There was a lot of intrigue when the UFC first set up shop in Los Angeles.
After California passed MMA legislation, the UFC went to Anaheim in April 2006 for its first event in the state, UFC 59. And just six weeks later, the promotion returned, but in Los Angeles proper for UFC 60 in the Staples Center.
The event was not only historic for being the first UFC show in Los Angeles, but it also featured the participation of the legendary OG. Royce Gracethe winner of the UFC 1 openweight tournament in 1993, as well as the UFC 2 and UFC 4 tournaments. The Brazilian, arguably the most famous member of the MMA Gracie founding family, faced Matt Hughes – the UFC welterweight champion at the time, who was in his prime.
Because the event was so monumental, and on a long holiday weekend in “Tinseltown,” the celebrities were out there like never before at a UFC show. That made it even more of a spectacle.
The fact that Hughes pulled Gracie out like a hot knife through butter was somewhat expected and marked the beginning of a proverbial changing of the guard, or at least helped spark the conversation about it.
Watch the historic Hughes-Gracie fight above.