It’s always intriguing when a superstar returns to where his legend was cast. And when that individual has been away from the Octagon for 11 years, the questions come in truckloads.
Said Gracie: “This is my house. I built it.” Well, he may have built it but someone has been paying the bills while he was gone. Is it eviction time? Only time will tell.
Before we get to the main event, let’s focus on the bottom half of the under card.
The Brazilians are back! Gonzaga, Scherner and Silva are set to fight in the Octagon. We’ll see the return of Vera in a heavyweight contender’s bout. Swick and Riggs go at in the middleweights. Sanchez and Alessio bring the pain in the welterweights. And Lister makes his UFC debut against the dangerous 205-pound “Legionarius.”
The entire card breaks down as follows:
In a battle of Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts, Chute Boxe-trained Gabriel Gonzaga squares off against American Top Team West fighter Fabiano Scherner.
Alessio Sakara (Pictures) from Team Centurion battles Dean Lister (Pictures) of City Boxing.
Spencer Fisher (Pictures) of Miletich Martial Arts throws down with Tulsa Top Team fighter Matt Wiman (Pictures).
Team Anaconda wrestler Melvin Guillard (Pictures) tangles with Las Vegas Combat Club jiu-jitsu fighter Rick Davis (Pictures).
Jackson Submission Fighting’s Diego Sanchez (Pictures) confronts John Alessio (Pictures).
Jeremy Horn (Pictures) squares off against wrestler Chael Sonnen (Pictures) from Team Quest.
Mike Swick (Pictures) of the American Kickboxing Academy and Joe Riggs (Pictures) from Elite Performance take to the cage.
City Boxing striker Brandon Vera (Pictures) faces Muay Thai Dream Team fighter Assuerio Silva (Pictures).
And in the main event, Miletich Fighting Systems athlete and current welterweight Champion Matt Hughes (Pictures) meets three-time UFC eight-man tournament champion Royce Gracie (Pictures) in a non-title bout.