Former welterweight champion Matt Hughes continues to monitor the health of his injured knee, hoping that it will return to normal on its own rather than undergoing a surgical procedure that could sideline him for months.
Hughes injured the MCL and the PCL in a technical knockout loss to Thiago Alves at UFC 85: “Bedlam” back in June. Since that time he has had several MRIs, X-rays and stress X-rays on the knee to determine the best course of action.
And everything appears to be going according to plan, which is great news for the aging former 170-pound division stalwart — going under the knife would have likely delayed his return for several more months and possibly cast a dark cloud over the future of his professional fighting career.
As it stands as of yesterday, Hughes remains on track for an eventual return to action in early 2009, according to the blog on his official Web site.
Here’s the latest:
“Last Wednesday, I went in for my second MRI and also a stress x-ray. It all came back very positive and looks as though I will not need surgery. I still have to go back for my three month check-up to find out more; but as of right now I can do more and start exercising a little bit.”
When he does return — very possibly on the same card as Georges St. Pierre vs. BJ Penn on Superbowl weekend — he will fight Matt Serra. Both veterans served as opposing coaches on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 6 and were supposed to fight in the main event at UFC 79: “Nemesis” for Serra’s welterweight crown.
The fight never materialized, however, because Serra was forced to withdraw from the bout with a severe back strain. Since that time the pair has kept the feud alive and well, exchanging frequent barbs and taunts through the media.
Let’s just hope this time around there are no additional setbacks. And if there are the two should be allowed to go their separate ways and pursue new and different opponents.
74 Comments »
Hughes should get work with affliction or maybee Elite XC, I’m sick of him stinking up cards
he’ll be back just in time for Serra to snap it right back again.
It’s f’d up.. but I see Serra cranking a heel hook.. that would really suck for Hughes.. Outside of him settle his beef with Serra.. who do you guy’s think he will fight next and/or in his next two fights, because he is almost ready to do his curtain call.
how bout a knee bar?
They finally got all of Thiago’s knee removed from his head.
Does anyone care about this???
Hughes is 2 fights away from turning into Ken Shamrock!
I really hope SErra BEATS HIM DOWN! I want Serra to dONKEY PUNCH him like he did GSP!
u know what is so funny about Hughes? in all his past fights when they do the interview and they ask him his prediction, he always say “I am goin to win by KO”…LMAO!!
When has he ever KO’ed anyone standing? His stand up is laughable! I hope SErra DRUGZ him!
Serra is not submitting Hughes or anyone else. Serra hasn’t had a submission victory in years, and he sure isn’t going to get it done on Hughes. Hughes is not the dominating champ that he once was, but Serra would not even be in a conversation that contained Hughes if it wasn’t for that fluke win against GSP.
I read Matt Hughes book… still don’t like him… in a way the book emphasizes what we already know about his sadistic personality… very truthful book.
Blow bubbles you sallies, Comparing Hughes to Shamrock shows a complete biased against Hughes and a lack of respect not to mention its a terrible comparrison. Anyway I’m a Hughes fan and find it incredibly weak that people keep cutting on him. W/E you easily forget that this guy actually does his best to please his fans and to talk about his stand up game is even funnier. Of course he has no stand up but look the guy is obviously trying he just doesn’t have a good body build to stand with the younger athletes. Hate all of you guys want but I remember everything Hughes has done for the sport of MMA and the Zuffa company. I have nothing but Respektica for Hughes the future hall of famer
Also one more thing to people who don’t like to read Hughes news… stop posting comments on the threads! Seriously Mania puts up info on fighters based on the comments they generate so the more you put up the more news you’ll get. Lol why do you think Tito is always getting so many post?
Ouch. That’s a bit unfair. He has lost to spectacular talent (GSP,Pitbull) and that’s nothing to be ashamed of.
An extremely overweight Pitbull at that.
Hughes should pound Serra out, then hang em up. Do not want to see the greatest champ ever go out like Ken Shamrock.
greatest champ ever???? WOW that’s quite the bold statement! He is and was a great fighter, but going ahead to call him the greatest champ ever!
hahahaha didn’t wanna post the rest of that comment eh mania……my bad, i’ll keep it cleaner lol
Matt Hughes most title defenses in the UFC. sorry The Hurricane, that is a fact.
I don’t want to see Hughes lose anymore fights but what is with the Shamrock comparrisons? He is not getting beat like Shamrock lol and he has no where near the amount of losses that guy has not to mention all of his losses are against the best of the best. Dennis Hallman was a submission freak back in the day. Also as of right now Hughes is the greatest WW Title holder of all time it is fact. He may not be the most skilled of all time but lets try get serious here because GSP will lose that belt to Penn so he won’t have a chance to cement his legacy.
While I’m not a fan of Hughes’ personality (at least the glimpses offered in interviews and on TUF), he has provided some very exciting fights, albeit they were a few years ago. To call him the best champ ever, WB, is very debatable. But to call him the most dominant champ might be more applicable. It will still be a while before anyone else can lay claim to that one (in the UFC), but Silva is the best challenger for that at the moment. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Dominant, greatest, I apologize for my wording. Most successful possibly a better phrase? And I said I dont WANT him to go out like Shamrock Cogito, didnt say he currently is.
Who cares about Matt Hughes?
Who cares about Adam?
JV: LOL!!! “Who cares about Adam?” Don’t know why, but that made me laugh so hard! Thanks man, boring day @ work.
Thanks JV!! That made me laugh so hard. Needed that being work sucks!!!
I do….
0_o
Your welcome slaughter time!
Great, can’t wait to see him get back in the cage and get tossed around by a younger and more evolved fighter.
I sure hope that Hughes/Serra takes place on the same night as GSP/Penn. Otherwise, I would think that the UFC would try and sell us Hughes/Serra as a Main Event of a PPV.
Ugh.
oh god id have to be so trashed the enjoy that as a main event
Hughes is a year older than Serra give me a break. Not to mention he is much better of a fighter. Serra is a joke and doesn’t deserve a shot against Hughes, he shouldn’t have even gotten his fight against GSP considering he lost that match to Lytle (IMO)
i just don’t see him beating Matt Serra. Serra should be able to clip him, and his ko power is great. I just wish UFC didn’t shelf Serra for so long!
I think Serra should join the crew at 155. He fought BJ Penn I think it was UFC 35or36 to a razorsahrp split decision loss.. I think he has some favorable match ups at 155 compared to 170.
agreed
Serra at 155 would be one of the top guys!
My jiu-jitsu teacher was telling me about that fight (I can’t seem to find it anywhere) and he said that BJ was running and jabbing the whole time. It was a very close fight that could have gone either way.
Do you guys think the UFC was saving Serra in case they were sanctioned in New York state?
No but thats a good thought there. They’ve been saving Serra because although he is a good figher, he isn’t a sure win against many of the top WW fighters. Anymore losses for him/Hughes would keep killing the match up potential.
Surely they could have given Serra someone like Josh Burkman.
Who the hell cares??? hughes is a hasbeen. although he prob will beat serra who shouldnt even be in the top 15, let alone top 10
Agreed,Hughes may now be a hasbenn but he’ll still beat Serra who is a has never been.
Yeah, who gives a fuck about Matt Hughes. The most boring fighter the UFC ever had on their books.
Most of the comments made about Hughes on this site continue to prove the idoicy of people. I bet when he was winning you all were sayin stuff like he’s the best ever and P4P best in the game! Right!!?? Be honest…
“The most boring fighter the UFC ever had on their books.” - seriously…that’s just a dumb comment that lacks any MMA/UFC longevity thought process. He’s an all time great in the sport and I think he has a few good fights left in him starting with this one. I fully expect him to beat Serra.
You OBVIOUSLY didn’t watch the UFC before the 2nd season of The Ultimate Fighter is that’s really what you think.
His next fight will be his 50th pro fight. Go take a look at his record and see how few and far between his fights that go 3 rounds are. One Dimensional? Yes. But boring? No.
Truth.
Your right Mike, but not on the one dimensional part. I just took a look at his record, Matt has 19 submissions! And 14 (T)Ko’s. Thats not a 1 dimentional fighter IMO!
how many of those submissions were from his back? if hughes cant take a fighter down, he has NO chance of winning, and he has had a very hard time taking fighters down as of late. his whole career was based on that he was bigger and stronger than everyone he fought. most of the fighters he beat were not as well rounded as the top 10 wws today. to me he is a sure fire hof fighter who’s time has passed. and i dont even have to mention his out of cage attitude (a prick) cuz it is universally known.
boring…YES, as of right now he is definitely the most boring fighter in UFC history, who cares about what he did in the past, what the hell does he do NOW!!actually maybe i’m being harsh i like to see finishes and his screaming tapouts and highlight reel knockout losses are enjoyable, but this whole right lead drag the guy to the ground and do nothing game plan he’s using SUCKS and it is VERY boring Silva had him on his back for what 20 seconds and did far more damage than the 4 minutes hughes had him on his back. No disrespect to Hughes, he was a great champion but Burt up there hit the nail on the head. Ken Shamrock was a great champ and fighter as well but would i be lying if i said he’s boring to watch, predictable, sucks by modern standards…no.
Cannibal, the statement I was commenting on was:
“The most boring fighter the UFC ever had on their books.”
I understood it as “in history” as opposed to “current” which is what I believe Burt was trying to say.
JV, I am actually a fan of Hughes. Every single one of Hughes’ TKO’s and KO’s that I have seen have either come from GnP or a slam. Back in the day, he supposedly knocked someone out with a knee, but I never seen that fight. Matt never evolved with the sport of MMA. However, I will say that he is an excellent submission wrestler, which I suppose can be two dimensions, wrestling and BJJ. But his stand up has never really improved much except for his one 20 second highlight of him jabbing BJ’s head back and forth.
As of right now, looking back throughout the history of the UFC, Matt Hughes IS the most boring fighter the UFC has had on their books, it doesn’t matter what he did in times past, i would rather watch any other UFC fighter at any point in their UFC career than watch Matt Hughes fight right now. Therefore the Matt Hughes of today is the most boring fighter in UFC history. If Burt was trying to say that Matt Hughes’s career was the most boring in UFC history then i MIGHT disagree, but even that would be debatable (not a word) looking at a person’s win loss column or how they won or loss fights has nothing to do with whether or not they are exciting. IMO and this is just MY opinion, simply winning regardless of whether it’s submission, decision, or KO(something hughes has never done in 50 fights unless you count that BS Newton fight) does not make you exciting, the only excitement in a Hughes fight is from the opponent. GSP Hughes 1, all GSP then Hughes sinks in a sub, a good sub don’t get me wrong, but exciting? not really. Hughes Penn 2, he gets socked up and put in some crazy pretzel by Penn, who injures HIMSELF in the process, Hughes gets him in a dominant position, good wrestling don’t get me wrong, but exciting NO. He hit Penn with what, 50 unanswered shots and couldn’t even make the guys nose bleed? not even a bruise after the fight. He isn’t exciting even when he wins…so yeah maybe the most boring fighter, regardless of how you want to look at it. I respect the guy as a champion and a fighter, he’s good at what he does, but what he does is ridiculously boring…and that’s my rant for the day.
You are showing complete bias here against Hughes because it shows you have never seen his past fights. Your probably a post TUF fan and I have nothing against that but if you don’t know then you shouldn’t say. Did you see Penns face after his fight with Sherk, not a scratch, the kid has a face made or iron. Anyway much of Hughes excitement comes from the fact that he is an underdog in many of his fights. He seems to come with a sub out of nowhere and although he may be getting beat he never stops coming forward. Hate all you want but his opponents don’t have to chase him around the cage and the only boring fight I remember is the Lytle fight, and I’ve seen all the guys fights.
Burt, how does the inside of your Arse’ look?… because your head is in it.
Cannibal how does the inside of Burt’s Arse’ look?… because your head is up there.
I hate to join the pile but Burt, Hughes is not boring. I can’t stand the guy but I will watch his fights.
burt did you ever watch hughes vs trigg 2? dont care for matt hughes but hes definitely not boring.
Hey this guy is till in UFC. I thought GSP and Thiago send him to Iowa mma bush league. I think he should go back to the farm and support his family, at this point in his carrier he is embarrassing his family. Imagine being his son and watching your pops getting his ass kick time after time.
Another statement that really doesn’t even deserve a decent response.
Then why are you responding?
Funny how we all say hes one dimensional bc the other night when i was watching an older hughs fight, Rogan was saying how evolved he is. He was saying how he isn’t one dimensional like some of the older fighters. Hes just a great wrestler and reverts back to that in most of his fights. I for one have never liked him, but respect the hell out of him. He has done a lot for the ufc and mma in america. Like i said, don’t really care for him, but serra i fn can’t stand. Im from long island as well and he dosn’t represent us at all. WAR HUGHS!!!
who gives a shit!!! what a scumbag!! i try not 2 hate on people in general but hughes makes it hard! can’t wait 2 see serra smash his face in!!! OH YEH !!!!!!!!
Here’s the thing, Hughes is making another bad decision. If his knee is barely rehabilitated, and he justs starts training…is that enough training? This dude needs to learn new styles, and he doesn’t have the time. It’s amazing the bad decision staring at him and he is too stubborn to not make it. He should give himself the time to rehab, AND THEN train. If he doesn’t, Serra will win.
For the record, I think he should retire. Also for the record, back in the day he wasn’t boring. His slams were exciting and not uncommon. However, as has been said so many times tho, he never thought he should evolve, and the younger guys studied how to beat him, then did. Matt needs to re-train or retire. He’s too old really for the former.
I say that out of respect for him.
I just want to see hughes get hit like Cro cop did and see him lay there .
Go train at Hughes’s gym and learn…….wrestling. You too can end up one dimensional just like him. Just ask his red headed pupil Tommy Spears, who almost got killed by Rumble Johnson.
serra by triangle choke or tko strikes
even IF Matt Hughes is on his way out, there is no way Serra will beat Hughes. People have been saying how Serra’s going to KO him, which is absolute bullshit. GSP and BJ Penn were unable to fully KO him, so what makes this loudmouth with NO KO wins ever be the first to do that. Hughes wasn’t out when GSP TKO’d him, and his only KO losses were by knees (Pele and Alves). Add to that fantastic submission defense (see Trigg 2 and GSP 3) and its ridiculous to think Serra can tap him. All this talk of Serra beating Hughes is just stupid.
Hughes can win by whatever he wants: GnP, Sub, LnP. Anything BUT a standing KO.
Everyone seems to have lost interest in this fight, but I still want top see it. Hughes is an ass, but the fact is he’s only lost to GSP and Alves in recent memory. If that’s considered washed up then half of the UFC must be washed up too. This fight needs to happen and I hope it does on the superbowl card. There is plenty of bad blood and unfinished buisness still linguring and it needs to be resolved once and for all.
Everyone says Hughes is one dimentional. For the record I absolutley hate Matt Hughes, but this misconception really annoys me. Though he lacks any sort of a striking game he has excellent jiu-jitsu. He holds submission wins over many top fighters and has competed in many international jiu-jitsu compititions. His jits is simpily overlooked beceause of his wrestling. Though I agree he lacks a striking game he is certaintly not one dimentional.
I dont know if i would say his jiu jitsu is excellent, maybe excellent for MMA or for a wrestler who does MMA but his jiu jitsu is nothing special. He got schooled on the ground by BJ twice(the 2nd time BJ got hurt and lost) by GSP who made him tap out verbally, by Hallman who is an excellent submission wrestler(something hughes is not, hes more of a wrestler and likes gnp and sometimes uses subs but is not a ground wizard)and also by Charuto who even thought didn t beat him was close to finnishin the fight with a sick triangle (see UFC 48)so that shows that Matt’s Jiu Jitsu is very good but not excellent at least not at the level of jiu jitsu players. I am not takin nothing away fom Matt he was a great champ and helped the sport a lot he just was not the most well versed fighter that there is.
let me interpret this for you. “well ive been to 10 doctors and none of them have found a problem with my knee yet. this sucks because i really got my ass kicked and i am after all one dimensional. i kind of built my record up by beating subpar competition, and now the game has more than passed me by. damn now i will have to get my ass kicked by matt serra of all people.”
hey mania just wondering if ive been banned or censored or what? i made a comment on the karo thread over 24 hrs ago and like several of my most recent posts……..the day1er gets no love. am i on some kind of a s**t list. or is somebody asleep at the wheel or what?
best regards,
the day1er
I don’t think Hughes will be able to deal with this loss very well. It will be interesting to see what his dickheadedness turns into if he takes a loss.
i enjoy this web site but the hate that your readers have for hughes is rediculous. Hughes lost to alves because the fat azz couldn’t make weight and then hughes can’t keep the monster probably weighing 205 down. He should’nt have took the fight but he did for dana and the sport and the ufc. I personally know hughes and he will f you up if he don’t like your attitude or mouth. Sera will soon find this out because he qualify’s for both of those mouth and attitude problems. He can’t speak a complete sentence without a f bomb coming out of his mouth and he just thinks he’s better than hughes. I believe that Hughes will deliver justice from a higher power that night. The lord will bless the best man that night and I believe I know who that is………
Just remember I told you so……..
Chuck Liddel and I are not wrong. Hughes is a class act for sure. And Liddel and I both drink Jameson so what’s up with all the haters chuck. Let’s gettem!
the fact that matt hughes lost the fight becasue alves weighed just 5 pounds more…thats b.s….matt hughes is the biggest asshole ever…hughes didnt take the fight for dana or the ufc, he took it becasue he even said himself that thiago was a good match up for him..the only way i see serra losing, is if hughes fakes an injury to his nut sack again, and wins by DQ..i personally talked to serra and hes ready for this match-up and preparing like no other..i think serra will slowy pick hughes apart on his feet, than hughes will take it to the ground, and get submitted..Serra #1
who has matt serra EVER picked apart, and then submitted? he had karo on his way out and couldnt finish! geez, enough with this serra having great standup bullshit. HE WILL NOT WIN.