News broke today that UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Serra will be unable to make his first title defense against Matt Hughes at UFC 79: “Nemesis” on December 29 because of a herniated disc in his back that he sustained during training.
Hughes still has the option to compete on the New Year’s Eve weekend card, according to a report from Dave Meltzer at Yahoo!Sports.com, as long as he agrees to terms on a new opponent. Meltzer provided two such names: Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves.
Here’s the snip:
“According to a UFC official, if Serra is out for a long period of time and Hughes agrees to fight on Dec. 29, the two most likely candidates to for an opponent would be Jon Fitch or Thiago Alves. Josh Koscheck and Diego Sanchez are both coming off losses, and Sanchez has talked about cutting to 155. “
MMAmania.com (www.mmamania.com) can confirm that Fitch is not available to fight that weekend. In fact, he told us today, “I’m not even going to be in the country. I’ll be in Vietnam tending to some personal matters.”
That leaves Alves if the report is indeed accurate, which would be a major opportunity for the American Top Team (ATT) team member. However, “The Pitbull” did just fight a two-round war with Chris Lytle this past weekend at UFC 78: “Validation” in which he came away with the win because of a doctor stoppage (cuts).
It would vault him into top contender status virtually overnight if he could defeat Hughes. On the other hand, Hughes would risk losing a potential title shot with a loss — there’s no real advantage to taking a fight with Alves much less anyone else.
Remember not too long ago Serra was put in the same situation when then-champion Georges St.Pierre pulled out of their fight at UFC 67:”All or Nothing.” Serra opted to wait and fight “Rush” two months later and, well, the rest is history.
Hughes did have this to say in a recent blog post:
“As of now, Matt Serra is out of the fight because of a herniated disc in his lower back. I believe Serra is actually hurt, so I don’t think this is just a ploy not to fight. Before my Royce fight, I had three bulged discs that I was able to repair enough to fight. As everybody knows you never go into a fight 100%.”
Having said all of that it would be extremely bizarre for Hughes to take a fight instead of Serra without knowing the full extent of the injury. If it’s serious and he’s on the shelf indefinitely, then yes, he’s going to have to fight someone else.
Short of that it’d be best to sit tight and let this situation play out in the next few weeks and months. There’s always UFC 82 in March right in his backyard — a card that Fitch plans to be on … Josh Koscheck, too.
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what is fitch doing in vietnam? that sounds really weird.
HUGES vs KOSCHECK oh wow that would be fun
Matt Hughes vs. Luke Cummo.
Sound a little crazy huh?
Luke Cummo was scheduled to fight if somebody got injured, well his teacher Matt Serra got injured.
Starting to make sense?
Also Cummo was trained by Hughes on TUF 2.
Even though I think Luke Cummo would get sluaghtered, I say make the match.
so where does this leave GSP??? is he gonna atleast get to fight before march????
This whole situation is screwed up …
Hughs vs sanchez
hughes vs gsp for interm title, this title in limbo thing stinks and if the fighter can’t fight they should have the two top contender fight for an interm title every time.
hughes verse KOS
The UFC made a mistake in forcing the title to December after Matt won in march. All for the reality show that Matt Hughes did not wan to even take part in(only because Dana begged him). This again sounds like bad carma as a result of poor management skills. So know it is dragged further, there is no logical fight here for huges other than G.S.P. The ruber match, the only thing is than you risk lossing huges vs. Serra if G.S.P wins. So 4 Weeks is not enough tims for two fighters to enter training camp that carry the credentials of the uper echelon. If Hughes Dana and G.S.P do not all agree that this is in the best interests for all involved. Assuming G.S.P is close to fight shape. Matt Hughes will pull from the event. Dont even give me that Thiago Alves Crap! Look for two fighters scheduled to fight in a later card be bumped to Dec.
This sucks…big time disappointed… I live in China and have looked forward to this fight for awhile.
Freakin A’ Bob… ok then GSP versus Hughes or Kos versus Hughes… or have BJ fight 155 then 170 lol.
[quote comment=”216771″]Matt Hughes vs. Luke Cummo.
Sound a little crazy huh?
Luke Cummo was scheduled to fight if somebody got injured, well his teacher Matt Serra got injured.
Starting to make sense?
Also Cummo was trained by Hughes on TUF 2.
Even though I think Luke Cummo would get sluaghtered, I say make the match.[/quote]
Cummo is a tough kid, he would lose by decision or win by Ko, that fight wouldn’t happen anyway if Cummo did win hes not going to fight Serra for the title, I say Hughes vs Alves, But i think Huhges wont take a chance losing, that would be really bad for him, save the fight for next year when they try to pull another 78 card , their will be something to look forward to.
Serra is a wee dik, he shit his panties cos he was gony get his wee bum skelped. hes i big mouth and thats about it in my opinion, Hughes will eat him up when they eventually fight
How about Swick vs KOS, Fitch vs GSP.
Karo would fight the Loser of GSP/Fitch for 3rds…
After the shite performance Hughes had with Lytle, I would be surprised if he does decide to take a fight on the new years eve card, for fear of losing his title shot.
Serra’s a pussy. I knew he would pull this.
[quote comment=”216872″][quote comment=”216771″]Matt Hughes vs. Luke Cummo.
Sound a little crazy huh?
Luke Cummo was scheduled to fight if somebody got injured, well his teacher Matt Serra got injured.
Starting to make sense?
Also Cummo was trained by Hughes on TUF 2.
Even though I think Luke Cummo would get sluaghtered, I say make the match.[/quote]
Cummo is a tough kid, he would lose by decision or win by Ko, that fight wouldn’t happen anyway if Cummo did win hes not going to fight Serra for the title, I say Hughes vs Alves, But i think Huhges wont take a chance losing, that would be really bad for him, save the fight for next year when they try to pull another 78 card , their will be something to look forward to.[/quote]
Yeah Luke Cummo Is The Man.
[quote comment=”216958″]Serra’s a pussy. I knew he would pull this.[/quote]
I Cant Wait To See How Shocked The Hughes Fans Are Gonna Be When Serra Destroys Him. And Then My Boy GSP Will Get His Rematch And Take The Title Back To Canada
Although I would like to see Hughes fight at the PPV, it is a dangerous move. He could lose his #1 contender status. Hughes is still one of the best ever, so he’d be a favorite against any welter weight if you ask me (besides against GSP). I’m sure he’d be able to take Alves down, pass guard, and pound him out. Alves is a great striker and it would be an exciting fight.
I guess Serra can talk the talk, just can’t walk the walk. Not surprised, everyone knows Serra isn’t a true champion, and this proves it. He’s clearly looking for a way out, and this is it. Not to worry, the WW is stack with talent. He’ll be exposed as a fraud soon enough.
I’m just seeing what a difference there is in these last few Welter Weight title reigns.
1. November 2001- January 2004 - Matt wins the title from Carlos Newton and defends it 5 times without ever backing out of a fight due to injury.
2. January 2004- June 2004 - BJ Penn wins the title from Matt and has it stripped from him a few months later because he fights in another organization after refusing to negotiate a rematch with Matt.
3. October 2004 - November 2006 - Matt wins the vacant title by defeating GSP and defends it twice while also winning two separate non-title fights as Champion (Riggs and Gracie). All the while never backing out of or delaying a fight because of injury.
4. November 2006 - April 2007 - After backing out of his September 2006 rematch with Matt because of injury, GSP wins the title from Matt in November, 7 weeks after Matt defeated BJ Penn (who stepped in to replace GSP). GSP refuses to have a rematch with Matt in March, because he “doesn’t have enough time to prepare.” Then backs out of his first title defense against Matt Serra in February because of injury, only to lose the title to Serra in April.
5. April 2007 - ??? - Matt Serra wins the title from GSP and, after an 8 month case of diarrhea of the mouth, pulls out of his very first title defense leaving the entire division in limbo.
This just further illustrates why Matt Hughes is a Hall Of Famer, and the most dominate Welter Weight EVER. And it shows what a gutless punk Serra is.
The UFC has recently descended into a bit of a slump. The HW division is up the air with the Randy situation, LHW title defense still some way off with Rampage’s hand injury. WW is now a mess too. LW you have the whole Sherk thing; at least they’ve installed an interim.
The weakest division MW at least has injury free Anderson Silva destroying all in his wake.
The UFC need to get things sorted.
The Ferttita’s need to bring someone in to co-exist with Dana. With any company, when things grow you have to adapt. Things are now “too much” for Dana. Randy Couture would be a great choice. Luckily for the UFC, they have no real threatening competition at this point of time. As a matter of fact, I’d say that the WEC is the second best organization (Faber, Filho, McCollough, Condit, Pulver) and Zuffa owns it anyways.
the should have kept the bj penn fight in dec,
now with this st pierre won’t be fighting in march or april for the belt who knows when he will fight again might be around july or so,
he needs to fight and so does hughes,
i really think they will scape the fight which is sad
looking at the title of my ticket serra vs hughes makes me sick
dana now owes us one, i say jan should be on spike tv
and they do need to replace a main event fight
i love how they are adding matches in feb and march already but they can’t get a main card event for next month
Luke “The Bushy-Browed Jew” Cummos would get beat.
[quote post=”3995″]As a matter of fact, I’d say that the WEC is the second best organization (Faber, Filho, McCollough, Condit, Pulver) and Zuffa owns it anyways.[/quote]
I think EliteXC is knocking on the door for that #2 spot.
You know what….Once again, another reason for me to hate Joe Silva. He’s absolutely the worst guy for the job. This is why you dont wait a whole year to schedule a title bout. Now we have to wait another year for it.
[quote comment=”217001″]The UFC has recently descended into a bit of a slump. The HW division is up the air with the Randy situation, LHW title defense still some way off with Rampage’s hand injury. WW is now a mess too. LW you have the whole Sherk thing; at least they’ve installed an interim.
The weakest division MW at least has injury free Anderson Silva destroying all in his wake.
The UFC need to get things sorted.[/quote]
This would be all Joe Silva’s fault.
[quote comment=”216781″]This whole situation is screwed up …[/quote]
Joe Silva’s fault.
[quote comment=”216798″]hughes vs gsp for interm title, this title in limbo thing stinks and if the fighter can’t fight they should have the two top contender fight for an interm title every time.[/quote]
Blame Joe Silva.
KOS or Fitch vs. Karo= winner faces the winner of WW champ vs. GSP.
Hughes is not going to take another fight like Alves. Why should he, he’s already in line for a title shot so why screw it up.
I say bump the Spida vs Hendo to 2/2/08 UFC 81, and the WW title match on UFC 82? We need a big main event for UFC 81 to even compare to the Super Bowl that weekend. Maybe Alves vs KOS UFC 79 to fill in the void? Cro Cop vs Arlovski needs to happen, the loser is pretty much out of contention, and Silvia vs Kongo has to happen. Diego vs winner of BJ Penn and Stevenson.
The light heavyweight div is up for grabs, too many possibilities and should make 08 a great year for PPV cards. First off, Forrest vs Rampage (Jardine takes on the winner) and Tito vs Shogun winner faces winner of Chuck vs Wandy, then a title shot. Throw in the winner of Lyoto’s match into the mix as well.
[quote comment=”217084″][quote comment=”216798″]hughes vs gsp for interm title, this title in limbo thing stinks and if the fighter can’t fight they should have the two top contender fight for an interm title every time.[/quote]
Blame Joe Silva.[/quote]
I agree, keep the rankings moving and not stalled. By the time Serra makes his first defense, it will already be a year since he won it, while there is a handfull of contenders waiting for their shot, GSP, KOS, Fitch, Karo, etc… They could have made a better main event for UFC 78 if they start pushing these top 5 contenders regularly. I don’t see Rashad Evans getting a title shot in 08 from what I heard about his performance against Bisping.
[quote post=”3995″]Serra’s a pussy. I knew he would pull this.
I Cant Wait To See How Shocked The Hughes Fans Are Gonna Be When Serra Destroys Him. And Then My Boy GSP Will Get His Rematch And Take The Title Back To Canada [/quote]
100% agree, Serra’s gonna shock the world again when he gets back and beats Hughes. But GSP won’t lose a 2nd time and will bring the title back home.
Great post by Randy Couture. That says it all. Hughes walks the walk, Serra is a loud-mouthed bitch. Bottom line, Serra is nowhere close to being able to man-up with Hughes. He should just back out with grace rather than using this pathetic ploy to further extend his 15 minutes of fame.
[quote comment=”216958″]Serra’s a pussy. I knew he would pull this.[/quote]
What? What the hell are you on crack? Serra knocked out St. Pierre who is a better all around fighter than Hughes. Dude lay off the pipe!
[quote comment=”216798″]hughes vs gsp for interm title, this title in limbo thing stinks and if the fighter can’t fight they should have the two top contender fight for an interm title every time.[/quote]
Not a bad idea. You could give the champ a fixed number of months to defend or relinquish. If the champ is hurt and can’t defend he could be assured a promise of the first defense in return for agreeing to step aside right away.
This could even work in Steriodial Circumstantia
DON FRYE GETS KNOCKED OUT IN A STREET FIGHT!
http://psfights.com/fight-video-2175.htm
Alves is my favorite welterweight fighter. If he fought Hughes it would be like another Hughes vs Lytle fight. But anytime they get on their feet i c Alves hitting Matt with punishing leg kicks like GSP did or he could catch Matt like GSP did.
Hughes says he’s fighting gsp on his web site at ufc 79 its going to be a 5 round fight for the interm title.
Everyone check out hughes site.
[quote comment=”217198″]What? What the hell are you on crack? Serra knocked out St. Pierre who is a better all around fighter than Hughes. Dude lay off the pipe![/quote]
Sarah had the fight of his life and GSP under estimate him. Sarah’s most famous moment in MMA was when he was KO’d by Shonie Carter. He was well on his way out of the UFC when a game shown gave him a fourth chance.
GSP maybe a better all round fighter then Hughes, but Hughes is a far better Champion then the last three guys to hold it (Penn, GSP, Sarah). Hughes has never once backed down from a fight and defended his crown over and over again. Penn didn’t do that. GSP lasted less then a round as the Champ, and Sarah is in hiding and too God damn afraid to get back in the ring.
Matt Hughes has proven once again that he is the best Welter Weight to ever fight in MMA. You can hate all you want, but he walks the walk. Unlike the others who can only talk the talk.
[quote comment=”216771″]Matt Hughes vs. Luke Cummo.
Sound a little crazy huh?
Luke Cummo was scheduled to fight if somebody got injured, well his teacher Matt Serra got injured.
Starting to make sense?
Also Cummo was trained by Hughes on TUF 2.
Even though I think Luke Cummo would get sluaghtered, I say make the match.[/quote]
LOL, what a blockbuster. Imagine if the UFC closed out the year by having Wandy fight Chuck and then have Hughes fight Luke Cummo!?!?!?!?!
However, I must admit, I am a fan of Luke.
By the way, wasn’t this thread supposed to be about Jon Fitch? I don’t think he was mentioned once outside of the very first comment.
[quote comment=”216758″]what is fitch doing in vietnam? that sounds really weird.[/quote]
he said it was a personal matter, so its none of your fucking business!
[quote comment=”216997″]I guess Serra can talk the talk, just can’t walk the walk. Not surprised, everyone knows Serra isn’t a true champion, and this proves it. He’s clearly looking for a way out, and this is it. Not to worry, the WW is stack with talent. He’ll be exposed as a fraud soon enough.
I’m just seeing what a difference there is in these last few Welter Weight title reigns.
1. November 2001- January 2004 - Matt wins the title from Carlos Newton and defends it 5 times without ever backing out of a fight due to injury.
2. January 2004- June 2004 - BJ Penn wins the title from Matt and has it stripped from him a few months later because he fights in another organization after refusing to negotiate a rematch with Matt.
3. October 2004 - November 2006 - Matt wins the vacant title by defeating GSP and defends it twice while also winning two separate non-title fights as Champion (Riggs and Gracie). All the while never backing out of or delaying a fight because of injury.
4. November 2006 - April 2007 - After backing out of his September 2006 rematch with Matt because of injury, GSP wins the title from Matt in November, 7 weeks after Matt defeated BJ Penn (who stepped in to replace GSP). GSP refuses to have a rematch with Matt in March, because he “doesn’t have enough time to prepare.” Then backs out of his first title defense against Matt Serra in February because of injury, only to lose the title to Serra in April.
5. April 2007 - ??? - Matt Serra wins the title from GSP and, after an 8 month case of diarrhea of the mouth, pulls out of his very first title defense leaving the entire division in limbo.
This just further illustrates why Matt Hughes is a Hall Of Famer, and the most dominate Welter Weight EVER. And it shows what a gutless punk Serra is.[/quote]
Well said
Jon’s girlfriend is Vietnamese so that makes sense
Fitch’s girlfriend is vietnamese so that makes sense