Let's Get It On!_ The Making of MMA and Its Ultimate Referee - Big John Mccarthy [132]
MMA’s passage in California was a coup for many more in the sport as well. A number of fighters and their camps lived in the Golden State, so it was a hotbed market that the UFC didn’t hesitate to tap into. Following the success of UFC 59 in Anaheim, which drew 13,000 paying customers, UFC 60 “Hughes vs. Gracie” was scheduled for the 20,000-seat STAPLES Center in Los Angeles.
In the main event, UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes faced a returning Royce Gracie in a special nontitle bout. Royce had taken a few fights overseas but hadn’t competed in the Octagon since UFC 5 in April of 1995.
I had mixed feelings about it. I knew why the UFC was making the bout: to illustrate the difference between the UFC now and the UFC then and to pump Hughes up as this unbeatable star who wrecks past champions. Businesswise, it was a smart move. The name Royce Gracie still drew a lot of interest from the casual fan who didn’t buy all of the pay-per-views. Royce had done so much in helping to create the sport and had carried himself in such a respectful and noble manner, and people were interested in seeing him return to the house he’d built.
There was no doubt in my mind that Royce absolutely felt he could win, but I just didn’t see it. Obviously Royce had his jiu-jitsu, but Hughes wasn’t one of the befuddled fighters Royce had met at the early shows. Like any other fighter of this time, Hughes knew jiu-jitsu and was damn good at it.
On top of that, they were completely different guys physically. Hughes was powerful and could grind his opponents down, while Royce’s wiry figure required that he achieve positional leverage to overtake his opponent.
I felt Royce couldn’t hurt Hughes standing up, and if Hughes wanted to keep it on its feet, he could. Royce wouldn’t be able to take the former collegiate wrestler down unless he hurt him standing, and that wasn’t likely to happen. In other words, Hughes could take the fight wherever he wanted to.
It broke my heart when Hughes flattened out Royce hard and crushed his face into the canvas. It wasn’t that I cared who won or lost. I simply felt bad that in the end, just as with 99 percent of fighters who compete till the age of forty or beyond, Royce was on the receiving end and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
Royce dragged himself back up to his knees, but Hughes muscled him flat onto his stomach and started hitting the sides of his head. Royce had nothing for Hughes. I told Royce the same thing I tell all fighters: “Move. Get out.” All I was looking for was for Royce to try and move himself out of the horrible position he was in.
But Royce just lay there taking shots, each one denting his pride a little bit more than the last. I knew Royce’s wife and kids were sitting in the front row, so when it was obvious Royce couldn’t come back, I promptly jumped in.
As I stood center cage with Hughes on my one side and Royce on the other, I spoke to my former teacher. “You’re a warrior. You did good, and you should be proud.”
I could see one of Royce’s kids crying cageside, and that resonated with me on a raw level. I felt terrible inside.
One of the only good things to come out of Royce’s UFC return was that I’d gotten to see Royce’s father, Helio Gracie, another time when I’d given my prefight talk to the fighters. I’d always had a special place in my heart for Helio, the father of the sport. The relationship Helio had with his sons reminded me of the great respect I have for my own father.
“All of this is because of you,” I told him, “and I want you to know how much I appreciate you and everything you did to make this possible.”
In his nineties but still as vivacious as ever, Helio answered me through his translator, and I’ll never forget what he said. “Everything that I have done with jiu-jitsu, you have done with this sport. You are the best there ever was or ever will be. I am proud of who you are and what you have done.”
It would be the last time I’d get to speak with the sport’s patriarch.