Ashley Burns from withleather.uproxx.com recently met up with up with MMA legend Royce Gracie and conducted an interview where among things, Royce talked about the Metamoris II card:
Metamoris II Card:
Shinya Aoki vs. Kron Gracie
Braulio Estima vs. Rodolfo Vieira
Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu vs. Brendan Schaub
Mackenzie Dern vs. Michelle Nicolini
Andre Galvao vs. Rafael Lovato Jr.
Bill “The Grill” Cooper vs. Victor Estima
“WL: Let’s talk about the Metamoris II card a little. What can we expect from the main event pairing of Kron Gracie and Shinya Aoki?
RG: Kron is a creation, so enough said on that. He knows what he’s doing and he trains hard. Aoki, he’s a tough guy. It’s going to be a good match, man. In every fight that he’s had, he’s broken his opponents’ arms and legs – he’s one of those guys who likes to finish his opponents. He’s a super tough kid. We’ve got a lot of tough matches.
WL: At this event, UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub is fighting and it led some people to ask the question as to whether or not MMA guys could and should be able to fight in a strictly jiu-jitsu format. But doesn’t focusing on this one style ultimately show us how good these guys really are?
RG: If you put the UFC fighters in this tournament, without the points system, they’ll be much better prepared for those with the points system. But the question is – which would you rather be: the best fighter in a points system or the best fighter in the world? By taking the points system off, you’re giving them a better chance to finish.
WL: Who are some of the other fighters that you think are worth keeping an eye on at this event or is it pretty even across the board?
RG: Man, it’s even across. All those guys are awesome, they’re the best. Again, we’re getting the top names like Brendan Schaub, Aoki, Cyborg… and the girls [Mackenzie Dern vs. Michelle Nicolini] fighting, they’re supposed to be phenomenal. It’s supposed to be the best of the competition and that’s why we’re doing this.
WL: Is it a concern at all, when creating, planning and developing and event like Metamoris, that the casual MMA fan that watches UFC and Bellator for blood and awesome knockouts might not take to this submission-only format? Or is that even a target audience that you’re concerned with?
RG: Most people join martial arts because they’re looking for a self-defense style, and the coaches and such turn them into fighters, and that’s how they end up getting to the UFC and fighting professionally. But most people are looking for style. A lot of people come up to me and they ask, “Do you teach UFC? Do you teach MMA?” You don’t drink Starbucks. You drink coffee from Starbucks. You don’t get a Xerox. You make a photocopy in a Xerox machine.”
