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“It’s not every day that you have the opportunity to have breakfast with Royce, Rickson, Royler and Renzo. Four guys that I always considered as my idols in jiu-jitsu…Right after the breakfast, Renzo went to my room. We turned up one of the beds and spent almost two hours on the carpet…I’m really impressed with Renzo’s knowledge of jiu-jitsu, as applied to MMA. Besides very important tips to correct my positions, he also showed so many important details about positioning that I needed to write down on paper and not forget…When I step in the ring, I represent Brazilian jiu-jitsu, created more than 100 years ago by the Gracie family.There’s nothing better than drinking from the fountain of all their knowledge and getting all the details I need to make it better each time. I just have to thank those four guys, who I always considered as idols for all the important tips they gave to me.”

—Demian Maia talking about his recent trip to Bejing, China for Art of War 12 where he got the opportunity to visit with the Gracies and sharpen his skills with Renzo.

Kind of a scary thought to think about Maia getting even better at BJJ. Time will tell if his superior jiu-jitsu will be enough to take him to the top of the UFC’s middleweight division, but with the way he’s been performing thus far, it’s definitely not out of the realm of possibility.

Maia takes a big step up in competition at UFC 102 when he faces one of the UFC’s elite middleweights, Nate Marquardt. That fight should give us a good indication of where Maia stands in the division.

A boatload of pictures of Maia with the Gracies, training with Renzo, and hanging out in China with Fabricio Werdum, Thales Leities, and Vitor Ribeiro are over at Sherdog.

The Atlantic published a really good interview with Lorenzo Fertitta on everything from details on Zuffa’s beginnings with the UFC to Dana White to fighter pay. It’s definitely worth ten minutes of your time if you have it. It’s pretty long so I’m not going go through all the questions, but I did want to bring the last question and Lorenzo’s response to your attention.

Remember the Rickson Gracie interview from last week where he said a comeback fight was a possibility if it was big enough. Who knows if he was really being serious or not, but I can tell you that there’s one man who’s serious about facilitating such a fight—Lorenzo Fertitta.

DS: When you hear Rickson Gracie talk about how, at the age of 47 or whatever he is now, that he could beat the crap out of these UFC fighters that he sees on TV now, is that an older man’s understandable vanity? Or is he telling the truth?

LF: Let’s do it! I mean, that’s the ultimate test, that’s what I said, right? Let’s find out! If that’s the truth, then let’s find out! I mean, don’t just say it. Let’s do it!

I’m giving this a one in ten chance of ever actually happening, but let’s say it does. Anyone want to play match maker? Who would you book against Rickson Gracie?

By the way, The Atlantic also has pieces up on Rampage Jackson, BJ Penn, and Arianny Celeste.

Props to MMA Payout and Bloody Elbow for the interview finds

Is there another legend in this sport that could draw more interest among the hardcore fan base than Rickson Gracie if he were to come back for one last fight?