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One of the big questions going into the Robbie Lawler vs. Melvin Manhoef fight was whether Lawler would attempt to take Manhoef down. It was certainly the safest and easiest path to victory for Lawler, but fighters can be stubborn and like to prove they can beat one another at their own game. Lawler never did shoot it in on Manhoef, but as Matt Hughes tells Cagewriter’s Steve Cofield that doesn’t mean it wasn’t part of the plan. Manhoef just never gave him any good openings. Hughes explains on his blog.

Fanhouse’s Ariel Helwani caught up with Marloes Coenen, Robbie Lawler, Matt Hughes*, Bobby Lashley, Herschel Walker, Greg Nagy, Jay Hieron and Joe Riggs to talk about their upcoming fights at Strikeforce “Miami.”

* Matt Hughes is cornering Robbie Lawler, but also talked about fighting Renzo Gracie

The UFC announced UFC 112 yesterday at a press conference held in Abu Dhabi. We didn’t really learn anything new other than the event will be held outdoors at the Concert Arena in Ferrari World (artist’s rendition) on Yas Island. Both Anderson Silva and BJ Penn will put their title up for grabs against Vitor Belfort and Frankie Edgar, respectively, and Renzo Gracie will make his UFC debut against Matt Hughes. The event will be held on April 10. Check out more pics from the press conference on the UFC’s official Facebook page (login required).

So much for that warm-up fight Renzo Gracie was talking about. All signs are now pointing at the Matt Hughes-Renzo Gracie showdown taking place at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi.

When Dana White was asked Thursday if the Hughes-Gracie bout would he held in Abu Dhabi –- a location White recently scouted himself –- the UFC President answered cryptically.

“Sounds good to me,” he said, smiling broadly.

The fact that Sheik Tahnoon, of the Abu Dhabi Royal Family, is a Renzo Gracie black belt, along with White’s own statements on the promotion’s desire to hold an event in the United Arab Emirate’s capital, all point to the UFC’s Middle Eastern debut with this headlining bout.

Renzo may not be getting the tune-up he hoped for, but he’ll have plenty of opportunities for easier fights after Hughes. He signed a six-fight deal practically guaranteeing his last professional fight will be fought in the UFC.

Update: Matt Hughes has confirmed the Gracie for Abu Dhabi. UFC 112 is expected to take place on April 10, 2010.

Fanhouse’s Ariel Helwani and Cagewriter’s Steve Cofield caught up with Dana White at the UFC 107 pre-fight press conference. Dana spoke about the UFC 107 match-ups including his thoughts on all the smack Frank Mir has talked about Cheick Kongo, plus he confirmed Houston Alexander has fought his last fight in the UFC, Matt Hughes vs. Renzo Gracie will happen in 2010 and Rampage Jackson will return to the Octagon. More on Rampage Jackson at MMA Junkie and MMA Weekly.

So Renzo Gracie and Matt Hughes are in all likelihood going to fight, but it won’t happen in Renzo’s UFC debut. Bloody Elbow got the news straight from Renzo himself.

I spoke to Renzo Gracie yesterday at the Renzo Gracie Academy in New York, and contrary to earlier rumors, he won’t be fighting Matt Hughes in his Octagon debut. The match up though has indeed been talked about and will most likely happen, but it was actually negotiated for his second UFC fight, and not the first.

No word yet on when or who he will debut against, but for the most part it seems like the UFC management wants him to shake off the rust and to re-introduce him to the fans first before taking on Matt Hughes. Nothing is final yet, so for the mean time, he is helping his cousin Rolles Gracie get ready for his UFC debut against Mostapha Al-Turk this February.

If not Hughes, who will Renzo fight? The options seem limited at best. Phil Baroni and Frank Trigg are the only names I can think of off the top of my head.

Just me thinking out loud, but Gracie and Hughes would be a good fit as coaches for the next season of TUF. I wonder if that option has been considered? The GSP and Dan Hardy TUF 11 coaching rumors were shot down today.

Image via Sherdog

Ever since Lorenzo Fertitta revealed Zuffa was working on signing Renzo Gracie, rumors have been swirling that he’s going to fight Matt Hughes. According to Heavy.com, the rumors are true, and the UFC is trying to put the fight together for UFC 109.

It seems like everyone is calling out Matt Hughes these days.

The big three welterweights at AKA —Mike Swick, Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch — keep calling Hughes out because they know he won’t fight them, and now Paul Daley is jumping on the bandwagon.

“I want to fight Hughes, firstly because he’s a legend and second he’s former welterweight champion. He has a win over the current welterweight champion, and he has all the skills to exploit my weaknesses that the media and my ‘fans’ so often talk about,” Daley told Fighters Only today.

“I want Hughes, I don’t see why he wouldn’t want to fight me, unless he thinks he’s gonna lose,” Daley added. To him the fight is a no-brainer for Hughes. “He needs wins, I’m the young gun, he’s the favourite.”

It’s actually not a bad idea on Daley’s part. He already started out in the UFC with a bang when he took out Martin Kampmann at UFC 103. He could certainly use a big victory over someone with name value to get his name firmly entrenched in fans’ minds. And who has a better risk/reward ratio than Hughes? All Daley has to do is stay upright long enough to catch Hughes with a few of his bombs.

Just don’t expect a big UK welterweight showdown between Daley and Dan Hardy…ever. Since they’re teammates, he “will NOT fight” Hardy, not even for the title.

Image via CombatLifestyle.com

Looks like rumors are starting to fly for the big fights at UFC 103.