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Defending Matt Hughes
By Zach Arnold | June 7, 2008
Update: Total MMA thinks Kevin Iole’s column was off-base as well.
I’m going to step up the plate and defend Matt Hughes. Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports has an article stating that Matt Hughes should retire from MMA. I call bull*@*% on this premise.
Hughes walked into a lousy situation as far as his fight with Thiago Alves at UFC 85 was concerned. Alves missed making weight by four pounds and looked much bigger than Hughes in their fight at the O2 Arena. Hughes had the right to turn down the fight, but no one in their right mind would expect him to do such a thing. Too much money on the line, too much pressure to screw over the promoters that made him who he is today, and too much competitive spirit to turn down a fight against another quality opponent.
As far as Alves was concerned, he found himself in a situation where he was allegedly hurt and could not train. We have heard excuses in the past from fighters (such as Hermes Franca) that they feel enormous pressure to fight and not cancel a booking due to injury because they may end up like Karo Parisyan and never get a UFC title shot. Alves should not be rewarded greatly by his win over Hughes due to the circumstances involved, but it was understandable to see why he did what he did and what Hughes did what he did.
I don’t suspect that Hughes’ loss to Alves will hurt all that much. The money fight with Matt Serra is still on the table for Hughes and it’s a fight that fans want to see. Two proven draws who can light it up on television when need-be.
To blast Hughes for his loss to Alves (who should be fighting at 185 pounds instead of 170 pounds), given the circumstances he faced in London, is completely ridiculous.
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 9 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Great article Zach. I have to agree. I don’t think either figther gained/lost much respectively in this bout. Alves shouldn’t get a title shot for missing weight, plain and simple. He needs to show he can consistently make 170. He got suspended for a diuretic and now missed weight. He can’t do that for a title fight and I think he needs to prove that to the promotion and to fans or he risks being a Travis Lutter-esque fighter who, even though he tested Silva, will be remembered for missing weight.
As far as Hughes is concerned he was much smaller and Alves was just the better fighter on this occasion. He can still fight Serra as it’s a bout everyone wants to see right now, even though both are coming off of losses.
Keep up the good work!
Agreed.
I also didn’t like that Iole used the fact that Matt Hughes has lost 3 of his last 4 fights as evidence that Hughes should retire.
Two of those losses were against GSP, who would run through most of the top 10 with similar ease. Let’s instead point out that Matt Hughes is 5-1 in his last 6 non-GSP fights. He’s by no means washed up.
I’m no Matt Hughes fan. Not at all. But I don’t see why he has to retire just because he’s not dominating his competition anymore. If the fans want to see him, let him fight — assuming he’s not taking unholy Sakuraba-type beatings.
I don’t get why somebody strings together a few losses against high profile opponents and morons start declaring they need to retire. Like mentioned, losing to GSP is hardly proof that you can’t fight anymore. If anything, it is proof that GSP is the greatest fighter at his weight class. It sort of takes away from GSP if people are claiming Hughes lost to him twice, and now a guy with 20 lbs on him, and that he obviously sucks.
Just mind-boggling. Maybe if Matt gets dominated and destroyed by Serra we can have this talk with a little bit more of a serious tone, but until then; Kevin Iole proves himself oblivious again.
I’ve got to disagree with you, Zach. This is a huge loss for Hughes. Huge. It shows that Hughes is not Top 3 at WW, and it also shows (along with Tito’s recent loss) that the days of fighters relying primarily on freestyle takedowns & GNP are coming to an end. The sad thing is that Hughes has been KO’ed by a knee while shooting from the outside for a double-leg before—-by Pele. Hughes should have known that Alves (being a Brazilian striker who loves using knees just like Pele is) would doubtless be familiar with the Hughes/Pele fight and would be looking to clock Hughes with the knee when he shot in. That’s exactly what happened.
Fighters with collegiate wrestling backgrounds are going to have to learn to mix up their freestyle approach with more Greco wrestling or judo if they want to avoid being predictable. Seeing someone like Hughes or Tito shoot in with those tired attempts from 8 feet out is sad. The attempts are telegraphed and are easily defended. Holing himself up at his little camp in Illinois is not going to help Hughes develop any, either. He has been with the same two coaches for almost 10 years and honestly, they are behind the times technique-wise. Also, at 34 years old, it’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks.
Hate to say it, but Iole is right. This appears to be the beginning of the end for Hughes.
“He has been with the same two coaches for almost 10 years and honestly, they are behind the times technique-wise. Also, at 34 years old, it’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks.”
I don’t think that 34 is too old for him to learn new tricks. I believe the point you make just prior to that is much more significant. Hughes has isolated himself from much of the evolution of MMA; particularly over the past year or two. Moreover, moving away from MFS has also reduced the quantity and quality of training partners (in addition to no longer having a few more MMA-educated opinions when it comes to game-planning, training, etc.)
Hughes will probably never hold the 170 lb strap again (I’d bet on never, but threw the probably because stranger things have happened), but if he committed himself to evolving his MMA game by venturing out and training with new partners and learning from new coaches (e.g. a stint at Extreme Couture), he may be able to stick around as a good welterweight for a few more years. The problem is, I don’t see him doing that, nor do I see him wanting to stick around for a few more years where he’s “good,” but not at the top of the heap.
Hughes will slam, ground and pound the tar out of Serra, and then call it a career. One of the best careers in MMA history.
Hughes sounds like he might be ready to retire after a fight against Serra, but I think that if he won it handily, he’d probably change his mind.
I agree that not being able to win the belt doesn’t mean that you should have to drop out of MMA, or even out of UFC. You need gateway fighters in any weight class, and it’s just incongruous to assume that he’s not able to fight any of the lower tier guys. You’re not shoving them out, so why would you force him out?
I agree 100%, Zach. I think since the Pele fight in 2000 or 2001, Hughes has only lost to BJ, GSP, and now Alves. No shame in any of those losses.