It’s widely assumed that Jon Fitch will receive the next welterweight title shot once a winner is determined in the 170-pound title fight this weekend between Matt Serra and Georges St. Pierre at UFC 83 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec.
Not so fast.
In a recent interview on “The Lights Out Show,” Fitch made an interesting remark that could possibly hold some water.
Here’s a snip:
“The only way I could see not getting a title shot is if they push the (Matt) Hughes vs. (Matt) Serra fight for a title (if Serra beats St. Pierre).”
Sure, it doesn’t make much logical sense — St. Pierre just thrashed Hughes in December. Meanwhile, Fitch has patiently waited for his crack at the title, going undefeated in eight fights inside the Octagon.
In fact, Hughes recently admitted to the Canadian Press that he feels his immediate title chances are slim. And he is actually rooting for St. Pierre so that he can take care of some unfinished business with “The Terror” that extends back to their stint as opposing coaches on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 6 season.
Here’s another snip:
“The welterweight division is very tough right now and there’s been a lot of guys kind of waiting to get that title shot. So I don’t think I’ll fight the winner, to be honest. This is not coming from the UFC, this is just coming from a guy that’s been in the UFC for what seems like forever now. I just think they’ve got to give the title shot to somebody else. Maybe (Jon) Fitch or somebody like that.”
It’s important to remember that the UFC runs a business … a very successful one at that. So while even though Hughes may not deserve the next title shot, from a business perspective, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that he fights Serra win or lose on April 19.
Put simply, Hughes vs. Serra is a much more marketable fight than Fitch vs. Serra. The two have a bitter history and the promotion has already sunk a ton of money into building the showdown. In addition, Hughes is in the twilight of an amazing Hall of Fame caliber career.
Perhaps most important, it’s a fight that more fans would more than likely pony up to see.
Money talks. And so do Serra and Hughes … very well. Don’t be too surprised if we see that match up sooner than we expect.
The good news is that we should have an answer one way or the other in the coming days and weeks. Especially if St. Pierre comes away with a win.
54 Comments »
So much for stories and all, just get in there and fight..
We all know Hughes will destroy Serra.
I am not so sure about that. Serra with out a doubt has better stand up than Matt Hughes (who punches like a 10 year old girl). Also, Stylistically its not a bad match up for Serra. If I had to pick one guy to fight off his back in the welterweight division it would be Matt Serra, so I think it wont be as big of a mismatch as most of you seem to think. 3 years ago, it wouldn’t even been close, but now a days I think Hughes has lost some of his FIRE. I dont think he trains as hard as his opponents and I just think that TODAY, this would be a pretty good match up.
Stagger Lee: I totally Agree with your post! GSP defeating Serra is whats best for the division. GSP, who is the most talented welterweight in the world, would get his title back and it sets up good match ups for the fans: GSP vs. Fitch for the title and Serra vs. Hughes (without giving Hughes an undeserved title fight). Also, it sets up the option of a rubber match between Serra vs. GSP down the road if Serra can get a few wins under his belt.
Of course this is all assuming that GSP defeats Serra saturday. I dont like to make assumptions in mma, but GSP will defeat Serra. I feel as strongly about that as I possibly can about an mma title bout.
Even stronger than you feel about Rampage Vs Forrest?
No way. Rampage is an absolute LOCK! He has been through to much in mma to get to the point that he has achieved and I dont see anyway that Forrest can take that away from him. Rampage has paid his dues and he deserves to be the first ever Unified Champion of UFC and Pride who happens to be competing in the toughest division in the world.
Rampage will not loose that fight. I actually would give Serra a better chance at upsetting GSP than I would of Forrest upsetting Quinton.
I don’t think there’s much evidence to your claim that Serra is the guy to fight off his back at WW.
In his only WW fight against a good grappler/top control guy, he got punished by Karo. Serra’s top BJJ credentials haven’t translated in MMA to being a very good submission threat, or a guy with a guard that avoids damage. Karo passed to half guard and side control, and landed punches and elbows virtually at will.
Hughes has a very good, very tight top game. He’s also excellent at passing, subs from the top, and vicious GNP, especially when he traps the near arm (the Hughes crucifix).
Serra has the advantage standing up, but he can’t stop Hughes from taking him down, and can’t stop Hughes GNP once it hits the mat.
here we go again…and I got to agree charger, you sold me on the fact that it’s not a straight grappling match, and the way Hughes Destroyed Gracie…that said, Serra by tko
Well my claim was just speculation. It was just my opinion which shoudn’t matter any more or less than the next man’s. Its not an argument that has a right or wrong answer, I just feel that if I had to pick someone to try and pull a submission out of his ass at welterweight, off his back against Hughes the 3 fighters I would consider would be:
Matt Serra
Diego Sanchez
Dustin Hazlett
In No particular order.
Like I said there is no right answer, I would just give serra a better chance than most of pulling off a submission against HUghes.
I dont think anyone can argue about who has the better stand up.
I am not saying Serra would flat out win. Of course Hughes would still be the favorite, I just feel its a better match up than many people seem to think.
Hughes sux!!! he hasnt looked good in years. he barely beat bj b/c bj had a rib injury. hughes is just a wreslter who never evolved with the sport. hopefully in time people will realize he’s one of the most overrated fighters ever and that his victories and title reigns weren’t all that great!!!
agreed, he is the most dominant ww ever, but his brut strength got him there. He could nullify submissions with his pure power, but with bigger, stronger guys cutting more weight, it’s going to be a tougher road for him now, not to mention his stand up sucks
Thats silly that you can even state such a thing. Of course Hughes has never been dominate in the way that GSP is but he has a never say quit attitude. He has more heart than anyone in the business and when he’s about to lose he pulls out the win. I don’t think he’ll be able to beat GSP again and I do beleive a rematch with BJ would result in a loss but honestly send any other Welterweight to fight him and they don’t really compare. The only exception might be Kos but then again I stand that Hughes would win that fight as well.
LOL maybe 4 years ago, but I think this is a fight that Hughes could get pumped for. I haven’t seen the old Matt Hughes in a while, but Matt Serra’s mouth could motivate Hughes…even then I think Serra wins
I agree with this. If there’s any fight that Hughes will be prepared for mentally and physically, it’s a fight with Serra.
Hughes has only looked over the hill lately when he’s fought GSP. GSP just makes him look bad. It’s a bad matchup for Hughes in every facet. It’s possible that Hughes is still the 2nd best WW in the world, and that GSP just makes him look washed up.
Everyone wants to see the Hughes-Serra fight. There’s legit bad blood there, and the UFC spent half a year building the hype as those 2 coached TUF.
I agree. Take Rich Franklin for example. The Spider makes him look like an amateur, but I still think rich can beat rest of the middle weight fighters currently in the UFC.
With all the animosity between Hughes and Serra, that fight needs to happen, even if it means Hughes gets an undeserved title shot. For them to not fight would be like playing “just the tip” with your prom date all night and not getting to finish it off.
The main reason I want GSP to win is so he reclaims his gold strap..
The #2 reason I want GSP to win, is so we get to see Hughesus .vs. Serra….And im hoping that Serra beats Hughesus and gets a rubbermatch with GSP..
The UFC can still give Fitch the title shot he deserves..
They could have Fitch .vs. GSP and Hughesus .vs. Serra the same card, and have winner fight winner in a title bout…..Wow that is a pretty long prediction. lets see how well I do.lol
Hughesus!! LOL
Full name Matt Hughesus Christ…I named him that after watching him get his fighters to read the bible, on TUF….Ever since, I have been referring to him as Hughesus..
LOL…indeed, but i think it is possible. I even think that if Serra wins…there is no reason he couldn’t fight Matt Hughes in a 3 Rnd fight with no title on the line..But being about the dollars that prob wouldn’t happen.
Also, If Serra beats GSP…then Fights Fitch, again, win or lose that sets up a fight with Hughesus, so long as Hughes has won a fight in that time they can def put him forward for the title again, and if Serra loses to Fitch, then we in the same position we would have been if GSP wins this weekend, and everyones happy-ish
so if serra wins saturday the WW division will be messed up again. hughes for a title shot before fitch is rediculous.
NO way!!! If and when Serra wins, they can’t in good conscience give Hughes a title shot. There are too many deserving guys, and then once serra gets beat, they can push GSP to the title again. Furthermore, it’s not like hughes is Randy and trying to “retire,” they can push this matchup in Dec. or Jan, make a lot of money and still have happy contenders. Now if Serra some how goes on an anderson silva like tear, and Hughes has 1 or 2 fights, I could see it happening for the title
give other deserving guys a chance to make their legacy. it’s short sighted to just recycle title fights to the same 3-4 guys. This is a side show and not a legit sport if fighters who have earned title shots are barred from getting them because drive bye fans want to see it. it’s like if baseball demanded we have to have the yankees vs the dodgers in the world series every year and the other teams just play amongst themselves.
Since when has dana white worried about good conscious?
I couldn’t agree more
i hate to say it but i am more interested in seeing hughes vs serra than serra vs fitch.
Yeh I have to be honest….I’m just not that interested in this Fitch guy, he’s obviously a solid fighter, but seems to lack any personality or charisma. I’m only interested to see him fight GSP, and even then only because it will be a GSP fight…
Nate Diaz: “Serra Fitch doesn’t sound like the main event of a PPV to me”
Yeh I totally agree….but to me, Fitch Vs ANYONE isn’t main event material…Only maybe, and very “maybe”….in the future a bit, Fitch Vs Karo…If fitch were the title holder, that could possibly be main event stuff, but would need some hyping
(Ok all the Fitch huggers jump on my case now)
I know of a great promotion that has tons of fighters with “personality” & “Charisma” its called the WWE. Maybe if Fitch was a little prick then you’d feel he had the personality to fight… Honestly, if Serra some how wins, I bet Fitch would rather fight GSP for no belt, because at the end of the day GSP is the best in the WW division and thats the type of guy fitch wants to fight.
But you don’t care about fighting, you need to be entertained. I heard Monday night RAW is the shit… And they have good looking fighters too, for those of you who can’t stop talking about how cute GSP is. I need to find a new blog…
Really, I’m a big MMA fan, but guys who go 8-0 just aren’t interesting. If he could just learn to drop F bombs and do Jimmy Superfly Snuka flying elbows from the top of the cage, he might grown on me.
ha! i hear were your coming from dude. fitch deserves the title shot more than any other ww in the world. i dont know what more he has to prove. his last fight aganst chris wilson was on short notice and fitch didn’t dominate him but won convicingly. wilson may be better than some think, we dont know yet. fitch’s win over diego proved it to me.
i can see it being hughes serra and fitch gsp regardless of who wins with the winners then possibly facing each other
serra fitch doesnt sound like the main event of a ppv to me
would need a bigger fight on the card to sell the ppv
so i think if lightning strikes twice and serra beats frenchie then itll be serra hughes for the belt
it would be a bit unfair on fitch but as a consolation prize hed get gsp to earn the title shot
with karo and koscheck out of the immediate title picture the top 4 gsp hughes serra fitch need to stay injury free and clear up the mess that serras long injury layoff and TUF have caused
I remember picking fights for friends of mine who like to bet but don’t know much about mma. I did very well for them until gsp/serra. i, like everyone else, picked gsp to walk right through serra. i think that’s exactly what’s going to happen saturday, but i am not counting serra out this time. I am picking GSP but I am rooting for Serra.
lol if you’re rooting for Serra, why not bet him too? Thats where the payoff is, risk over reward my friend…Lay too much to get too little IF GSP wins…pick Serra my friend
i am not betting on this one.
It would be a travesty if Hughes gets a title shot before Fitch. Bottom line.
i agree. look at Kos! after losing to GSP, the guy gets sent to the bottom of the barrel fighting Hazelett. Nobody even talks about him anymore. Why should Hughes get the special treatment after losing the fake “interim” title? The GSPIII fight wasn’t even close. As much as I want to see Serra vs Hughes, he got knocked off by losing to GSP. Karo’s been waiting LITERALLY YEARS for a title shot, Diego too! LOL. They’re bound to lose a fight while waiting that long. Same thing could easily happen to Fitch.
I don’t have all the answers but they need to come up with a better system of figuring out who the #1 contender is instead of people getting on their knees and begging DW cuz we’re starting to see a lot of the same guys getting title shots over and over again undeservingly.
The more Dana fucks around with these fights the faster he opens himself up to competition. If solid fighters have to wait years for title shots, the UFC won’t be so attractive. Oh and while retarded fans might pay $50 to watch Serra Vs GSP IIV or GSP vs Hughes XIIV… a lot of fans are interested in NEW tallent and NEW fights. They got to be on TV to become mainstream, if all Dana ever shows is 3 WW’s and TUF retards then thats all mainstream fans known and want to see.
Hughes wont get no title shot ever anymore
but how about this on the same card say in september/november:
Serra vs. Hughes
GSP vs. Fitch
GSP is not losing this fight. Im sure of it..
how bout this for a fight card in Minneapolis in august…
silva vs okami
lesnar vs coleman
kenblow vs huerta
OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH BABBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBY
See I called this along time ago right i got the news that GSP would replacing SERRA. GSP will smash serra then there will be a bad blood match between hughes and serra i predicted this long time ago even serra injury was posted on yahoo b4 ufcmania and all other mma websites
If/when this fight happens, I hope with all my being that Sera somehow manages to KO Hughes. Seems very unlikely, but it would make me a happy man.
What about Thiago Alves, he has to be in the title hunt picture after what he did to Karo, and nobody is talking about him. I think he would put on a much better fight against GSP or Serra than Fitch would.
Well thankfully you don’t get to pick the fights. Fitch beat down Alves. Why would you think he gets a title shot over Fitch?
Hughes should bow out gracefully.
Hughes has one fight left in him. The old guy will beat Serra or died trying.
just clicked on ufc website and fitch is scheduled to fight carneiro at ultimate fight night… i thought his next fight would either be for the title or against gsp/hughes for #1 contender
i like the way he wants to keep fighting rather than sitting around whining like karo and refusing to take fights
^^ sorry my mistake… misread it
someone brought up a good point and mentioned that some of the other fighters like diego, karo etc. waited far too long to get title shots when they deserved it, so with time, they lost (as everyone does) and ended their opportunity at a title shot. with that said, i still dont feel fitch has fought that EXTRA legitimate top contender to be deserving in my opinion. The only one he has fought IMO was injured diego. I could very well be saying this out of biased opinion because i did see diego winning countless times and same w karo but never saw that title shot being given to them! I dont dislike fitch, but he needs that extra win against a top contender (unlike his last fight). Put him in there against matt hughes, KOS, or even a healthy DIEGO again and if he wins, then he has my blessing. until then,i will keep seeing fitch in that same fashion, all wins but none really in the hunt for the title!
Diego was not injured when he fought Fitch. Additionally, Fitch TKO’d Alves, who a lot of people view as a top contender.
The guy has won 8 fights in the UFC against tough competition. People need to give him the respect he deserves.
Serra by gogoplota
I really dont think Matt Hughes wants to fight anyone other then Matt Serra. I think Hughes wants to finish that personal business then call it a career. He thinks he has done enough (which he has) and should call it a career. If Serra gets wiped by GSP then gets ground down by Hughes, he too should call it a career (did he ever really have one in the first place?)
Serra by TKO.
hughes by brutal ground£
Hughes by deep wedgie.
re serras gun sales garb:
guns for what?
cars are used WAY more than guns.
so yea, duh! there are more car deaths einstein.
we don’t need guns.
the ‘protection’ argument is long since disproved too.
gun deaths PER CAPITA are higher in USA BY FAR than anywhere else. so statistically more guns equals more death.
otherwise i respect serra veru much and think he’s a great witty dude who shows confidence AND humility. great fighter too