillotine choke) 1 2:19
Preliminary Card
Middleweight Jeremy Horn def. Chael Sonnen Submission (armbar) 2 1:17 [a]
Lightweight Spencer Fisher def. Matt Wiman KO (flying knee) 2 1:43
Heavyweight Gabriel Gonzaga def. Fabiano Scherner TKO (punches) 2 0:24
Lightweight Melvin Guillard def. Rick Davis KO (punch) 1 1:37

1. 
   
   
   • ^ Sonnen was a late replacement for Evan Tanner, who reportedly withdrew due to personal issues.
   • ^ Wiman replaced Leonard Garcia, who broke his leg in training.[4]

Reported Payout[edit]
Royce Gracie: $400,000

Matt Hughes: $110,000

Jeremy Horn: $70,000

Brandon Vera: $32,000

Diego Sanchez: $24,000

Mike Swick: $14,000

Spencer Fisher: $14,000

Joe Riggs: $12,000

Gabriel Gonzaga: $10,000

Melvin Guillard: $10,000

Alessio Sakara: $10,000

Dean Lister: $10,000

Assuerio Silva: $8,000

Chael Sonnen: $5,000

Fabiano Scherner: $3,000

Matt Wiman: $3,000

John Alessio: $3,000

Rick Davis: $2,000

Disclosed Fighter Payroll: $740,000

Off the top of my head I thought it was 400 Grand. Likely some PPV too. What a dog shit performance..

 

[sabretitan]

It's only a freakshow in hindsight.
Gracie handled yoshida before that. Who arguably could have won a dec against a prime wand.