Ricardo Almeida says Renzo Gracie COULD/SHOULD drop to LW after the fight with Hughes

[sleepintalon]

I just saw this on MMA Junkie, and thought it was interesting. Renzo at LW would be interesting, but I don't know how easy the weight cut would be for him at this stage of his career. Anyway, here it is...

Renzo Gracie protégé Ricardo Almeida is as biased as can be when it comes to breaking down his teacher's upcoming fight with Matt Hughes at UFC 112.

Almeida (11-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC), who makes his welterweight debut next month against Matt Brown (11-7 MMA, 4-1 UFC) at UFC 111, sneers at the idea that Hughes (43-7 MMA, 16-5 UFC) could make Gracie (13-6-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) eat a ton of elbows against the cage.

But after getting smaller in the gym, Almeida told MMAjunkie.com (UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps | MMAjunkie.com) that the Gracie statesman is himself considering a drop to the lightweight class after the April 10 fight in Abu Dhabi.

Almeida's New Jersey gym has served as a primary meeting place for an ongoing camp that includes Gracie, top UFC lightweight contender Frankie Edgar, recent UFC newcomer Rolles Gracie, and "The Ultimate Fighter 7" cast member Dante Rivera.

Gracie has fought a large portion of his career at middleweight. Almeida said the UFC's current weight-cutting climate – in which fighters sometimes shed up to 30 pounds to make a specific division – was the main reason for the possible move.

"I think just [his] frame (suits a drop)," said Almeida. "Guys are cutting a lot of weight, and now I'm going down to 170 (pounds), and I think my frame's a little bit bigger than Renzo's."

After initial worries that Gracie's busy schedule might prevent him from getting in shape for Hughes, Almeida said everything is on track now.

He's biased but said Renzo Gracie's fight with Hughes will be markedly different than Hughes' fight with Royce Gracie (at UFC 60, the nine-time welterweight champion dominated the three-time UFC tournament champion).

"If you look at all the guys Renzo fought, it's guys who are past UFC champions," Almeida said. "Not to take anything away from Royce, but they had different careers. Royce started it all while Renzo was the one running with the flag the whole time."

Edgar will be the fourth lightweight to try to take champion B.J. Penn's belt when he fights alongside Gracie at UFC 112.

Gracie and Penn faced off at middleweight under the K-1 banner in July 2005 with Penn earning a unanimous decision victory.

Almeida said Gracie is thinking longterm with his UFC competition and wants a title shot. If Edgar falls short against Penn, Gracie is eyeing that belt.

"To be honest, [Renzo] did a lot better than guys are doing against B.J. now," Almeida said. "I think that eventually he wants to fight at (155), but he wants to see what Frankie is doing."

I think BJ would put a clinic on him. This wouldn't be the same fight as the 1st time, as Renzo would have to stand with BJ and just get battered around the cage. Though if Renzo beats Hughes, and when BJ wrecks Frankie, it might be one the UFC will try to sell. Thoughts?

Ricardo Almeida says Renzo Gracie could – and should – drop to 155 after UFC 112 | MMAjunkie.com

[sleepintalon]

Ttt

[JungleKungFu]

I know it's a stretch but could u imagine Renzo Gracie vs BJ Penn so mcuh shit talk and bad blood would be a great fight till BJ pwns him

[NeverTap145]

yea renzo and bj rematch would be great, i think the gracie era is over. We saw what the gracie name has become after that poor perfomance by Rolles this weeknd

[cyberhugs]

id like to see how renzo does against hughes first. if he does well against matt, and can beat some top guys at lw, i wouldnt mind seeing him fight bj

[grilldress]

not really interested in seeing renzo in the ufc at all at this point. he is turning 43 this year and in all likelihood, he cant hang with the top 15 guys anymore. but renzo is crazy so will probably be interesting to hear what he has to say leading up to the fight

[The Renegade]

Originally Posted by JungleKungFu

I know it's a stretch but could u imagine Renzo Gracie vs BJ Penn so mcuh shit talk and bad blood would be a great fight till BJ pwns him

Yea Ill pass on seeing Renzo get destroyed, hes one of the few gracies anybody still likes. Plus I dont think Renzo shares the same animosity that the rest of the gracies have towards BJ.

[Fight On]

Bj would destroy Renzo at lw

[Sanny007]

hmm...Renzo vs Royce who would have taken it at UFC 1???

[nok_u_out]

id like to see a rematch fo'sho