UFC President Dana White has confirmed rumors that UFC Hall of Famer Royce Gracie is pressing for a rematch with fellow Octagon legend Matt Hughes at UFC 134 in Rio de Janeiro.

“I’ll tell you straight up: [Gracie] thinks that his performance against Matt Hughes wasn’t what it could have been and thinks he can beat Matt Hughes,” White told a group of reporters following Wednesday’s UFC 129 press conference. “He wants that fight again.”

Gracie, who was present at the press conference in Toronto, was the original face of the UFC. Long before Zuffa’s buyout of the promotion, Gracie dominated the Octagon, winning three of the organization’s first four events, each of which required him to win either three or four fights in a single night.

After taking a hiatus from fighting following a 1995 draw with Ken Shamrock, Gracie returned to the ring in 2000 to compete for the now-defunct Pride Fighting Championships. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner made his Octagon return in 2006, squaring off with Hughes at UFC 60. Gracie was dominated in the bout, as Hughes used superior grappling to secure Gracie’s back and finish the fight with punches.

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While Gracie’s possible retirement fight at UFC ‘Rio’ has been the subject of some controversy, White asserts that he’s still indecisive about allowing the 44-year-old back into the cage for one more go-around.

“Who am I to say?” asked White. “There’s times when I step in -- for instance, like Chuck Liddell -- and I say, ‘Chuck, I think you should retire.’ Do I think Royce Gracie [should fight again]? I don’t know. He didn’t look too damn good against Matt the first time.”

UFC 134 goes down Aug. 27 at Rio de Janeiro’s HSBC Arena and will feature a gaggle of Brazilian stars, including UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, who defends his strap against Yushin Okami.

source: sherdog

Diego Sanchez vs. Matt Hughes tapped for fall UFC event

A welterweight bout between Diego Sanchez (23-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) and Matt Hughes (45-8 MMA, 18-6 UFC) has been tapped for a to-be-announced UFC event in the fall, officials today announced.

No date or location were announced for the fight.

The booking, though, all but assures that UFC Hall of Famer Royce Gracie won't get his desired rematch with Hughes at August's UFC 134 event in Brazil.

"A matchup between two welterweight fan favorites has been verbally agreed to as Diego 'The Dream' Sanchez will face former UFC welterweight champion and Hall of Famer Matt Hughes," UFC president Dana White stated.

Sanchez recently picked up his second straight win with a close but highly competitive unanimous-decision victory over Martin Kampmann at March's UFC on Versus 3 event. "The Ultimate Fighter 1" middleweight winner and recent lightweight competitor returned to his more natural welterweight division in 2010 and suffered an uninspired decision loss to John Hathaway. However, he's since rebounded with wins over Paulo Thiago and Kampmann that both earned "Fight of the Night" awards.

The Greg Jackson-trained fighter now meets Hughes, who hasn't fought since November 2010, when he suffered a quick, 21-second knockout to B.J. Penn. Hughes, long considered the best welterweight in MMA history, briefly considered retirement in 2008 following back-to-back losses to Georges St-Pierre and Alves. However, while fighting only occasionally, the H.I.T. Squad fighter had put together a three-fight win streak with wins over Matt Serra, Renzo Gracie and Ricardo Almeida before the recent Penn loss.

Back in 2006, then-champ Hughes fought Gracie, who returned to the UFC for the first time in 11 years, in a non-title fight. Gracie suffered a lopsided TKO loss, but as MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) recently reported, the MMA legend has been campaigning for a rematch with Hughes at UFC 134. The Sanchez booking, though, now makes that all but impossible.

For more on the UFC's upcoming schedule, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

source: mmajunkie