we will see marc. i think you can't be more wrong about that. royce is now a karate black belt and has taken kickboxing three times a week for four years, takedowns are also much much better. he is a better fighter now than ten years ago he has evolved as well, he knew he had too. Don't count him out.

His takedowns were always good. Not in the league with a wrestler, but very good for a non-wrestler, against a non-wrestler.

Karate blackbelt? I don't see how or why in the world he would do that, since he is in the business of real fighting.

He is kickboxing, but he is about 10 years too late.

His evolution has not been evident in his fights.

Maybe, well see it against Matt.

He has to takedown only if Matt chooses to strike. If Matt attacks, then he shouldn't fight the takedown and let it go to the ground. But there he can't play his normal game of stall and wait for an opening. The UFC rules will not allow that.

Matt can be very boring in the guard and Royce can be very boring holding on in the guard. Look at his last fight agaisnst a 155lber.

I hope there is excitement and no one gets hurt.

The man who owns the clinch, owns the fight!

the only take down a wrestler can do is a single or a double, wrestlers suck.

The Double Leg Takedown from Center Penetration
Can be done at various stages and levels: standing and lifting, standing to a flair, kneeling, or kneeling with a post.
Can be set up with numerous high percentage entries: Center Leg, High Crotch (come back to your feet and turn in and lift if you miss the double), Arm Drag, Two-On-One (to Sweep Double), etc.

Standing Single, low single, snatch single, Russian single, seatbealt single

duck under, slide by, fireman's carry(inside outside)

MANY follow-up positions and ways to follow it up to a finish: Dump, Redump, Flank, Tree Top, Sweep, Block/Trip, Barsagar.

Bear Hug or bodylock (as a takedown, and position leading to other takedowns) lateral drop, belly to back suplex or back arch, belly to belly back arch

underhook to trip(inside/outside)or reap

whizzer to trip(inside/outside)or reap

front headlock or Olympic headlock(with arm)throws

Underhook and Pancake.

double underhook throws(with or without trips)

Front headlock to cradle.

2 on 1 series (inside and outside)

Over and under series

arm whip

knee pick

hip throw

lateral twist

peekout

and many more...........!

To the uneducated eye it's all a blur or just a single or a double!

I guess when you're being dumped on your butt or back it's all the same!

Backarcher this will explain royces black belt in karate. click on the royce gracie axclusive interveiw link at the top of the page. www.fightingmaster.com he did it to learn striking that he needed badly.

backarcher use this link instead. http://www.fightingmaster.com/legends/royce/interview.htm

uh, that interview didn't say jack about why he chose to get a black belt in karate. And maybe Backarcher's right, the kickboxing may help, but it's doubtful the karate will. And the kickboxing is at least 10 years too late.

I can only hope none of the described method above is done with the lights off.

All i was saying it can only do good not bad, and karate and jiu-jitsu guys i'm sorry is a pretty good combination. I'm not sayin he is gonna knock out hughes out, but You guys seem to be getting mad about my facts. royce is better in his jiu-jitsu and he is better in his stand up game, and he is stronger believe it or not. I think he is going to suprise everybody. i don't care what you guys say. royce is a better figher he said it and he will prove it.

go karate!

then.

ok.

I'd like to object to the use of the word "karate" as if it describes one system. Thats like saying that kung fu is one system.

Its just as bad to imply that there have been no effective karate fighters. Benny the Jet comes to mind, as do Joe Lewis and Bill Wallace.

if bruce lee could hear this he would roll in his grave laughing out loud!

royce is stronger believe it or not?
did you know that love handles is not a muscle?
he's a 6'0" tall guy that weight 180 lbs
soaking wet with a gi on,matt walk around at 185
lbs lean at 5'8".
i've trained with relson gracie for 5 years
and he told me that royce was the youngest,smallest and with the worst BJJ skills of
them all and that is why they put him in UFC,
to prove a point.he dind't have MMA experience.
they could have sent rickson or relson (which was the most aggressive of them all!)
but they chosed royce.
royce can't take matt down for the life of him.
matt will kill him!!!!!!!!

"...and he told me that royce was the youngest,smallest and with the worst BJJ skills of
them all and that is why they put him in UFC,
to prove a point.he dind't have MMA experience."

I heard the same thing.

But Royce is a warrior, nontheless.

marc everything you just said is completly wrong bud, i'm sorry but everything you said bro.

care to elaborate?, because I can kind of see that too...

"but royce is a warrior,nontheless."
i agree,but how many warriors die at war?
everybody can fight but only 50% can win
(and that's the way the cookie crumbles).
2ndDBB everything might be wrong but it's true.
i lived in Relson's house for a month and trained with him for 5 year(but i still consider myself his student 3 years later)
he told me that himself.
jason,Rorion was too old and he was the brain behind the BJJ explosion/conspiracy thing.
relson said he wanted to do it but his dad
didn't want him or rickson there,because
they were trained and experience in vale tudo.
(god i wished one of them would have done it instead)
helio wanted to show that with only his style
of JJ w/o any cross training he could beat any other styles.
and what a job they did!!!!!!!!!!!!
royce was young and not well known,unlike relson
and rickson who were already legends in brazil.
but now everybody train BJJ and striking,
they are all in good shape, and the UFC rules changes a lot!
i just think that royce is in for a ride
and that matt(being a american wrestler)will do everything to prove his point!!!

p.s. what the hell is he learning karate for,
JACK wasn't available for lethal kunk fu lesson.

Marc look at a picture of royce right now not a lot of fat buddy. You guys are wrong, royce will prove it, and Don't write to me again i am not coming back. you guys really have no idea what you are talking about, The chances of knocking out a gracie is seriously like 100/1 only been done by very, very, very, good strikers, and matt is is barley a decent striker. He will relize staying on there feet won't work as the fight goes on, they will go to the ground (where matt also will not be able to ground and pound like people think) and he will be tapped out. He will not kncok royce out or beat him on the ground. That is my elaboration jason that i can really see happiening, unlike royce being knocked out. fact is there is reall a better chance of royce sumitting matt than matt knocking royce out. royce submits people all the time and was never even close to being knocked out while matt has been submitted 4 timesand has never knocked anyone out with that deadly striking you guys seem to think he posseses. Iknow royces stand up will be good enough to not be hurt on his feet.

P.S you guys need to shut the •••• up,none of you trained with any of the gracies, your just trying to sound all smart when the truth is you guys are idiots to say what you are saying. you guys act like the only chance royce has is if hell freezes over. he fights in japan now where fighters are way ••••••• better then in the u.s. matt also weighs 172 on the dot marc

you don't ever say why he's good, or how we will achieve theses results, you make statements, as if saying them were evidence enough of the validity of your point. The fight records are true though. Going by past numbers alone you would be right, it's much more likely that Royce will submit Matt than that Matt would knockout Royce. But I think what everyone is trying to say is this is not the typical fight that Royce has done a million times before.

I've never trained with the Gracies. But I have wrestled wrestlers.