White: Royce Gracie wants rematch with Matt Hughes

TORONTO – Will he? Won't he? The answer for now: it's up in the air.

Royce Gracie wants a retirement fight at "UFC: Rio." Whether he'll get one is something that could be decided as UFC 129 grows nearer.

Gracie, in fact, was in attendance at today's pre-fight press conference in support of the pay-per-view event, which takes place Saturday at Rogers Centre, and he stood off to the side waiting for a meeting as White addressed a group of reporters.

The UFC president was candid when asked about the possibility of one last Gracie fight inside the octagon.

"[Royce] thinks that his performance against Matt Hughes wasn't what not what it could have been, and thinks he can beat Matt Hughes," White said. "He wants that fight again."

In an interview this past month with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) Mike Kogan, Gracie's manager, was optimistic about the prospect about getting the UFC legend another fight with an opponent he declined to name, and said talks with White and UFC executive Lorenzo Fertitta were ongoing.

"I think we're going to make a deal," Kogan said. "We have plenty of time, so there's really no problems. It's just a matter of getting it nailed down

White, however, shot the idea down in a subsequent interview with MMA Fighting.

Today, however, he seemed to soften his stance – a bit – when asked if having the 44-year-old back is a good idea.

"Who am I to say? There's times when I step in – for instance, like Chuck Liddell," he said. "And I say, 'Chuck, I think you should retire.' Do I think Royce Gracie (should fight again?) I don't know. He didn't look too damn good against Matt the first time."

Gracie (14-3-3 MMA, 11-1-2 UFC) hasn't fought professionally since June 2007 when he fought fellow legend Kazushi Sakuraba at K-1 Dynamite!! USA in a rematch of an epic, no time-limits bout in the finals of the 2000 PRIDE grand prix. He won by unanimous decision, but the result was later marred by a positive test for steroids and subsequent suspension and fine.

That performance came one year after he returned to the UFC for the first time in 11 years to fight Hughes in a non-title fight at UFC 60. Hughes dominated Gracie en route to a first-round TKO victory.

"UFC: Rio," also known as UFC 134, takes place Aug. 27 at HSBC Arena in Rio De Janeiro and is expected to feature a middleweight title fight between reigning champ Anderson Silva and Yushin Okami. MMA Junkie