Interested to know who you more experienced MMA fans have in this one. I can't see past Ricardo Almeida. I have watched all his fights since he came back into the UFC, and a couple of his older bouts as well. He looks real top class in my eyes. I know Hughes was great in his heyday, but does he stand a chance in this upcoming fight? Will his wrestling ability be the difference for him? Or will Almeida sub him? Please vote.
Gracie Jiujitsu :good Time for Hughes to stop beating us. Watching him tourture Renzo and Royce was rough, getting a **** decision vs Serra was just as bad and hell he did defeat Almeida in Abu Dhabi. Enough is enough.
**** all of you Hughes to lay down a beating I'm going with a hughes GNP TKO. Not a big fan of Almeida unless I'm thinking of someone else Watching the Renzo fight was torture, i think Matt could of finished him but was over cautious or respectful. Either way for a watch it wasn't enjoyable watching him stand over Renzo for half a fight.
Unfortunately, I see Hughes grinding out a decision. Hopefully Almeida proves me wrong and subs him in the first, but I just don't see it happening.
I thought the conventional wisdom was that Hughes was on the slide and the Almeida, after his long lay off, would be the fresher and more motivated guy. However, I guess even a shopworn Hughes is still a daunting prospect for most opponents.
I've got Almeida, purely because I think Hughes is on the slide and Almeida is the younger and fresher fighter. I think that Almeida will manage to slip in a sub late on or grind out a decision with his relentless takedowns and clinch work, forcing a pace that I don't think Hughes will be able to handle being in the twilight of his career. Having said that i don't really rate Almeida that highly and Hughes would pound him into the mat if he was closer to his prime.
I got Matt Hughes. I love watching him go against the Gracie clan. Some fights certain people get up for, and I think all Hughes has to hear is the name Gracie and his blood starts to boil. Given Almeida is a student and representative of the Gracie's, Hughes is gonna come in focused and physically ready to pound him out. Of course Almeida's ground game is excellent, but Hughes knows what he's doing on the ground himself.
