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Matt Hughes is one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all-time. This is not an opinion, but a fact. The man was Georges St-Pierre before there was a Georges St-Pierre. He won the UFC welterweight bout twice, and defended it seven times during his illustrious career.
Hughes is a hard nosed wrestler with serious submission abilities. The thought of some Iowa farm boy submitting high level fighters was crazy to comprehend, especially considering that Hughes has no Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu belt to speak of. But that never bothered him.
"You know what, when I was coming up with Pat (Miletich), we didn't have a belt system whatsoever so I was never interested in what belt I am, could care," Hughes told MMA Fight Corner presented by FiveKnuckles.com. "If I'm effective in the cage then it's good enough for me. So, you know what, there's probably (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) black belts out there that would submit me and there's probably black belts out there that I would submit. That's the way I look at it. But we never had a belt system so we never worried about it."
Georges St-Pierre, a BJJ black belt, is someone Hughes has grappled back and forth with throughout his career. In their first meeting, a prime Hughes submitted the young Canadian with an armbar to win his welterweight title. In their third and deciding meeting, Hughes was submitted by that very same move.
With the history that Hughes and St-Pierre have, it wouldn't be out of the question to assume that there were some sort of animosity between the two, but listening to Hughes talk changes that opinion. The veteran obviously sees the talent held by St-Pierre and he doesn't see him losing anytime soon.
"I think that's gonna be a pretty easy fight," Hughes said when asked about St-Pierre's upcoming fight against Jake Shields. "I really do. I think GSP's going to be able to do whatever he wants. Jake's not going to be able to get on top, so I just don't see him being effective really anywhere. I definitely don't think he's going to be able to take him down, and if Shields is on his back I just don't see him being effective. I have to really wonder why he got a title shot in the first place... but, I'll tell you why he got a title shot is there's no one else."
While Hughes may not believe that Shields worthy of a shot at St-Pierre, he is intrigued by a potential showdown with middleweight champion Anderson Silva. While he admits that it would dangerously close, he still believes the Canadian would walk away with his arm raised.
"I gotta think GSP has got a pretty good chance of winning that fight," Hughes said. "I think his takedowns are going to be effective enough to may get [Silva] down on back and I think his GNP (ground-and-pound) is going to be effective enough to hurt him. And his submission defense is going to be effective enough to not get caught with stuff. So, if I had to put money on it, and this is one of those fights that I would not bet, but If I had to put money on it, I would put it on GSP, I really would.
With St-Pierre the current king of 170 and the history between the two fighters, it would make sense for Hughes to want to face off against him someday. But with the trilogy completed (St-Pierre took it 2-1) that ship has sailed. Hughes has his eyes set on another re-match.
"It would've been BJ before my last fight, but Thiago (Alves)," Hughes said. "I'd fight a rematch with Thiago. Thiago would be the one, I would probably rematch any and all of them."
Matt Hughes lost to Thiago Alves almost three years ago at UFC 85. The young Brazilian battered Hughes and was able to end the fight with a brutal flying knee and follow up punches on the ground. It was at that point that most fans thought Hughes was done with the sport.
They figured it had past him by. They thought that it was time for the old farm boy to hang it up for good.
Hughes went on hiatus for almost an entire year after the fight against Alves. He returned in May of 2009 against Matt Serra and took home a unanimous decision victory. Then he TKO'ed Renzo Gracie in Abu Dhabi, and followed that up with a submission over BJJ black belt Ricardo Almeida.
Suddenly the finished Hughes seemed rejuvenated. Then came the rubbermatch with B.J. Penn at UFC 123. We all know how the fight ended up.
In our last interview Hughes stated his intentions of fighting once more during this summer and going from there. He isn't concerned with titles, winning streaks or legacies. He already has all of those.
Hughes hasn't said what he will do once he retires, but it may involves mixed martial arts judging. He is appalled by the current state of judging and what it has devolved into.
"They're pulling boxing judges from boxing and bringing them into MMA and when you do that, a boxer typically has 8-12 rounds," Hughes said. "Well, with a 12 round fight you can give a 10-8 round easier than a three round fight. So I believe that's kinda the problem is these judges just aren't familiar with MMA as they are boxing."
"I said for quite a few years that if I have a problem with [MMA] it's the judging. I watch judging all the time and wonder where these people come up with the concept that the other guy won. And there are fights were I have no biased opinion whatsoever and I watch the ground, I watch the punches, the combinations, the damage done, the aggressiveness, I watch all that and I don't know where these people come up with their decisions. And the funny thing is, there will be two of them that'll think the same thing and the third guy will be right. You know it's amazing."
Many have complained about MMA judging but it appears to be a difficult fix. Hughes knows what needs to be changed.
"When I was judging, and I've judged a lot of fights for Monte Cox and other promotions, and my number one criteria was always damage," Hughes explained. "I think that is the most important thing you can judge a fight on, because without damage what is there? I don't care, somebody could be aggressive if they want, but if they don't do damage it means nothing. If the guy on bottom does more damage than the guy on top, then the guy on bottom won the round in my book."
"I'm big on submissions. When someone goes for a submission, they should not only get aggressive points, but what I call "ending points." They're trying to end the fight right then and there, so it would count even more than just being aggressive."
A career in judging would be fitting for Hughes. A guy who rubbed people the wrong with his opinions, being paid to give his opinion on fights.
Whatever Hughes does once his fighting career is done, it's assured that he will go down as one of the greatest of all-time. The wrestling farm boy from Iowa who dominated the UFC in the early going. Hughes is, and will always be, a legend in the sport.
Interview here: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/13346814
Hughes is a hard nosed wrestler with serious submission abilities. The thought of some Iowa farm boy submitting high level fighters was crazy to comprehend, especially considering that Hughes has no Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu belt to speak of. But that never bothered him.
"You know what, when I was coming up with Pat (Miletich), we didn't have a belt system whatsoever so I was never interested in what belt I am, could care," Hughes told MMA Fight Corner presented by FiveKnuckles.com. "If I'm effective in the cage then it's good enough for me. So, you know what, there's probably (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) black belts out there that would submit me and there's probably black belts out there that I would submit. That's the way I look at it. But we never had a belt system so we never worried about it."
Georges St-Pierre, a BJJ black belt, is someone Hughes has grappled back and forth with throughout his career. In their first meeting, a prime Hughes submitted the young Canadian with an armbar to win his welterweight title. In their third and deciding meeting, Hughes was submitted by that very same move.
With the history that Hughes and St-Pierre have, it wouldn't be out of the question to assume that there were some sort of animosity between the two, but listening to Hughes talk changes that opinion. The veteran obviously sees the talent held by St-Pierre and he doesn't see him losing anytime soon.
"I think that's gonna be a pretty easy fight," Hughes said when asked about St-Pierre's upcoming fight against Jake Shields. "I really do. I think GSP's going to be able to do whatever he wants. Jake's not going to be able to get on top, so I just don't see him being effective really anywhere. I definitely don't think he's going to be able to take him down, and if Shields is on his back I just don't see him being effective. I have to really wonder why he got a title shot in the first place... but, I'll tell you why he got a title shot is there's no one else."
While Hughes may not believe that Shields worthy of a shot at St-Pierre, he is intrigued by a potential showdown with middleweight champion Anderson Silva. While he admits that it would dangerously close, he still believes the Canadian would walk away with his arm raised.
"I gotta think GSP has got a pretty good chance of winning that fight," Hughes said. "I think his takedowns are going to be effective enough to may get [Silva] down on back and I think his GNP (ground-and-pound) is going to be effective enough to hurt him. And his submission defense is going to be effective enough to not get caught with stuff. So, if I had to put money on it, and this is one of those fights that I would not bet, but If I had to put money on it, I would put it on GSP, I really would.
With St-Pierre the current king of 170 and the history between the two fighters, it would make sense for Hughes to want to face off against him someday. But with the trilogy completed (St-Pierre took it 2-1) that ship has sailed. Hughes has his eyes set on another re-match.
"It would've been BJ before my last fight, but Thiago (Alves)," Hughes said. "I'd fight a rematch with Thiago. Thiago would be the one, I would probably rematch any and all of them."
Matt Hughes lost to Thiago Alves almost three years ago at UFC 85. The young Brazilian battered Hughes and was able to end the fight with a brutal flying knee and follow up punches on the ground. It was at that point that most fans thought Hughes was done with the sport.
They figured it had past him by. They thought that it was time for the old farm boy to hang it up for good.
Hughes went on hiatus for almost an entire year after the fight against Alves. He returned in May of 2009 against Matt Serra and took home a unanimous decision victory. Then he TKO'ed Renzo Gracie in Abu Dhabi, and followed that up with a submission over BJJ black belt Ricardo Almeida.
Suddenly the finished Hughes seemed rejuvenated. Then came the rubbermatch with B.J. Penn at UFC 123. We all know how the fight ended up.
In our last interview Hughes stated his intentions of fighting once more during this summer and going from there. He isn't concerned with titles, winning streaks or legacies. He already has all of those.
Hughes hasn't said what he will do once he retires, but it may involves mixed martial arts judging. He is appalled by the current state of judging and what it has devolved into.
"They're pulling boxing judges from boxing and bringing them into MMA and when you do that, a boxer typically has 8-12 rounds," Hughes said. "Well, with a 12 round fight you can give a 10-8 round easier than a three round fight. So I believe that's kinda the problem is these judges just aren't familiar with MMA as they are boxing."
"I said for quite a few years that if I have a problem with [MMA] it's the judging. I watch judging all the time and wonder where these people come up with the concept that the other guy won. And there are fights were I have no biased opinion whatsoever and I watch the ground, I watch the punches, the combinations, the damage done, the aggressiveness, I watch all that and I don't know where these people come up with their decisions. And the funny thing is, there will be two of them that'll think the same thing and the third guy will be right. You know it's amazing."
Many have complained about MMA judging but it appears to be a difficult fix. Hughes knows what needs to be changed.
"When I was judging, and I've judged a lot of fights for Monte Cox and other promotions, and my number one criteria was always damage," Hughes explained. "I think that is the most important thing you can judge a fight on, because without damage what is there? I don't care, somebody could be aggressive if they want, but if they don't do damage it means nothing. If the guy on bottom does more damage than the guy on top, then the guy on bottom won the round in my book."
"I'm big on submissions. When someone goes for a submission, they should not only get aggressive points, but what I call "ending points." They're trying to end the fight right then and there, so it would count even more than just being aggressive."
A career in judging would be fitting for Hughes. A guy who rubbed people the wrong with his opinions, being paid to give his opinion on fights.
Whatever Hughes does once his fighting career is done, it's assured that he will go down as one of the greatest of all-time. The wrestling farm boy from Iowa who dominated the UFC in the early going. Hughes is, and will always be, a legend in the sport.
Interview here: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/13346814
