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Differing Views on Matt Hughes

Kevin Iole of Yahoo says  Matt Hughes is done after yesterday's loss to Thiago Alves:

Time, and the changing face of mixed martial arts, has clearly caught up to Hughes.
...

And while there was a time when most mixed martial arts experts thought Hughes would steamroll Serra, that time is long past. Hughes has now lost three of his last four and has been dominated in each of the losses.

...while the 34-year-old Hughes said he felt good even as he walked to the cage, he lacks the quick, explosive shot that he had as a younger man. Hughes went for a shot early, but Alves easily saw it coming and stuffed it.

Steve Cofield agrees :

Is it old age, a lack of desire, an oversized ego or a sport that is evolving too fast to keep pace with for 34-year-old Matt Hughes?

Hughes lost to Thiago Alves on Saturday at UFC 85 in London and now needs to pinpoint what the problem is before he considers taking another fight in the Octagon.
...

In past fights, Hughes on top meant a brutal beating for the opponent. But he never got off in this one as Alves often had a Hughes' arm pinned to neutralize the veteran.

Hughes has looked older in each of three recent losses (St. Pierre twice and Alves). In shooting for his takedowns against both fighters, Hughes was slow. With the speed difference and the opponents' takedown defense, Hughes was often left desperately flailing and grabbing at air instead of latching onto a leg...

The other issue is your fighting support system. Hughes may train hard, but does he train with quality?

He was a longtime leader of Pat Miletich's gym in Bettendorf, Iowa, before splitting from Miletich Fighting Systems last year and forming his own fight team, H.I.T.Squad (Hughes Intense Training) in Granite City, Ill. The Miletich gym is filled with former and current MMA champions. The competition and coaching in the gym is as good as any in the country.

Can the same be said, when you're king of the hill, in a smaller gym? How do you replicate the skills of world class MMA fighters to spar and improve your game?

Should Hughes even fight again, and does he want to?

Zach Arnold, begs to differ:

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.

...

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.

 

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I’m not too great at telling how much people weigh just by looking at them, but seeing the difference between Alves and Hughes that night was just astonishing. Alves really looked like a middleweight to me – which ended up being a nagging voice in my head during the whole fight. I just can’t give him full credit for winning last night.

by Gong on Jun 8, 2008 2:12 PM EDT   0 recs

I thought the same thing

Looked like he was fighting someone one or two even weight classes above him. I was amazing at the apparent size and weight difference between the two.

by mythbuster on Jun 8, 2008 6:19 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

I’m not a Matt Hughes fan at all but I think he has the Matt Serra fight left at least and in my opinion he just hasn’t had good gameplans.

by The Legend on Jun 8, 2008 2:17 PM EDT   0 recs

Arnold’s rant is a prime example why I can’t take him seriously for anything other than an encyclopedic knowledge of Japanese television ratings.

Iole was respectful in letting Hughes down gently, calling Hughes a classy representative of the sport, but Arnold only saw a rip job, which it wasn’t.

by andherewego on Jun 8, 2008 4:14 PM EDT   0 recs

Respectful?

Iole effectively put Hughes on the level of Shamrock or Tank by claiming that almost anyone can beat him now.

by rabrown on Jun 9, 2008 2:45 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Iole needs to retire or atleast quit writing stupid stupid shit. Who is he to say when someone should retire, let alone Matt Hughes.

Matt looked a step slow, and he looked small, compared to today’s 170 lbers that are 6’0 190 or so before the fight he is small. Everyone keeps saying he’s a big welterweight, but he’s not, not anymore. In today’s game you can bet 9 times out of 10, unless you’re at the lowest of weight classes 145-135, that they’re walking around at the weight class above them.

by TannerMatthews on Jun 8, 2008 4:56 PM EDT   0 recs

I don't think he looked small..

so much as he was up against someone who looked BIG (and who was).

Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.

"The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls and looking like hard work." -- Thomas Edison

by brentbrookhouse on Jun 8, 2008 5:28 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

I think the issue was more about Alves being too quick for Hughes, rather than Hughes having lost a step. In the past, Hughes has struggled with quick, athletic guys who can sprawl, such as St. Pierre or Penn. Hughes seems unable to cope in fights which he cannot dominate from the top. The real flaw it Matt Hughes’ game is the inability to create offense against fighters who can avoid the take down, like St. Pierre, or guys like Alves who neutralize Hughes’ ground and pound with excellent defense from the back. With so many well rounded guys at 170 Hughes cannot afford to remain one dimensional, or the game will pass him by.

by Andy R on Jun 8, 2008 10:55 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

I agree

Hughes while not totally one dimensional, IS! He knows this and openly admits all he wants to do is take you down and beat you up. Against fighters he can’t take down and beat up, a la the HUGE thiago or GSP, he looks like just a wrestler going back to his bread and butter, which is simply not enough in the new world of MMA. Look at what sherk did in his fight against Penn, which was an up hill battle for him to say the least, but it showed another dimension of his game. Hughes needs to start training with guys like GSP and Penn if he expects to hang around after Serra.

all you gotta do is...

by imapimp08 on Jun 9, 2008 10:38 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Catch Weight?

First off I call bullshit on Alves hurting his ankle. Then he said he did it 10 days before the fight. Well that was plenty of time to get on the phone and let Dana who could then let Hughes know that the fight was gonna be a catch weight. Alves then begging for a title shot was disgusting. He really needs to make weight and then fight a top contender. Anyways, Hughes looked fucking tiny compaed to Alves.

by MrNiceGuyMMA on Jun 8, 2008 11:37 PM EDT   0 recs

I’d like to know how you know it wasn’t true. And how do you know he didn’t get on the phone with Dana white and let him know? My guess is, especially on this card, Dana would have said “Well, fight heavy then if Matt’ll do it – otherwise this card is dead.” Considering all the pain this card has been through, I could easily see that being the case. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not in love with Alves – I just know that I don’t have all the information and am willing to accept that there could be conditions where missing weight is not as large a transgression as others. Personally, I really doubt that a guy who didn’t hurt his ankle would stand upt here and say that he did. These guys train with a shitload of people, all who would know that he’s lying – it just doesnt make sense. I’m pretty sure he injured his ankle. It’s crazy to me that someone would just decide that it’s bullshit and then decide that Alves didn’t let UFC management know. I’d like to know how you know that.

by Jiiri on Jun 9, 2008 6:59 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Good Fight for Matt Hughes

(1) Matt Serra
(2) Diego Sanchez
(3) Karo Parisyan

(formerly TheFightJournal)

by Lucas2 on Jun 9, 2008 3:50 AM EDT   0 recs

The size differential betweeh Hughes and Alves reminded me of the size difference between Hughes and Royce Gracie.

As for Hughes, maybe time is catching up with him. He’s no spring chicken, and 50 or so fights and the training required for those fights would slow almost anyone down.

by monkeyfightclub! on Jun 9, 2008 9:48 AM EDT   0 recs

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