While it hasn’t been officially announced yet, it is widely speculated that another fight between Georges St. Pierre and Matt Hughes won’t be taking place this April. They exact reasons are unknown, and probably never will be, but the general consensus is that Matt Hughes wanted to take a fight in between his loss to GSP and another rematch.
Monte Cox, Matt Hughes manager, told Loretta Hunt of www.thefightnetwork.com that
After discussing the future with Matt, it was agreed that it would be in his best interests to take a fight in between a rematch with St. Pierre. This way, he would have more time to train specific skills that would give him a better chance at winning back the title.
Dana White himself has also alluded to the fact that Matt wanted to wait and hold off on an immediate rematch. However, Matt Hughes posted yesterday on his personal blog
:
I was told that my rematch with Georges in April was called off because he wanted more than two months to prepare. I know there are a lot of rumors being spread around the internet and if people want to believe that I dropped out, then that’s fine with me. I don’t feel that I need to defend myself every time someone posts a rumor on the internet.
The UFC says that I’m fighting on March 3rd, but I don’t know who yet. I asked for Diego, but they want to save him for a title shot. I am glad to be fighting in Ohio, this way people from around here, who can’t really afford to fly out to Vegas or California, will be able to watch one of my fights. So I look forward to a lot of local support. -Matt
Matt wants to fight Diego and Diego has said he wants to fight Matt Hughes, but it looks like the UFC is going to have Diego fight Georges St. Pierre for the title in April if he defeats Matt Serra in February. So Hughes is going to fight close to his backyard at UFC 68 in Ohio, and most likely it will be against Karo Parisyan. We already know that Karo is scheduled to fight at UFC 68, and there are not many fighters left that either Karo and/or Matt Hughes can face off against, so this is really an ideal matchup at the moment.
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HEY EVERYONE OK FIRST OFF THIS MATCH UP RIGHT HERE WITH HUGHES AND KARO IF IT HAPPENS ITS TOTALLY DUMB.
KARO IS SO NOT UP TO MATTS LEVEL…. THIS IS WHAT THE UFC NEEDS TO PUT ON THE FIGHT CARD AND TELL ME IF U AGREE… DIEGO AND MATT FIGHT UFC 67 OR 68 THEN THE WINNER GETS GSP COME ON ?????
yeah for sure hughes vs sanchez at 67 would be cool but the ufc would never let it go down because it is a good match and it would draw a good crowd the ufc 67 fight card will be good enough without hughes or sanchez. the have two title fight even if they are a bit lack luster and cro cop and rampage both get to show there stuff. just remember the ufc IS trying to make some money and if they spread some big fights over a longer time they will make more money. this will be good for the fans in the long run more money means bigger fights with bigger undercards to help them
Karo is certainly at Matt’s level. Do I think he’ll win? No, but it will be a competitive match. A Diego vs. Hughes for a shot at GSP seems to make sense, but as stated earlier it makes more money to spread those guys out accros several cards.
I KNOW BUT THAT SUCKS WE HAVE TO WORK SO LONG TO SEE OUR FAVS FIGHT…. I WANT DANA WHITES JOB
BY THE WAY MATT SERRA AND LUTTER GETTING TITLE SHOTS FOR WINNING THE SHOW … MAN THATS BULLCRAP… I LOVE GSP AND SILVA IS COOL TO WATCH BUT I TOTALLY DONT AGREE WITH THAT U WIN THE SHOW CRAP U GET A TITLE SHOT BESIDES ITS GONNA BE BORING TO SEE NOW THAT GSP ISNT GONNA BE IN IT.. SILVA IS GONNA KNOCK OUT LUTTER IN LIKE FIVE SECONDS THIS ONE IS GONNA SUCK… EXCEPT CRO COP IS GONNA BE RAD TO SEE
i hear wat you guys sayin about the money thing. This coming card is too good to squeeze in a monster match like that and im fine with that. But for April, i think the better matchup would be Hughes and diego, its not a title match, which is good, because its such a great matchup it doesnt have to be.
i would NOT say karo is out of his league, man, hes a great fighter, but hes been pitted against some SERIOUS competition man. Its tough on a fighter having consecutive loss after loss, i think putting him against hughes NOW is the wrong move. This is similar to what happened to nick diaz, he got mashed up by alot of tough guys consecutively and i think it really affected his confidence. I dont want the same thing to happen to karo.
If hughes beats diego, it be nice to see diego – karo rematch. If hughes loses to diego, thats 2 losses in a row for hughes, putting him on that “losing streak” then throw karo at him.
LISTEN PEOPLE. I KNOW WHAT’s HAPPENING!!!!!! Matt Hughes wants to fight a guy he knows that he can beat. Then he’ll fight GSP for the title and finish the trilogy. That, my friends, will be his last and final fight. He will retire. Just like Shamrock did against Oritz. When you go out, you want to hand the torch over to a man who truly deserves it. Matt Hughes has 2 fights left on his contract. Why fight GSP and lose, then fight someone else and win. It sounds a lot better to fight and win (cause it’s good for ratings) and close out your career to someone who will likely keep the belt for a long long time. Mark my words. I’M SO RIGHT ABOUT THIS ONE. Remember… the UFC is a buisness. It only makes sense to have Hughes win one before he goes on for the rubber match. Ratings will be VERY high. Good thinking Dana.
brian, we know hughes is fighting one more match, the question is.. who? and i disagree with wat you said about him retiring. Everyone wants to go out on a good note and all that. But i dont think he will retire after his next 2 fights, he himself said he was planning to stick around for like another 2 years.
Hey DJ. If I’m right about this one, can I write for you?? LOL. You’ve got a GREAT website here. I mean, the best I’ve ever seen next to the big dogs. Being able to write your comments and listen to what others have heard and think is just brilliant! I’m a buisness man myself and I think we could really get this thing off the ground. Great ideas are thought of everyday. Lets make it happen. Do you do this thing by yourself?? If so, I could help. Just think about it…
Brian, I’m always open to new ideas and contributors to the site. If you or any of my other readers have any articles they’d like to post, you can always email them to me at
drj [at] mmahq [dot] com
I’ll review them and if you put together some good articles, I can set you up with an account to post directly to the MMAHQ.com site.
I’ve got a few projects up my sleeve for this site, but like I said, I’m always open to new ideas and suggestions.
I have to say this latest news is a huge dissapointment for UFC 68. Sylvia will fight a nobody, Hughes will fight a guy whos not even a full-time fighter, and Franklin will fight a guy thats only won 2 fights in the UFC. What is going on? I can’t believe Vera didn’t agree to the contract. He doesn’t seem like the type of guy that would back down from a fight. The UFC must have offered him absolutely nothing at all to try and keep Sylvia champ for just a little longer. What ********!!!
Can someone elaborate on why Vera turned downed the title shot?
Vera believes he’s worth more money, so will probably drop out the UFC completely…
Bad Choice. Dana’s on the rise!
It appears like the Zuffas and Dana White tend to reward those who are loyal more than those who just go for the money. For Vera to turn down a title shot in the UFC (which in my opinion he has a good shot at claiming) it just may be a move that bites him in the end. If you look at guys like Hughes and Liddell who have stuck it out and always honoured their contracts, they seem to now be reaping the rewards (from the pay scale as well as endorsement deals). Anyone have an idea as to how much these guys would make as a percentage of the PPV revenue? I heard and read on a few different sites that Liddell was well over a Million now per fight.