Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Vale Tudo legend Rickson Gracie is partnering with a new MMA organization in Brazil, y’all, and he’s putting his own unique stamp on the format and rules. Some are new ideas, many are ones tried before and at least one is just kinda weird.

Our friends over at GracieMag have the full story on the new Mestre do Combate, debuting November 22nd. Below we have some of the highlights.

Teams - Rickson’s organization will use a team format of some sort, akin to what the now defunct IFL used.

Rounds - There will just be two, like in the old Pride non title bouts. The first round will be ten minutes and the second will be five.

Cannot be saved by the bell - So this is interesting. “Fighters will not have the luxury of being saved by the bell: if a submission hold is in place when the bell sounds, they will have to defend or tap out first for the fight to end,” GracieMag reports. What do you think of this rule, nation? I think its a compelling idea, even if it could lead to some messy and uneven arbitrary implementation.

(In the heart of the child who made it, the Super HLUK belt is the most prestigious title on the planet.)

CagePotato Roundtable is our new recurring column in which the CP writing staff and some of our friends all get together to debate an MMA-related topic. Joining us this week is MiddleEasy.com founder Zeus Tipado, who was kind enough to smoke an entire bag of PCP and channel the spirit of Wallid Ismail. If you have a suggestion for a future Roundtable column, send it to tips@cagepotato.com. This week’s topic: Who’s your favorite MMA fighter to never win a major title?

Ben Goldstein

We take personality for granted these days. Everywhere you look, the MMA ranks are packed with shameless self-promoters, aspiring comedians, unrepentant assholes, and assorted clown-men. But in the UFC’s infancy, fighters tended to come in two types: Stoic (see Royce Gracie, Dan Severn) and certifiably insane ( see Joe Son, Harold Howard). David “Tank” Abbott changed all that. He entered the UFC with a fully-fledged persona, and managed to stay in character through his entire career. Simply put, he was the UFC’s first villain, and he played that role more effectively than anyone has since.

Heralded as a “pit fighter” — a term invented by UFC promoter Art Davie — Tank’s martial art of choice was hitting guys in the head really hard, which he did while wearing the sort of fingerless gloves that soon become industry standard. It’s difficult to overstate the impact that Tank’s debut at UFC 6 had on a 14-year-old Ben Goldstein as I was watching the pay-per-view at my friend Josh’s house. It wasn’t just that Abbott starched John Matua in a mere 18 seconds, or that Matua’s body seized up when his head hit the canvas. It’s that Tank reacted to the knockout by mimic-ing Matua’s stiffened pose. Tank actually mocked John Matua for having a seizure. Ruthless! And how about his destruction of Steve Nelmark at the Ultimate Ultimate ’96, which had to be the first “oh shit is that guy dead?” moment in UFC history. Tank was a living reminder that the UFC was very real, and very dangerous.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/TheFightNerd)

If the first MMA fight you ever watched was Stephan Bonnar versus Forrest Griffin, chances are you have no clue who “Judo” Gene LeBell is, but pull up a chair because you’re about to learn about the man in the pink gi.

The temptation to keep fighting until you’re nothing more than a broken-down shell of your former self can be an overpowering one. Somehow, these men managed to resist it…

BAS RUTTEN

(Rutten vs. Kevin Randleman, UFC 20, 5/7/99)

Though he’s better-known these days as the barely coherent host of Inside MMA and part-time children’s fitness coach, Bas Rutten’s legendary run as a professional fighter ended in 22 consecutive fights without a loss. After knocking off such MMA pioneers as Frank Shamrock (twice), Maurice Smith (twice), and Guy Mezger during his five-year stint in Pancrase, Rutten joined the UFC where he won their vacant heavyweight title in his second Octagon appearance (a split decision over Kevin Randleman at UFC 20). But while preparing for his next fight, Rutten suffered serious injuries to his knee and biceps, and was forced to retire from the sport.

Bas landed on his feet, though – his ongoing commentary gig for PRIDE as well as acting roles kept him busy until he decided he was healthy enough for one last dance around the cage, seven years later. Originally booked to fight Kimo Leopoldo at WFA: King of the Streets in July 2006, Rutten instead faced Ruben “Warpath” Villareal when Leopoldo pissed hot for Stanozolol two days before the fight. The beating was so lopsided that it eventually became featured in a CagePotato Video Tribute. With that last challenge conquered, El Guapo rode off into the sunset for good, an undefeated UFC champion who hadn’t tasted defeat in over 11 years. Party on, indeed.

GENKI SUDO

(Sudo vs. Damacio Page, Premium 2006 Dynamite!!, 12/31/06)

Genki Sudo’s brilliance didn’t end with his unforgettable ring entrances; he was also one of the most skilled submission specialists to ever heel-hook a fat guy. The Neo-Samurai was innovative even when it came to retirement: At the height of his popularity, following a first-round triangle-choke victory over Damacio Page at Premium 2006 Dynamite!!, Sudo announced to the shocked Tokyo Dome crowd that his days as a fighter were over. At that point, he’d won eight of his last nine matches — including victories over Mike Brown, Royler Gracie, and Hiroyuki Takaya — making him one of the only MMA fighters to ever retire in his prime. Sudo now spends his time as a wrestling coach, author, and J-pop star. You know, normal retiree stuff.

(Props: KahL)

Inspired by such HL-vid masters as Genghis Con, RVR, and Robert Park, a shadowy figure known as KahL-One has gotten into the MMA-film game with this tribute to Demian Maia, spanning Maia’s early fights to his current training with Wanderlei Silva. As you can tell from the intro, KahL seems to think that Demian is the second coming of Rickson — and maybe he’s right.

Below: Ken Shamrock shared his tale of personal redemption at the Fighting With God conference in January, and revealed the source of his early struggles — he wasn’t hugged enough as a child. No, seriously. This video cobbles together the highlights of his speaking appearance, where he gave the lowdown of life with his adoptive father Bob, losing to "a guy in pajamas" at UFC 1, cheating on his wife and the sport (‘roids?), and loving Jesus. A rare insight into the psyche of the World’s Most Dangerous Man. 

After the jump: A weak old man gets beat up by an MMA fighter. And believe it or not, you will be rooting for the MMA fighter.

(Rickson. That’s all you need to know.)

FIGHT! Magazine‘s May issue just hit newsstands and features a list of the seven best fighters who never did battle in an Octagon. This exclusive excerpt showcases four of them, starting with the undefeated legend of the Gracie family…

RICKSON GRACIE
Career: ‘94-‘00
Record: 11-0
Prime: ’94-’97

Tournament Experience:
Rickson won both the 1994 and 1995 Vale Tudo Japan eight-man tournaments.

Key Victories:
“Zulu” Nascimento, Masakatsu Funaki, Yoshihisa Yamamoto

Why it never happened:
This one is easy to answer. Rickson should have been in the UFC because it was designed with him in mind. As the family’s recognized champion, Rickson was Rorion Gracie’s first choice to show the world what Jiu-Jitsu could do. It was only after a falling out between the two brothers that younger brother Royce was selected to represent the family in the UFC. Rickson did help train Royce for the event, and he eventually established himself in another arena: Vale Tudo Japan.

IGOR “ICE COLD” VOVCHANCHYN
Career: ‘95-‘05
Record: 51-10-1
Prime: ’96-’99

Tournament Experience:
Vovchanchyn is the winner of six eight-man tournaments, including three eight-man tournament titles and a four-man tournament in just sixty days. He competed in three other tournaments, losing in the semifinal or final bout.

Key Victories:
Kazushi Sakuraba, Mark Kerr (1-0-1), Gary Goodridge (2-0), Enson Inoue, Yuki Kondo

Key Losses:
Mark Coleman, Quinton Jackson, Mirko Filipovic, Mario Sperry, Alistair Overeem, Heath Herring

Why it never happened:
In 1996, Vovchanchyn’s name was mentioned for participation in the UFC 11 tournament, but visa issues kept the Ukrainian nightmare from ever stepping foot in the Octagon. Ironically, Mark Coleman went on to win that tournament. Like the PRIDE FC 2000 Grand Prix, he only fought twice that night to claim the title. Had Igor faced “Tank” Abbott in the semifinals, or Coleman in the final of UFC 11, we might be discussing a much different UFC history.

10. Roger Gracie In 2005, 23-year-old Roger Gracie won the Abu Dhabi Submission Wrestling World Championship by submitting all eight opponents, something that had never been done before. The son of Reyla Gracie, Roger has racked up numerous first place finishes in jiu-jitsu tournaments around the world, and won his first MMA match in December [...]

(“I am pussy, okay?! Rrrrrrowww!” — Kazushi Sakuraba)

A couple weeks back, we put a fight between Kazushi “The Gracie Hunter” Sakuraba and jiu-jitsu uber-guru Rickson Gracie as the #1 Greatest Fight That Never Happened. Well, if Inside Fights is to be believed, then the most long-awaited grudge match in history may actually have a shot of coming together. From an article posted yesterday:

K-1′s Dynamite!! 2007 card has come and gone and one thing that is for sure is that Kazushi Sakuraba isn’t even thinking about retiring. A lot of the pre-fight hype before the Sakuraba/Funaki showdown amongst MMA insiders was the apparent need for Sakuraba—deteriorated he is—to call it a career after this dream match. Well, Sakuraba for the most part dominated the former Pancrase legend submitting him in 6:25, but mentioned nothing about retirement in his post-fight interviews.

With Rickson Gracie’s appearance at one of HERO’S’ Yokohama Arena shows this year, the impossible seems almost possible: a fight between Rickson and The Gracie Killer himself. Long looked at as the Sakuraba/Gracie fight that would forever be part of fantasy warfare amongst MMA fans, this match may in fact take place in 2008. Had it happened in 2000, it would’ve likely broken attendance records, now it’ll be something that fans of the two and fans of the sport can give thanks for, if it in fact does happen.