The winner of the first Ultimate Fighting Championship tournament, UFC 1 way back in November of 1993, Royce Gracie (14-2-3), had been campaigning to get one last show with the top promotion, vying for a spot on the upcoming UFC 134: Rio event.
Gracie recently stated, as a guest on HDNet’s ‘Inside MMA’ program last week, that he was in negotiations with the UFC, hinting that he’d like a rematch with Matt Hughes. Gracie said he’d try to settle things for his octagon return with UFC officials by the end of the month in Toronto.
On Wednesday, UFC President Dana White put an end to any such talk, by telling MMAFighting.com that the promotion has no interest in offering Gracie a fight at the Rio de Janeiro event.
Gracie, who is now 44, competed in the first five UFC events winning eleven straight bouts during the one night elimination tournaments. His last UFC appearance was back in May of 2006, at UFC 60 where he was soundly defeated by Matt Hughes in the first round by TKO in the headliner of the event.
The Brazilian would fight one more time as a professional, earning a unanimous decision over Kazushi Sakuraba at the Dynamite!! USA event in 2007. After the bout, Gracie tested positive for steroids and received a one year suspension by the California State Athletic Commission.