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UFC: Hughes meets up with Gracie

Making its Los Angeles debut tonight, Ultimate Fighting Championship knew that it had to break out a major name to challenge welterweight champion Matt Hughes for the title at Staples Center.
The company swung for the fences, bringing back Royce Gracie, arguably the most dominant UFC fighter in history, for a return to the Octagon after an 11-year hiatus.

Gracie (13-1-2), a member of the first family of mixed martial arts, won the first three UFC tournaments in the early '90s. His unique style of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu flustered his opponents, who were often much bigger than he was.

"In the beginning it was a style against a style," Royce said. "My fights proved Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was the best style."

Hughes (40-4-0), who has held the welterweight title since August of 2002, disagrees with Gracie's assessment of the skill level during UFC's early days.

"There wasn't a lot of tecnique out there in those early days," said Hughes, who
has defended his title more than any fighter in UFC history. "Royce brought the only technique to the Octagon and he was able to dominate those guys. Honestly, we'll find out tonight if he's ready for the transition."

Fittingly, several young MMA fighters will be sprinkled throughout the undercard, before the veteran Gracie steps back into the Octagon.

Mike Swick and Diego Sanchez, who fans may remember from UFC's reality show, "The Ultimate Fighter" on SpikeTV, each have fights tonight.

Swick (10-1-0) will battle Joe Riggs (26-8-1), while the undefeated Sanchez (16-0-0) takes on John Alessio (22-8-0).