411mania Fighter Profile: Matt Hughes
Posted by John Curry on 06.04.2008
With Matt Hughes upcoming fight against the highly touted Thiago Alves, 411mania takes a look at one of the most dominant MMA fighters of all time and shows exactly how he came to being known as arguably, the greatest welterweight MMA fighter of all time.
Association: Team Hughes & H.I.T Squad Organizations: UFC, Extreme Challenge, WFS Accomplishments: 2 time UFC Welterweight Champion, Coach on TUF 6, 2 time Division 1 All-American wrestler, 2 time undefeated High School State champion wrestler.
Introduction
Matt Hughes is a legend in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts and arguably the greatest Welterweight of all time. With a career win record of 41-6, including wins over BJ Penn, Georges St. Pierre, Frank Trigg, Royce Gracie, Hayato Sakurai, Carlos Newton, Sean Sherk, Joe Riggs, Joe Doerkson and Akahiro Gono, Hughes has solidified himself as a man who has fought the who's who of the Welterweight division.
Hughes is a man who is as comfortable in the cage as he is in the seat of a tractor. There is nothing Hollywood about Hughes the fighter or the man. Hughes still lives on a farm that he raises crops with his brother Mark in his hometown where he was born and has stated he plans to live and hopefully die. There is no Mercedes in the garage for Matt Hughes, rather there is a man loves to hunt and fish in his lifted trucks.
After my interview with Matt Hughes, which can be found here 411mania Interview with Matt Hughes, it is apparent that there is more to Matt Hughes than fighting. There is a guy who cares about his family, his religion, his town, and helping people.
Early Life
Matt Hughes was born October 13th, 1973 in Hillsboro, Illinois along with his identical twin brother Mark. He also has a sister. Hughes was an active athlete in high school where he was the two time 145 pound state champion and undefeated his Junior and Senior years. After graduation Matt Hughes went to Southwestern Illinois University, transferred to Lincoln College and then to Eastern Illinois University. Hughes graduated college having the distinct honor of being a National Junior Collegiate Athletic Association All-American and a two-time National Collegiate Athletic Commission All-American.
After college Hughes desired the competition he was so used to having in high school and college. Unfortunately, there was nothing Hughes could do with his wrestling experience professionally. As a result Hughes began to take up Mixed Martial Arts as, in his own words a "hobby". Hughes never expected to have a career in MMA. Fortunately for Hughes and for the fans of MMA, he found more than a hobby and as we all say…the rest is history.
MMA Career
Verdict, Opponent, Method, Round, Time, Title (if applicable) Event, City, Date
Loss, Georges St. Pierre, Submission, Round 2, 4:54, For Interim UFC Welterweight Title UFC 79: Nemesis, Las Vegas, NV,12/29/2007 Win, Chris Lytle, Unanimous Decision, Round 3, 5:00 UFC 68: The Uprising, Columbus, OH, 3/3/2007
Hughes vs. Lytle
Loss, Georges St. Pierre, TKO, Round 2, 1:25, For UFC Welterweight Title UFC 65: Bad Intentions, Sacramento, CA, 11/18/2006 Win, BJ Penn, TKO, Round 3, 3:53, For UFC Welterweight Title UFC 63: Hughes vs. Penn, Anaheim, CA, 9/23/2006 Win, Royce Gracie, TKO, Round 1, 4:39, Nontitle Catchweight Fight UFC 60: Hughes vs. Gracie, Los Angeles, CA, 5/27/2006 Win, Joe Riggs, Submission, Round 1, 3:26, Nontitle fight as Riggs failed to make weight UFC 56: Full Force, Las Vegas, NV, 11/19/2005
Hughes vs. Riggs
Win, Frank Trigg, Submission, Round 1, 4:05, For UFC Welterweight Championship UFC 52: Couture vs. Liddell 2, Las Vegas, NV, 4/16/2005 Win, Georges St. Pierre, Submission, Round 1, 4:59, Won UFC Welterweight Championship UFC 50: The War of 04, Atlantic City, NJ, 10/22/2004 Win, Renato Verissimo, Decision, Round 3, 5:00 UFC 48: Payback, Las Vegas, NV, 6/19/2004 Loss, BJ Penn, Submission, Round 1, 4:39, Lost UFC Welterweight Championship UFC 46: Supernatural, Las Vegas, NV, 1/31/2004 Win, Frank Trigg, Submission, Round 1, 3:54, For UFC Welterweight Championship UFC 45: Revolution, Uncasville, CT, 11/21/2003 Win, Sean Sherk, Decision, Round 5, 5:00 For UFC Welterweight Championship UFC 42: Sudden Impact, Miami, FL, 4/25/2003 Win, Gil Castillo, TKO, Round 1, 5:00, For UFC Welterweight Championship UFC 40: Vendetta, Las Vegas, NV, 11/22/2002 Win, Carlos Newton, TKO, Round 4, 3:27, For UFC Welterweight Championship UFC 38, Brawl at the Hall, London, England, 7/13/2002 Win, Hayato Sakurai, TKO, Round 4, 3:01, For UFC Welterweight Championship UFC 36: Worlds Collide, Las Vegas, NV, 3/22/2002 Win, Carlos Newton, KO, Round 2, 1:27, Won UFC Welterweight Championship UFC 34: High Voltage, Las Vegas, NV, 11/2/2001 Win, Steve Gomm, TKO, Round 2, 3:18 Extreme Challenge 43,Orem, UT 9/8/2001 Win, Hiromitsu Kanehara, Decision, Round 3, 5:00 RINGS: 10th Anniversary, Tokyo, Japan 8/11/2001 Win, Chatt Lavender, Submission, Round 3, 2:31 Extreme Challenge 41, Davenport, IA, 7/13/2001 Win, Scott Johnson, KO, Round 1, 3:24 Extreme Challenge 40, Springfield, IL, 6/16/2001 Win, John Cronk, Submission, N/A Gladiators 14, Omaha, NB, 5/11/2001 Win, Bruce Nelson, Submission, Round 1, 3:01 Freestly Combat Challenge 4, Racine, WI, 3/31/2001 Win, Brett Al-azzawi, Submission, Round 1, 3:27 Rings USA: Battle of Champions, Council Bluffs, IA, 3/17/2001 Loss, Jose Landi-jons, KO, Round 1, 4:45 Shidokan Jitsu: Warriors War 1, Kuwait, 2/8/2001
Hughes vs. Landi-jons
Loss, Dennis Hallman, Submission, Round 1, 0:20 UFC 29: Defense of the Belts, Tokyo, Japan, 12/16/2000
Win, Tom Schmitz, Submission, Round 1, 0:48 Extreme Challenge 29, 11/13/1999 Win, Joe Doerkson, Submission, Round 2, 0:25 Extreme Challenge 29, 11/13/1999 Win, Valeri Ignatov, Decision, Round 3, 5:00 UFC 22: Only One Can Be Champion, Lake Charles, LA, 9/24/1999 Win, Akahiro Gono, Decision, Round 3, 5:00 Shooto: 10th Anniversary Event, 5/29/1999 Win, Erick Snyder, TKO, Jeet Kun Do Challenge 4, 4/24/1999 Win, Joe Stern, Submission, Round 1, 2:34 Extreme Challenge 23, 4/02/1999 Win, Ryan Stout, Submission, Round 2, 5:00 Extreme Shootfighting, 12/11/1998 Loss, Dennis Hallman, TKO, Round 1, 0:17 Extreme Challenge 21, 10/17/1998 Win, Dave Menne, Decision, Round 1, 15:00 Extreme Challenge 21, 10/17/1998 Win, Victor Hunsacker, TKO, Round 1, 1:39 Extreme Challenge 21, 10/17/1998 Win, Craig Quick, Submission Jeet Kun Do Challenge 1, 4/25/1998 Win, Erick Snyder, Submission Round 1, 0:15 Jeet Kun Do Challenge 2, 1/1/1998
The Future
Matt Hughes has guaranteed at least two fights. He will fight Thiago Alves at UFC 85: Bedlam on June 7th in London, England. Hughes has stated after that fight he will fight Matt Serra. If Hughes does fight Serra, there is not guarantee what will come for Hughes after that as he has hinted and stated that he is exploring the possibility of retiring. Regardless of whether Hughes wins or loses these two fights, he will always be solidified as one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time.
