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Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Hallman vs. Hughes 3? "Superman" Weighs In On Trilogy
 Since the announcement of Dennis "Superman" Hallman's return to the UFC, fan speculation has immediately pointed to a third meeting between Hallman and Matt Hughes.
In their early careers, Hallman defeated Hughes twice, first at an Extreme Challenge show in 1998 and then at UFC 29 in 2000. The victories took a combined 38 seconds.
Until UFC 79 in December 2007, Hallman was the only man to hold two victories over Hughes, though he remains the fastest man to do so.
MMAInsider caught up with Hallman Wednesday afternoon to get the skinny.
MMAInsider: So you recently signed a new deal with the UFC. The world wants to know: is this a harbinger of Hallman/Hughes 3?
Hallman: I don't think it's a harbinger. I think it's a big possibility, if the fans want to see it. I'm not turning down any fights, so if they offer it, there it is.
MMAInsider: Is it something you'd like to do? How likely do you think it is to happen?
Hallman: It's something the fans have been asking for, and I'm sure deep down in Hughes' little heart, it's something he wants, so it's something I'm not going to turn down. I don't have anything to prove there, but I'm not going to turn it down. In my opinion, I would probably expect it. No one's said anything to me, that's not the reason why it was signed, but those are options. I'm sure if enough people ask for the fight, then usually Dana and those guys listen to the Underground says, so I'm assuming it's going to happen.
MMAInsider: How do you feel it would be the same or different than the other two times.
Hallman: I'm sure Hughes is probably going to run for the first thirty seconds at least, and it will be different after that because it will be longer than thirty seconds.
MMAInsider: So if Hughes makes it out of the first 30 seconds, we're good to go.
Hallman: Yep. It will be a good war. Those fights were eight years ago. It's completely different for both of us. The guy's a smarter fighter now, and so am I, so it would be a different kind of war.Labels: Dennis Hallman, Matt Hughes
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 3:43 PM
Monday, July 6, 2009
Matt Hughes' Infamous Weight Cut
Matt Hughes cutting weight for his fight against Matt Serra at UFC 98. Video takes place between Wednesday night, May 20th, through Friday morning, May 22nd 2009. All of this footage was filmed in the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, courtesy of Matt-Hughes.com.Labels: Matt Hughes, Weigh Cutting
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 6:08 PM
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
UFC 98 Postfight Video: Matt Hughes & Matt Serra
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 3:25 AM
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Matt Hughes Calls on the Opposition to Train for Serra
 Matt Hughes and Matt Serra are fighting at UFC 98 next week, and Hughes appears to be taking the fight very seriously.
It's been basically a year since either has fought, and both are coming off of losses. Hughes enters the bout off of a devastating flying knee from Thiago Alves, which followed his second loss to Georges St. Pierre. Serra faces Hughes after losing his rematch with St. Pierre at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
As the time for UFC 98 draws near, Hughes has branched out of the confines of his H.I.T. Squad gym. In a post on his official blog, he indicated that not only has he sought out a familiar face in former teammate Jeremy Horn, but he also traveled to Minnesota to train with former opponent Sean Sherk.
Last week, Matt Pena and I went up and trained with Sean Sherk and several other fighters at Greg Nelson's Minnesota Martial Arts Academy. We were there from Monday through Saturday afternoon. I had a great training session and also a good time. One thing about that gym is that they've got some tough guys in there. No wonder Sean has done as good as he has. The week before that, I was in Salt Lake City training with Jeremy Horn.
Hughes and Sherk fought at UFC 42 several years ago. Sherk lost his bid to take the UFC welterweight title away from Hughes, but took him the duration of their five-round championship bout.Labels: Matt Hughes, Matt Serra, Sean Sherk, UFC 98
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 4:43 PM
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Hughes and Serra: A Sitcom That Will Never Happen
Even if Matt Hughes and Matt Serra lived next to each other in a parallel dimension, they wouldn't have potlucks together.
On a Tuesday teleconference for next weekend's UFC 98, a reporter posed this bizarre scenario: what would happen if Matt Serra and Matt Hughes were next door neighbors in an apartment building?
Whether this fantasy apartment was in Long Island or rural Illinois, neither Serra or Hughes saw any change from their current dislike for each other, even if they didn't share a rocky past.
"I respect him as a fighter, as far as fighting ability," qualified Serra. "Nah, I don't think we'd really hang out. I don't think we'd get along too great. I just can't see us going bowling together. That's just me."
Hughes agreed with Serra's assessment.
"I just think we'd do our own thing," he said. "Matt's exactly right, I don't think we'd hang out. Probably nod our head, say hi in the hallway. We're just two different people."
"I think we should look for a reality show," added Serra.
If they did go bowling--a rematch from their showdown on the sixth season of "TUF," Serra saw another win at the lanes.
"I'm no big bowler, but we saw how that went," he said.
The nine-time welterweight champ was none too amused.
"Who cares who would win in bowling? I don't, and I really don't think Matt does either. Does it really matter who beats each other in bowling? Whoever beats each other in bowling is whoever is luckier that day. I think it's safe to assume we both suck at it."
And probably safe to say the two will never be on camera again together.Labels: Matt Hughes, Matt Serra, UFC 98
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 4:12 PM
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Matt Serra UFC 98 Video Blog - Day 2
Former UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra continues with Day 2 of his video blog as he prepares for UFC 98 and his fight against Matt Hughes.Labels: Matt Hughes, Matt Serra, UFC 98, Video Blog
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 11:04 PM
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Matt Hughes Says GSP Felt Greasy When They Fought
 For better or worse, the hot topic of conversation following what was billed as the biggest fight in Ultimate Fighting Championship history -- the mega-fight between welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre and lightweight champion B.J. Penn -- has been the use of Vaseline by St. Pierre's cornermen.
Most of the parties involved have commented in one form or another, and the Penn camp is now determining their pursuit of the allegations against St. Pierre. On Tuesday, in his official blog, former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes, who has fought St. Pierre three times, weighed in on some of the UFC 94 bouts, but was most poignant in his comments about St. Pierre feeling greasy when they fought:
"I was also surprised by the final match, I thought B.J. would have put on a better performance. B.J. Penn is coming from a lighter weight class, but he took the fight at 170. That's the bottom line. I knew it was going to come down to who had the better cardio and even at the end of the first round B.J. looked tired.
Now, on to what everybody is talking about, the greasing. I'm not the only one who has said that GSP felt greasy during a fight. I know Matt Serra has mentioned it and, even in their first fight, I think B.J. said something. I'm not saying GSP did something wrong and I'm not saying that it would have changed any outcomes of any fights; but what I am saying is, for my last two fights against Georges, he felt greasy."
Courtesy of Matt-Hughes.com.Labels: B.J. Penn, Georges St. Pierre, Matt Hughes, UFC 94
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 5:35 PM
Friday, January 9, 2009
Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra on May 23rd?
 Matt Hughes and Matt Serra don't like each other. The two former UFC welterweight champions have been on a collision course for months and months. This much we all know.
The big question has been, when will they finally get to meet in the Octagon. Well, looks like we're getting pretty close to an answer. At least according to Hughes.
In a blog entry on his site on Friday night, Hughes said that it looks like a date has finally been hammered out to put the two in the cage:
Just got a call from Joe Silva and as of right now it looks like I’ll be fighting Matt Serra in Vegas on May 23rd. This is not 100% confirmed, but I believe it is going to be on this date.
As this obviously isn't a case of signed fight contracts, or anything like that, there's still a lot of time before May for plans to change... but it looks like fans can at least pencil in a target date for the "Battle fo the Matts."
Labels: Matt Hughes, Matt Serra
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 11:48 PM
Monday, December 15, 2008
The Miletich Family is still... the Miletich Family
 With many of the longtime Pat Miletich-trained fighters having gone their separate ways over the past couple of years there is always a ton of speculation of the once great team having it in for each other. Well, it doesn't sound like it's that way for Matt Hughes. In his latest blog post, Hughes talks about being at Pat's latest fight with Jens Pulver and Robbie Lawler and some of his feelings for Pat:
"This last Thursday, Pat Miletich, my former coach and longtime friend returned to the cage. I've been waiting for Pat to fight again for a long time. With Pat helping me get ready for fights as much as he has and seeing all of his talents, I hated seeing Pat leave the industry on a loss. So I was always hoping that Pat would come in, get a fight against a formidable opponent and show everybody what he can really do. So last Thursday, Pat fought Thomas Denny and he did just that. He showed everybody that might have had a doubt that Pat still has what it takes to be a top fighter. So, with as good as Pat looked in the fight I hope he takes another one. I sat ringside with Jens (Pulver) on my right and Robbie (Lawler) on my left. We were pretty amped up for the fight and when Pat knocked Thomas out in the second round, we went crazy. I know that all three of us were in a big hug just jumping around. Some of you might know this, but when I would travel to Iowa on Monday, I would stay there all week and drive back on Friday. It was tough being away from my family, which is one of the biggest reasons I opened the HIT Squad; but Pat and the friendship we have really helped fill the void of my family not being around. To be honest, he played the role of my brother when I was in Iowa. Pat Miletich is family and nothing could ever happen that would ever make me think otherwise. But it was great going up there and seeing all the guys and it was good seeing Ryan, Mike C. and some other guys I know get some wins there as well."
Matt also posted a bunch more photos from the event on his site, Matt-Hughes.com.Labels: Jens Pulver, Matt Hughes, Pat Miletich, Robbie Lawler
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 12:01 AM
Friday, October 31, 2008
Matt Hughes Rocks the Vote!
 Politics isn't a subject that you hear to many mixed martial arts fighters talking about... at least in a public forum. Former UFC welterweight champ Matt Hughes is one notable exception to that rule.
In his latest blog entry on Friday, Hughes spent a good portion of his time talking about the differences, as he sees them, between Barack Obama and John McCain.
Considering that McCain at one time nearly brought the sport of MMA to its knees, many fans will probably be surprised to know that Hughes asserts that the McCain/Palin ticket shares his views more closely than the Obama/Bieden ticket.
Citing his views on abortion, gay marriage, gun laws, the war in Iraq, taxes, and other topics, Hughes makes his case for why he is more in tune to McCain/Palin.
In the end, Hughes doesn't necessarily rail on fans to jump to his side, saying, "I can look past the fact that McCain was against my sport. I’m not taking that personally, I’m doing what I think is best for my kids and my country.
"So, I hope people go out and use their best judgment and not look at who they can relate to the most, but who is going to do the best job out there."Labels: Barack Obama, John McCain, Matt Hughes
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 11:59 PM
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Georges St. Pierre talks B.J. Penn on Fox News
Georges St. Pierre was a guest recently Fox News Fight Game. The UFC welterweight champion discussed his thoughts on rematching B.J. Penn on Super Bowl weekend, the upcoming bout between UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture and Brock Lesnar at UFC 91, Matt Hughes, gorwing up and his beginnings in mixed martial arts, and much, much more.
This is a really good interview with St. Pierre that especially goes in depth about his training and various aspects of martial arts and how things apply to MMA.Labels: B.J. Penn, Brock Lesnar, Georges St. Pierre, Matt Hughes, Randy Couture, UFC, UFC 91, UFC 94, Video
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 12:16 AM
Monday, October 27, 2008
Robbie Lawler Comments on EliteXC and Beyond
 The last ever Elite XC middleweight champion, Robbie Lawler, recently updated his blog on his personal website, Robbie-Lawler.com, where he talked about the recent demise of the company and he had good things to say about his time with the promotion.
"As everyone knows Elite XC is no longer around. I enjoyed my time working for them and I was treated really well. Thank you to everyone at Pro Elite for the opportunity to fight in front of millions of fans."
The internet started buzzing over the weekend when Lawler was spotteed at UFC 90 and speculation began running that he may sign with the promotion where he basically started his career.
While Lawler did not confirm or deny anything, he believes his future is very bright.
"Last week I spent at the UFC with Matt Hughes. The atmosphere was awesome as usual. I spent time talking to Monte Cox about what my options are. I also had a brief conversation with the very busy prez of the UFC. All that said I think I will be just fine. I will blog when I sign with an organization. Until then I will keep myself in good shape."
Along with Elite XC welterweight champion Jake Shields, Lawler is one of the top prospects that will be rumored to end up with the UFC at the end of the day.
Labels: EliteXC, Jake Shields, Matt Hughes, Robbie Lawler, UFC 90
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 2:09 PM
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra in April... Maybe
 Ever since their words of war on The Ultimate Fighter, there has been a tremendous wall of friction between former UFC welterweight champions Matt Hughes and Matt Serra. Both fighters and fans seem to think the only way it will be resolved is in the Octagon.
Well, that may just happen. Matt Hughes posted the following information on his official website Monday night, indicating that the UFC is looking towards a battle between the two Matts this spring:
"This week, I talked to Joe Silva at the UFC and a possible date for Serra and I is in April. I don’t know the exact date right now or venue. So, that is something that I can look forward to and I can set my training up for that schedule."Labels: Matt Hughes, Matt Serra, UFC
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 2:56 PM
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