Matt Hughes has signed a new multi-fight deal with the UFC, officially ending rumors and speculation that the former UFC welterweight champ had fought his last fight at UFC 98 in May."Last week I went out to Vegas and I signed a multi-fight deal with the UFC, which is much like my last contract," Hughes wrote Thursday on his blog. "I also brought up the fact that I wanted to do a hunting show and they thought that would be a good thing."
Hughes (43-7) was victorious in his last fight against Matt Serra, but had entered UFC 98 with three losses out of his previous four fights.
Hughes added that no opponent or date is official and to ignore all matchup rumors going around, but mentioned that one name the UFC has presented to him is someone he has never fought before.
That doesn't exactly narrow down the field of possible opponents, as the current crop of top UFC welterweights (that Hughes has not fought against) are Jon Fitch, Paulo Thiago, Josh Koscheck, Martin Kampmann, Karo Parisyan, Carlos Condit and Mike Swick. However, that does shoot down rematches with recent UFC signees and rivals Dennis Hallman and Frank Trigg. Also, Kampmann and Swick are fighting each other at UFC 103 for a shot at Georges St-Pierre's title, so the winner of that fight can also be crossed out as a potential opponent.
Coming into Hughes' grudge match against Serra at UFC 98 -- then the final fight under Hughes' contract, Stephan Bonnar fueled retirement rumors by saying that he "heard it from Matt Hughes' mouth that this will be his last fight -- I think win or lose," but Hughes was quick to state after his win his intentions to continue his career inside the Octagon.
"I definitely still want to compete," Hughes said. "I still think I'm competitive in the weight division, so we'll keep going."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-03-2009 @ 4:21PM
chilly16 said...
Aging stars need to learn when to bow out gracefully. This is turning into boxing. Too many old guys with big names want to stick around way past their prime...
Reply
9-03-2009 @ 5:17PM
Joe said...
I have no problem with guys fighting past their primes. He is certainly not the worse fighter out there. Fighting is his job, so he should continue as long as he thinks the money is worth the pain and effort. I wouldn't expect people that I work with to retire just because they're in their mid-thirties or whatever Hughes's age is. He may not be the best but he can still put on some entertaining fights. Maybe not against the top welterweights but against young newcomers trying to make a name for themselves.
Reply
9-03-2009 @ 7:15PM
chilly16 said...
Im guessing you arent in profession which requires you to remain in shape. When you get older it gets harder. I guess flipping burgers and fighting in the UFC are a little different. Think about it bud
9-03-2009 @ 5:25PM
kevin said...
the thing i dont like is the fact that people lije hughes and couture who lost a few in a row or had more losses than wins in there most recent fights get the choice to say they want to leave but the young guys once they lose 2 in a row its bye bye, couture especially he can probably go 0-10 and be 80years old but hell get to stay around because he draws a crowed and they would still try to make a main event out of him.
Reply
9-03-2009 @ 6:35PM
grimslade5 said...
Well the fact is that Hughes and Couture are draws and the young guys who have lost 2 in a row arnt, and if the guys who have helped made the sport what it is today wait to stick around and fight Im all for it as long as they can perform.
9-03-2009 @ 8:22PM
RJ said...
People who think Matt Hughes needs to retire are really ignorant.
Just because the guy lost to the two top fighters in the world at 170lbs. isn't a reason for him to retire.
It just means he's not going to be champion again. But for someone to say he needs to retire when he's still capable of beating guys in the UFC is really stupid quite honestly.
You lose a lot when a guy like Matt Hughes does decide to walk away from the sport.
Reply
9-03-2009 @ 11:04PM
richardbikle said...
actually i think hughes is still a top 5 ww. if it wasnt for gsp he may be the champion right now.
Reply
9-04-2009 @ 11:23AM
Eric said...
Alves would have something to say about that ... he knocked Hughes over-inflated block off!
9-04-2009 @ 11:58AM
richardbikle said...
hughes being a top 5 ww doesnt necessarly exclude Alves.
Hughes' biggest problem is just as likely cutting weight as that of age or previous fights. its pretty hard on the body to cut weight so much, especially when you're already lean muscle.
9-04-2009 @ 2:07PM
Eric said...
I agree about the weight cutting ... guys seem to think that if they can make a particular division by cutting weight, then that's where they should be. Who knows, a guy like Alves that cuts a LOT of weight may be a much better fighter at 185.
9-04-2009 @ 6:33PM
richardbikle said...
theres two problems with that, if you know you can cut and make weight you start cutting later and later, which can leave you really drained fight night; and continuously cutting is really hard on your body. it catches up to you.
i've said it 100 times, but they should weight in 5 minutes before the fight.
the only reason they dont is so you can go loose 10 pounds if you need too and recover. put the scales on the top step, if you miss weight - no purse.
9-04-2009 @ 4:56AM
rumorroundtown said...
hughes? that dude's days are done. what's the point of competing still if you don't want to be champ of your division? at least cotour still wants to be champ eventually.. but like hughes.. his days are prolly done. what's sad is, guys like these shows how weak some of the ufc's divisions really are. im getting tired of seeing the same old fighters fighting the same old fighters, and the ufc calling them "classics". why does there need to be 3 or more rematches? do they really lack that many fighters?
Reply
9-04-2009 @ 11:50AM
RJ said...
So in your opinion Hughes who has more left in the tank than Couture should retire but Couture shouldn't just because he's delusional enough to think he can still be a champion?
That's pure lunacy.
9-04-2009 @ 10:34AM
M13 said...
Matt Hughes isn't that old, but he has had a lot of wars. He could still be competitive against certain figures in the UFC. I hope he does well.
Reply
9-04-2009 @ 2:51PM
rumorroundtown said...
no.. im saying both of them are well past their prime, and its sad that they are still some of the ufc's top draws, but are really nothing much more than just punching bags. what the ufc needs to do is get rid of the old, and start putting in the new. it's not that the ufc lacks fighters, its that they spent so much marketin some of their fighters, that even when its time to let them go, they won't. hughes still a top 5 ww? i don't think so anymore.. coutour still top 5 hw? i don't think so..
Reply