if i went in there with some one of equal level i would win, now of course a black belt or master of bjj would submit me I'm not denying that, but some one of my equal level ( college wrestler, 5 years of judo, 2 years stand up) i would beat them. theres no way i can step into the ring with a Gracie and stand a chance i would get my ass handed to me. however when Gracie stepped in the ring with a wrestler of his equal or similar talent, well we all say what happened to your god.
It isn't about styles, it is about athletes. The example you use, is Matt Hughes. Did you know that Matt was submitted twice by Dennis Hallman, (this prompted him to start training BJJ with MFS, Jeremy Horn and Pat) and his other submission loss came by RNC from BJ Penn, one of the best BJJ players in MMA. Gracie (Royce, Royler, Rickson, et al) aren't the best submission fighters in MMA. Big Nog is the best MMA submission specialist who is also an amateur boxer, and has greco and freestyle training from Darrel Gholar. So wrestling/boxing isn't the best, Matt was the best athlete.
If you are planning on fighting MMA, you'd better get a tight BJJ game. One of my coaches, James Martines, is a professional Muay Thai fighter who is as tough as nails. He hasn't faired as well in MMA, but he has an ever improving game, and just competed in his first submission tournament. Check out his record on Sherdog, and watch his fight videos. His striking is on par with other John Winklethorn trained fighters, he is also a MT fighter out of Master Toddy's camp in Vegas. Obvisously, if someone of his credentials thinks training the ground is important, it must be.
