I wanted to hold off on commenting on the whole possibility of Matt Hughes retiring from MMA when his contract with the UFC is finished in two fights. After seeing the Hughes and Georges St. Pierre interview during The Ultimate Fighter 4 finale, I think its time I share my thoughts.
I’m not sure who first raised the theory / possibility / topic of Matt Hughes comtemplating retirement after his next two fights. For those of you who haven’t been following this story, on November 11, Greg Savage at sherdog.com posted an article in which he claims:
Hughes recently confirmed to Sherdog.com that he indeed plans on fighting out his current UFC contract, which will have one bout left following his title defense against Georges St. Pierre on Nov. 18, before retiring from active participation in the sport of mixed martial arts.
However, during Saturday’s interview, Matt Hughes says he still has a few more good years left in him for fighting and he didn’t sound at all like someone with set plans to retire in the coming months. So the real question is raised: is Matt Hughes planning on retiring?
There is the strong possibility that Hughes was “coached” or “strongly encouraged” by the UFC brass to avoid any comments about retirement during the TUF 4 finale. Having your most well-known champion tip his hat to retirement a week before a title defense would not be a good marketing move. Or perhaps, Hughes truly is planning on fighting for years to come and has not seriously considered retirement.
Also in the sherdog.com article, Greg Savage revisited the topic of Hughes facing Anderson Silva:
Hughes, 33, did leave open the possibility, should he get past a very tough St. Pierre, of moving up in weight to face UFC 185-pound champion Anderson Silva in hopes of becoming the first fighter to concurrently hold UFC titles in multiple weight classes.
Again, I think a Hughes vs. Silva matchup would be a very bad idea for Hughes; but I also think this rematch with GSP isn’t going to be that pretty either.
So I’ve put up this poll. Please cast your vote and also leave a comment backing up your vote. I want to know how the MMA fans feel and why you voted yes or no.
Loading ...
Amber
eric
capt.ADK'er
Yael Grauer
itzFORT
Singh is King
Fizzlesticks
WTFH
Studog
Hughes shouldn’t retire anytime soon. He is currently the best in his weight class (Until Saturday when that torch is passed to GSP) and I think that he should continue to compete. Many would overlook the fact that maybe Hughes might feel he has lost a little in a specific area and would rather walk away with his entire arsenal intact. I do not see a problem with Matt having fights that would challenge him or fighters that would like to measure themselves against a dominant welterweight such as Hughes. Besides, there are about two or three superfights out there for Hughes. (1 Anderson Silva, 2 Matt Linland, 3 Jeremy Horn) Now I know a lot of people would look at the last two and say that I am crazy but just look at who they are. Although Jeremy Horn spent a lot of time with MFS and Hughes, I think that would be a great matchup. Hughes versus Linland would match world class greco roman wrestler against world class wrestler which I do believe would be an awesome bout. Why retire when there are plenty of fights out there left to be had….. unless he has lost his motivation or feels like there is nothing left to accomplish.
I think Hughes is much to small to fight Jeremy Horn or Matt Lindland. You are looking at going up from 170 to 205, a huge jump! It would be an interesting fight though.
I was thinking that both bouts for Hughes against Horn would be at 180-185 so Horn could come down one weight class and Hughes only has to move up one weight class. Then of course Hughes could stay at the same weight and fight Linland. Don’t let Hughes hear you called him small! He’s just a small beast!
All I know is, Matt’s number is up this week. GSP will be your new Welterweight Champ
Uh oh. It’s never a good sign when Gatties and I agree on a title fight.
Isn’t his contract coming up in 2 fights? Don’t athletes do this all the time to get more money? If thats what he’s doing, more power to him, if not, well thats cool too.
All his contract being up means is that he is going to be paid more. Matt Hughes, being Liddell and Ortiz, is the posterboy of the UFC. You’ve got to look at the amount of money being made by this company and the amount of money Zuffa is willing to pay their big fighters. I agree that no one fighting inside the octagon should be making two grand for a fight, but on the flip side, no one is paying to see a guy they’ve never heard of. It’s guys like Liddell, Ortiz, Hughes, Griffin, Franklin, GSP, Penn, Arlovski, Diego, and Sylvia that are drawing the crowds and the PPV buys, so why not pay them for what they’re worth.
With that said, Matt Hughes is a fighter. That is his career. While I’m sure he could retire today and be relatively comfortable for the rest of his days, from every point of view, it doesn’t make sense to retire. While Hughes has been dominant for years, it’s been only in the past two years or so that MMA has blown up. Why not capitalize off of that success and continue fighting? Especially when there are these superfights out there for him still left.
From a professional point of view, there is more for Matt Hughes to do. He already holds the championship record with nine wins in title fights and seven defenses, so why not completely shatter the record and make it nearly impossible for someone to come close? Also, do not forget that Matt Hughes is 40-4 and only improving his game. He’s been the number one ranked welterweight in the world for years and it seems as though only GSP and Penn have a chance at knocking him off his pedastal at this point. Even if he were to be beaten by those men, that still makes him the third best fighter in the world in his weight class. I don’t care who you are: number three in the world is not too shabby.
Don’t forget, the only recent major fighter to step down from his spot while seemingly still on top has been Couture. The only reason for that, as we all know, is because of the amount of pride and work ethic Randy Couture has. He finally found a man he truly believed to be better then him and he passed the torch rightfully so. With that said, and with Couture’s upcoming submission grappling contest, I don’t think we’ve seen the last of Randy in a pair of UFC gloves, despite his claims.
Going with the Randy Couture example, if Hughes does indeed lose to GSP on Saturday, does that mean he will “retire” after finding someone who’s finally dethroned him? With the big head that Hughes has, I think it will have to go to Hughes-Pierre 3 and for Hughes to lose again. If that happens, I think then yes, he would probably “retire”. I also think he would come out fo retirement once another big paycheck comes along.
lol, first of all, to Dr J an Gatties, My moneys on Hughes. I can understand people dont like hughes, hes a cocky guy and everything but that doesnt defer the fact that hes a beast at 170. I hope GSP wins the fight too, but i cant see it happening. Hughes is the man.
About his retirement, i would have said, your crazy to think Hughes would retire anytime soon. Then after seeing the ufc 65 all access, seeing the look in Hughes eyes, and the words from his own mouth, He is not all that eager to stay in the ufc as long as possible. Besides what rumors people put on forums, get it str8 from the horses mouth, he said himself that he doesnt care if he had a 60-0 record, fighting is not what defines him as a person. He wants to be a farmer more than anything, it seems crazy to me, considering hes such an incredible athlete, but i can respect what he considers true priorities in his life.
That said, i could see hughes retiring after then next 2 years, not 2 fights. Depending on the results of what happens until then, im pretty sure he will want to retire on a win, or if hes put out of commission due to injury, which i hope doesnt happen.
About the matt lindland fight, after one of his matches, cant recall right now, he called out matt lindland to meet him at 185, nothing ever happend but, i definately see it as a possibility, that would be a great fight! tho i would probably give the edge to lindland on that one..
WAR GSP!
My heart is with GSP, my money is on Hughes. Why? cause it’s a safe bet. The most consistant fighter in the entire sport of MMA, never bet against a man like that. Now as far retirement goes, I wouldn’t mind seeing him retire from the UFC, but mma in general. Seeing hughes in a pride ring would be phenominal and would put pride solidly on the american scene, but thats just fantasy….or is it.
yea i agree with mightymaxx, but who would you see takin on hughes in pride at 170??
Aye that would be the problem for hughes. Of all the weight classes our welterwegiht translates the worst into the japanese scene. He’d have to com eup to around 170lbs makes him a small welterweight in pride. He’d put in with the likes of filho, kang, henderson, and misaki. I think he do alright at about 180lbs. It’s fun to specculate.
G.S.P. is the most dominant all around mixed martial artist,, after watching last nights fight this was made very clear,,,, i was once a fan of matt huges until i began to see how big of a **** he was. Hopefully this loss will cut down his ego,, i hope he don’t retire because i know matt hughes is going to have controversial remarks about the fight, and i would love to see G.S.P dominate him again
I would hate to see Matt Hughes retire cause I want to see him get his butt kicked a few more times.
I think for as long as the up and ready talent are younger than their opponents that will always impose a problem. mma has been evolving long enough to make well rounded fighters even before matt hughes but after 11/18/06 pierre proved to be the more well rounded. I think for the world of mma every one wants to see matt hughes come back with an improved effective game. although i do not think he will regain the welter weight belt not for as long as he has to face pierre to do so.
I think Matt has done a lot for the sport and he needs to at least have one more go at GSP. Retiring at this stge in his career would only make the loss to GSP that more unbearable in the long run in my opinion. He’ll loose of course, but at least he gave it a shot.
Hughes moving up in weight might be a good move, but I wouldn’t recommend fighting Anderson Silva just yet. A few tune up fights to see how he handles himself with much bigger opponents would be ideal.
G.S.P. is 1 of my favorite fighters. I would love to see him fight Penn again, as much as i like G.S.P. ,I think Penn won that fight. Penn didn’t even have a mark on him, yet Pierre was a bloody mess. You can’t say a guy won a fight because he scored a couple of takedowns.
I’m sorry people…but Hughes SHOULD RETIRE. Everyone hates when someone sticks around long past his prime. It’s just sad to see someone you once saw kick serious butt end up on the receiving end of it. Just like Ken Shamrock. Now granted, Ken stuck around to get a well deserved BIG payday with Tito Ortiz, but he still got man handled.
Hughes will never again hold the belt. Not unless GSP gets in a plane crash. So why should he continue. He’s done everything he can do. Let the man rest… Although I would love to see Matt fight BJ Penn again, and GSP, just to set the record straight. After he looses those two fights everyone will agree with me. The country boy DID survive. But it’s over…
he has only lost one match im no matt hughes fan but give the guy a chance he gave bj penn a beating something that gsp couldnt do so let the guy lose a couple more then say its over
All I have to say is this, those of you who think Matt is an a****** apparently you do not know him. Yes I do believe he has the fight of his life coming up again in April against GSP. He is going to have to give his all. He is a family man and very nice person. He does alot for people in need. He is also very caring. I personally think he will win against GSP if he pulls out all of the stops. He has to take control and not get comfortable in his position of power. As far as him retiring, no time soon. He loves what he does as a fighter and also as a person on the farm. The only reason he lost the bout against GSP is because he got too comfortable in his position of being the champ. You see it alot. LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING MATT BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF GSP. Hoping for a slam, SWEET.
Matt has 3 good years left, truely he does. The problem lies within his own philosophy in regards to MMA. When he fought the greatest legend in MMA, no introduction needed, he himself said, if you dont change with the sport, you will not survive. He proved that point. He is a wrestler, period, he doesnt throw good hands, he doesnt throw good feet, his grappling is mediocre, it’s his wrestling and incredible strength, (and a little luck with B.J. getting injured) that has kept him there. Now, guys like GSP are coming up, they are versed well in MARTIAL ARTS, as versed to say wrestling which is extremely limited. He is now a victim of his own truth, he needs to change his fight game or he will not survive, I have no doubt he is athletic, strong, and a good takedown artist, but what he does down there and what he does standing up, tells the story….
I’m wondering if it’s just me, or do other people think Hughes looked totally scared? Seriously, it wasn’t at all a representation of the confident veteran champ that he should be.. For most of the fight Matt Hughes looked like a scared little boy about to get spanked by his Mom. Either he was really scared and nervous, or he was sedated, because GSP ran circles around him. Is GSP really that good?
Matt WILL be back. Come on guys, he’s got the title defense record!
After one fight, you have the balls to say he’s done????
Let me sum it up, Matt slaughtered BJ, & GSP survived the decision.
Watch the pattern, we’ve seen it before. Chuck-Randy-Chuck….. Tim-Andrei-Tim…..Matt-GSP-Matt
….. as for GSP, he is good, but Matt will be back. A legend NEVER dies. 3 kicks to the groin will chop down the tallest tree.
As good as he is…. To give GSP the top is simply LUDICRIS!
GSP is the future and will be the next Van Damme!
But Matt is the next Matt!
I agree Matt not over with but he need to come back focused and determined. Your patterns are a little off though. It goes Andrei-Tim-Tim, Randy-Chuck-Chuck and Matt-GSP-GSP. I’m not saying Matt doesn’t have at least a 50% chance but GSP seems like he’s at the top of his game and I see him making at least a couple of title defences.
Hey Mad, sounds like you voted for GSP?
“Let me sum it up, Matt slaughtered BJ, & GSP survived the decision.”
i dont know if you seen both those fights but hughes almost lost to penn i wouldnt say penn got slaughtered and the fight where GSP “survived” a decision means almost nothing for hughes vs. st.pierre. oh well im sure GSP will the haters wrong just liddell has.
I think he will beat Hughes again but the fight I want to see is GSP vs Diego. Sanchez should get a crack at the winner and that should be an awsome fight.
I hear you RJ & Mad. All three are gladiators extreme!
Buth Chuck is #1!!!
Hey Mad, are you assuming the Diego will get through Matt? I like Diego, but we have to be honest.
If Matt doesn’t beat GSP, he will hold the title for some time….sorry!
I’m not assuming Diego will get through Matt. I’m assuming GSP will and Diego just seems the next logical title defence for him after that. I’m a big fan of GSP also so it will be a good fight. I’m just saying they need to give new guys title shots instead of repeat matches all the time. Diego has earned his title shot and wheather it be against Matt or GSP I think he has a legitamite chance.
That’s like saying Tito has a legitimate chance against Chuck…
Not really Tito had already lost to Chuck and the fights leading to the rematch were not that impressive from Tito. Diego has been getting better and better the more fights he has and with stiffer competition. Matt is not going to knock anyone out we’ve seen that and Sanchez has just as good wrestling and submissions. I would give GSP the advantage in stand up but if Diego is able to get it to the ground and work from there you never know.
So you think that Diego has better skills than Tito?
I like Diego and hate Tito, but we must be realists.
As good as he is, face it, Diego is no Matt.
I agree that Penn in no way got “slaughtered” by Hughes. It was clearl BJ gassed, even though he was clearly ahead in the scorecards and overall in the fight. If anything, BJ just exploited to the world all of Hughes’ weaknesses. Hughes was not active for most of the fight. His stand-up is still amateurish, and he wins on his cardio alone…waiting for his opponents to get tired. I guess I’m an old-school lover of the classical punch exchange as opposed to the boring ground-n-pound
Never said Diego’s better than Tito. What I said is he has a chance where Tito really didn’t. I like Matt also but he’s no Liddell either. Hughes game plan is mostly ground and pound. That will play into Diego’s hands as he also is a ground specialist. BJ was beating Hughes on the mat and for the first two rounds on the feet. Matt has no KO power and Diego has incredible stamina so I feel he can compete. Matt is to cocky lately which I don’t like, I think getting KO’d by GSP may humble him a bit. Diego has called Matt out and Matt has said he would like to fight Sanchez but Dana wants to save him for a title shot. I just want to see new matchups not Matt vs GSP III, IV and V what’s so interesting about that. If you don’t think Diego has a chance you must like Matt so much you became bias. If your a fan of the rematch, rubbermatch the UFC is doing lately Matt vs GSP VII will be great.
Sounds like I hit a nerve. Sorry. I also want some new blood in there, but the point I’m trying so earnestly to get across to you guys is that, honestly Diego is just not ready for GSP. Putting him in the octagon with GSP is like putting Tito in with Chuck. NO WAY!
Tito had the same arguments, that IF he could get Chuck down, blah, blah, blah. Diego has NO CHANCE of flooring GSP… period.
Guess we’ll have to wait and see how it all unfolds. I wouldn’t say NO CHANCE of getting him down. BJ took him down and beat him up pretty good and Matt took him down and submitted him without to much problem. I don’t think this fight is as much of a mismatch as you are saying. Look at the right hand Diego landed on Riggs, his stand up is improving. Matt had BJ down and pinned and was getting unblocked punches straight to the face and couldn’t even make him bleed much less knock him out. No one is invincible even GSP. Seems like every time someone beats one of the champs they are suddenly indesrtuctible. Diego’s the only one in the WW division without a loss so untill someone beats him and exposes his weakness he has to be considered a threat even to Matt and GSP.
You are right on that note, Diego DOES deserve the title shot, allot more than those TUF guys, and he does improve every fight, but I still don’t think he’s ready.
i said i wanted to see sanchez vs st.pierre even before they made the st.pierre vs hughes 2 fight. i have been so impressed with sanchez right from the time he was on the TUF show and he for sure he needs a title shot now he is ready. it will be a good one!
Well it’s been nice chatting with you Dennis it’s good to see how many peolple on this site are passionate about MMA. We will see in the near future if he is ready because his next fight will be a title match. Anyway have a nice weekend and I’ll chat with all of you next week, my shift at work is over and I’m heading home. I know I should be working but being and MMA junkie is more fun.
Hey RJ,
you are so right. I also wanted to see Sanchez & GSP before the titlt fight, but after seeing GSP now, I don’t think Diego is ready.
Later MAD.
yeah i hear you about diego. i dont think he can beat GSP but i would still love to see them throw down. i think its now getting to the point were you HAVE to be just as good on your feet as you are on your back to be able to have a title for any amount of time.
I really hope people don’t start to forget about B.J. Penn in this division. Penn is a dog and would be a tough fight for Diego. Problem is Penn needs to start fighting more. He truly is awesome and I’m not even a big fan of his. I would like him more if I saw him fight more. He’s had 2 fights since he returned to the UFC a year ago. I was disapointed to hear that he was one of the coaches for TUF 5 because that means that his next fight won’t be until june when he fights Jens Pulver again. He needs to be in the Welterweight title picture. Going 3 rounds with GSP and in my opinion winning that fight, then almost beating Hughes for a second time says alot. Penn vs Sanchez would be a great fight.