The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.

I like fights. To be more specific I like watching the Mixed Martial Arts fights that have become so popular recently. I’ve a fan for some years now having watched the second UFC back in the early 90’s. Back then though it was a very different game. No weight classes or rounds, and no one was really training the way they do now. It was basically a brawler free for all with no holds barred, mixed with a few disciplines like Karate, Boxing, Judo, and Wrestling. This was all the created by the Gracie family to give them a chance to see which fighting style would be the best. I think it was really a chance for them to showcase Gracie Jiu-Jitsu which is a Brazilian style of the marital art.

Anyways I watched a few of the Pay Per Views then lost interest shortly after. It lacked the character and entertainment value that it has today. Today’s MMA matches are generally run under unified rules that include weight divisions, rules, time limits and rounds. A few years ago the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) jumped aboard the reality show bandwagon and created a show called “The Ultimate Fighter” ever since the inaugural season I’ve gotten hooked again.

The fighters these days are athletes. They train in multiple disciplines trying to be multidimensional when it comes to competing in the ring. The fighters of old have been systematically eradicated from the sport by the more developed and complete fighter of today. This is demonstrated perfectly by the Matt Hughes V. Royce Gracie bout a few years back. Royce Gracie decided that he would re-enter the Octagon and taken on the then Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes for a catch weight non title bout.

I believe Royce wanted this fight to get his family name back into the now booming MMA market. I also feel that he believed he was unbeatable, having been the first UFC champ back in the day. Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is still highly regarded and one of the most popular styles of the art today. Matt Hughes on the other hand, has a wrestling background and worked with one of the best MMA camps in the business Militich Fighting Systems in Iowa. I believe Matt initially took the match for the challenge and for the prestige of fighting one of the most dominant of the Gracie family fighters.

As the fight day drew closer it seemed that Royce’s lips got looser and his trash talk flowed like a river. He would explain in great detail how this (the UFC) was the house that he built, how hard and intense he was training, how Matt Hughes doesn’t have the skills to beat him, and how he was going to submit him, pick him up and send him home. Royce Gracie had a plan and nothing was going to change that or the outcome.

Now Here’s the Rub…

Matt Hughes only had one response to all this talk. He said and I quote…

“Everyone has a plan…until they get punched in the face.”

Needless to say Royce was so severely dominated by Hughes that it sent a shock wave through the Gracie’s family. It was Royce who was sent packing with his head hung low and tail between his legs. Hughes proved by applying a tight arm bar, that almost ripped Royce’s should apart, then sitting on him and pounding his head to near mush that being a one dimensional fighter is not going to cut it in MMA today.

Where did his plan go? From what I saw he didn’t get a chance to execute it. I don’t think it was due to a punch to the face but because of a flurry or whacks to the noggin. Another great example of this is the Anderson Silva - James Irvin bout bout. I am sure that they planned, trained, and prepared for this bout extensively. Unfortunately one of them had a better idea.

Can you spot when he stopped following his plan?

Later.