I spoke to Renzo Gracie yesterday at the Renzo Gracie Academy in New York, and contrary to earlier rumors, he won’t be fighting Matt Hughes in his Octagon debut. The match up though has indeed been talked about and will most likely happen, but it was actually negotiated for his second UFC fight, and not the first.

Anton got other information on his visit but this is by far the most important.

I don’t think Renzo’s game is so great that he is sure to win any tune-up bout so they have to be very careful in how they approach the situation if the overall desire is to get Gracie in the cage with Hughes.

Heavy.com has the details:

Heavy.com has confirmed with sources close to the UFC that a welterweight matchup between Renzo Gracie and Matt Hughes is in the works for UFC 109 in February.

Gracie, 42, last appeared in a February 2007 disqualification victory over Frank Shamrock. Rumors have circulated over the last month that the legendary Gracie family member has been in negotiations with the UFC. Both fighters have been approached about the fight, but bout agreements have not been signed.

There really are no title implications in this fight but it should still be a fun watch.  It'll be interesting to see if the UFC tries to work the "revenge" angle with Renzo looking to make right where brother Royce was unable.  The layoff on Renzo's part is a little concerning, especially at 42 years of age.  There aren't too many men who can continue to function at a high level in MMA into their 40's and it is a fair assumption that a long layoff may lead to a lot of rust.