There was loads of intrigue when the UFC arrange store in Los Angeles for the primary time.
After California handed MMA laws, the UFC went to Anaheim in April 2006 for its first occasion within the state, UFC 59. And simply six weeks later, the promotion was again – however in L.A. correct for UFC 60 at Staples Middle.
Not solely was the occasion historic for being the primary UFC present in Los Angeles, but it surely featured legendary OG Royce Gracie, the winner of the open-weight match at UFC 1 in 1993, in addition to the tournaments at UFC 2 and UFC 4. The Brazilian, arguably essentially the most well-known member of the Gracie founding household of MMA, took on Matt Hughes – the UFC’s welterweight champion on the time, who was in his prime.
As a result of the occasion was so monumental, and on an extended vacation weekend in “Tinseltown,” celebrities have been out in methods like they maybe by no means had been earlier than for a UFC present. That simply made it much more of a spectacle.
The truth that Hughes took out Gracie like a sizzling knife via butter was in some methods anticipated and ushered in a proverbial altering of the guard – or at the very least helped craft the dialog about it.
Try the Hughes-Gracie historic battle above.
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