Royce Gracie vs. Matt Hughes- UFC 60
For fans that have been following the UFC since its inception, this one hurt. Royce Gracie had been a larger than life figure. He was the small guy who was defeating opponents sometimes literally twice as big as him. While his draw with Ken Shamrock at UFC 5 reduced his larger-than-life feel somewhat, this fight obliterated it.
By this point Gracie had lost to Sakuraba in Japan already, but many UFC fans hadn’t actually seen that take place. What Hughes did to Gracie on this night however, definitely proved that there was nothing magical about Royce Gracie. In fact, it proved conclusively that he was nowhere near the elite of the sport anymore.
Hughes would give up an armbar attempt during this fight, knowing Gracie would never tap. Instead he got on top of him and beat him up until the ref stepped in.
