Gracie: 2nd fight with Hughes would be great
If Matt Hughes is serious about a comeback, an old rival of his is waiting in the wings.
In a recent interview, the 43-year-old Hughes said he's in talks to fight again after not competing in MMA for half a decade. The two-time UFC welterweight champion has apparently suggested a rematch with Royce Gracie would make sense for his comeback, an idea to which the Brazilian legend is amenable.
"Man, that would be great," Gracie told Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting. "That would be great. Everybody wants to see this second fight."
Hughes and Gracie first fought on May 27, 2006 in a 175-pound catchweight bout at UFC 60 that Hughes won by first-round TKO. The event drew a strong pay-per-view buyrate of over 600,000, and it appears both men are open to recreating that magic.
Following the UFC's recent purchase by WME-IMG, Hughes was relieved of his duties as vice president of athlete development and government relations, presumably leaving him free to pursue other opportunities. That could be key to a future faceoff with Gracie as the 50-year-old MMA pioneer is currently signed to the Bellator roster.
Should the two fight again, Gracie is confident he'll fare much better this time around.
"I'd be in the fight," Gracie said. "The strategy was right. Everything we planned and imagined he would do, he did. But I wasn't in the fight."
Gracie most recently fought at Bellator 149 in February 2016, defeating 53-year-old rival Ken Shamrock by first-round TKO.