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Why Royce Gracie Is the Most Influential MMA Fighter of All Time

I am confident when I say that without Royce and the rest of the Gracie family, the UFC would not have grown as it has today.At UFC 1, when Royce made his debut, no one thought much about him. He was a small, almost unknown Brazilian fighter.But three …

I am confident when I say that without Royce and the rest of the Gracie family, the UFC would not have grown as it has today.

At UFC 1, when Royce made his debut, no one thought much about him. He was a small, almost unknown Brazilian fighter.

But three submissions later, you’d better believe people were put on notice. Royce dominated UFC 1. He submitted all three of his opponents en route to becoming the tournament winner.

Royce used his Gracie jiu-jitsu style to defeat his opponents. Fans and fighters alike had never seen a style so fluid and unassuming, yet so devastatingly effective. Suddenly it didn’t matter who hit harder or who had the better wrestling or striking.

Because Royce beat them all.

Royce entered UFC 2 as a dangerous but still underrated threat. He showed up that night and had his most impressive outing yet the night he won UFC 2. He again submitted all four of his opponents, who had significant height and weight advantages on him.

Royce was well on his way to winning the third UFC tournament, but he had to pull out with dehydration after his win against Kimo Leopoldo. Royce came roaring back by winning UFC 4 by submitting three opponents, the last of whom was Dan “The Beast” Severn.

Royce came into the sport when it had no rules, time limits or weight classes. He proved that he could hang with the best fighters in the world, despite being smaller than the majority of them.

Without Royce Gracie and his accomplishments in the Octagon through UFC 1 to 4, you probably wouldn’t be reading this right now.

Nowadays it’s impossible for a fighter not to know some Brazilian jiu-jitsu, which was made popular and effective by the Gracie family. Royce brought submissions, and new techniques never-before seen, into MMA competitions. Royce single-handedly revolutionized the sport and helped to bring legitimacy to a sport in its infancy.

Those are the reasons that Royce Gracie is the most influential MMA fighter of all time. He is seen as one of the main reasons that Brazilian jiu-jitsu and MMA have thrived today.

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UFC 152 Fight Card: Is Evan Dunham the Most Underrated Lightweight in the UFC?

When one thinks about UFC lightweights fighting today, there are many different names that come up. Champion Ben Henderson, Nate Diaz, Donald Cerrone, Anthony Pettis, Jim Miller, Joe Lauzon, Gray Maynard and more.One name that rarely gets mentioned now…

One name that rarely gets mentioned nowadays is Evan Dunham.

Evan Dunham made his UFC debut at UFC 95. He had rattled off four straight wins before facing Sean Sherk. At this point, the hype train behind Dunham was massive. He was easily heading towards elite status in the lightweight division.

Here is where the first incident occurred.

Dunham lost a very controversial decision to Sherk that night and his hype took a big hit. Many thought he could get back on track with a win against Melvin Guillard at UFC Fight for the Troops 2. It just wasn’t Dunham‘s night, as he got TKO’ed by Guillard via knees and punches.

I believe this was the night when people, in a sense, swept Dunham under the carpet.

I didn’t here much about Dunham after that day, even when his next fight took place. Since his loss to Guillard, he has reeled off two consecutive victories over Shamar Bailey and Nik Lentz. Despite this, no one is talking much about Dunham. He has all the skills to be a top lightweight. He possesses slick boxing and holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

I’m not completely sure why no one is giving Dunham any credit right now. Maybe it’s because he needs to gain some more momentum or introduce himself to the casual fans. It might be because the UFC lightweight division is the most stacked right now.

I don’t believe Dunham is the most underrated lightweight in the UFC today, but he has to be pretty close. If he wins a few more fights and get’s that confidence he had early on back, Evan Dunham will be a force. He can resume his quest to become a lightweight elite with a convincing win over T.J. Grant at UFC 152.

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UFC 152 Fight Card: How Fats Could Jimy Hettes Become a Top Featherweight?

Featherweight Jimy “The Kid” Hettes has an undefeated UFC record of 2-0 right now. Both of those wins have been highly impressive. First was a submission of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) alum Alex Caceres.The next fight was a complete domination…

The next fight was a complete domination of Nam Phan, which ended with the scorecards being read 30-25, 30-25, and 3-26 for Hettes.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is domination at its finest.

Hettes has a very interesting skill set for MMA. He uses his Judo to set up throws and trips to get his opponents to the ground. From there, he uses his jiu-jitsu and ground-and-pound skills to stop his opponents.

Hettes has a very dangerous submission game, as evidenced by his 9 wins via multiple submissions. The Phan fight was his first decision, but one he utterly dominated from bell to bell. His next opponent is another TUF alum—Marcus Brimage.

Hettes has seen his stock rapidly rise since his UFC debut, and if he beats Brimage, the hype behind him will be the greatest yet. If Hettes defeats Brimage at UFC 152, should he face a step up in competition? I think he should.

An interesting fight would be between Hettes, if he wins, and the loser of Cub Swanson vs. Charles Oliveira. Both of those guys would produce a stiff test for Hettes, but should he win, he would be vaulted up the rankings.

Jimy Hettes has many factors going for him.

He’s young, has excellent technical submission skills and he’s determined to win and improve wherever he can. He has all the right factors that would make him a top featherweight in the UFC. And if he continues to live up the the billing, he’ll be a top featherweight before long. Looks like “The Kid” is alright.

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UFC 152 Fight Card: How Many Legit Contenders Does Jon Jones Have Left at LHW?

Since Jon Jones defeated Shogun Rua for the light heavyweight title, he has been on an absolute tear. He has defeated former champions Rampage Jackson, Lyoto Machida and Rashad Evans with relative ease.His next challenge comes in the form of Vitor Belf…

His next challenge comes in the form of Vitor Belfort. This begs the question: If Jones defeats Belfort at UFC 152, who’s next?

I could focus on the old breed of contenders in this article. Lyoto Machida is at the top of the list, as is Shogun Rua. Both of these men have been defeated by Jones, so I decided to focus on new fighters who haven’t seen Jones yet.

I believe there are two new contenders, with a third needing a bit more seasoning. These would be new fighters who would present intriguing matchups to Jones, if he remains the champion.

Here is my list of three.

Dan Henderson

Henderson was already slated to fight Jones before an unfortunate injury sidelined him. He has high-level wrestling and the always potent H-Bomb to help him end fights. Seeing as this fight was already set to happen, Henderson seems an obvious choice to fight Jones when his injury is healed.

Alex Gustafsson

Gustafsson is the second contender on this list. He holds a 6-1 UFC record and is now fighting Shogun Rua. Gustafsson has an excellent skill set, which consists of his ever-improving wrestling and ground game as well as his slick boxing.

He is also tall and has a good reach, which could help him against Jones. But he needs to beat Shogun in order to think about Jones.

Glover Teixeira

I don’t believe Teixeira will get a title shot in the near future. He is the most long-shot potential contender on this list. He has only one UFC fight under his belt, but it was very impressive. He next fights Fabio Maldonado at UFC 153.

Teixeira has wicked KO power and submissions, and he should be a force in the light heavyweight division in the coming months.

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UFC 152: How Rashad Evans Will Help Vitor Belfort

After the UFC 151 fiasco finally ended, we were left with Jon Jones against Vitor Belfort at UFC 152 in Toronto. It’s a solid and exciting fight that the fans will appreciate.Vitor Belfort was training for a bout against Alan Belcher at UFC 153 when he…

After the UFC 151 fiasco finally ended, we were left with Jon Jones against Vitor Belfort at UFC 152 in Toronto. It’s a solid and exciting fight that the fans will appreciate.

Vitor Belfort was training for a bout against Alan Belcher at UFC 153 when he received the call to fight Jones on short notice.

Despite taking this fight with Jones on short notice, Belfort has one big advantage in his training camp. Belfort is training with the Blackzilians, and he’s made former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans his coach for the upcoming fight.

This was a very smart move by Belfort, for a few reasons.

Evans has championship experience, as evidenced by him being both the former champ, as well as a recent title challenger. Rashad‘s experience with Jones will also help Belfort.

Before the nasty feud got going between them, Jones and Evans were friends and training partners at Greg Jackson’s gym. Evans is also the only man to spend a full five rounds with Jones in an official championship fight. That experience is valuable and will go a long way to help Belfort.

Belfort has as good a chance as any in this fight. He has given himself the best chance possible by bringing in Evans as his training partner and coach. Evans will be a valuable asset in Belfort‘s corner because he knows the strengths and weaknesses of Jones.

Belfort has a solid chance of winning this fight. Everyone is underestimating him, and that is never a wise thing to do. Belfort will rush Jones and keep the pressure on with his striking.

He has all the skills to dethrone Jones, as well as Rashad Evans in his corner. If anyone has a chance a defeating the champ, it’s Belfort.

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UFC Superfight: Would You Rather See GSP vs. Silva or Jones vs. Silva?

Fans have been wanting to see Georges St-Pierre fight Anderson Silva for years. They are the two best fighters in the world right now. They have each almost cleaned out their respective divisions. A fight between these two is undoubtedly a superfight.T…

There would need to be some work done in order for this fight to ever come to fruition. GSP would need to defeat Carlos Condit in November. After that, he may need to defeat the winner of Johny Hendricks vs. Martin Kampmann.

If all of those things happen, it could mean that Silva will fight GSP. Silva is looking for big-name fights at this point and time and a GSP vs. Silva fight is literally as big as it could get. This would be a huge draw for the UFC, possibly enough for them to break the illusive one million PPV buys again.

Lately there has been rumblings of another superfight that could potentially happen. The fight would be Anderson Silva vs. current light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Now that would be a wicked fight, no question about it.

For this fight to happen, it would also require some work. Firstly, Jones would need to defeat Vitor Belfort at UFC 152. There is probably a match with Dan Henderson somewhere down the line as well. Lyoto Machida, though still in the running, is a distant thought right now.

As a fan, I would be happy with either of these fights. GSP vs. Silva has been talked about for years. Both men possess outstanding and well-rounded arsenals that could match up to produce a great fight. Both are veterans of the fight game.

Silva vs. Jones would be a very interesting fight. Both men have great striking. An interesting match would be to see if Jones uses his wrestling to take Silva down. Would he do that knowing that Silva has high-level submissions? Hopefully we’ll find out soon.

Let’s not forget that if Silva and GSP fight and Silva wins, he would most likely get Jones next. How’s that for some food for thought?

Either of these fights would be amazing for fans and fighters alike. Everyone wants to see these fights, and hopefully we one day get the chance. So what do you want to see more? GSP vs. Silva or Jones vs. Silva?

Shoot me a comment on which fight you would want to see, or shoot me a tweet @FuscoNation16.

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