Matt Hughes
Born	October 13, 1973 (1973-10-13) (age 36) Hillsboro, Illinois, United States
Nationality	American
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight	170 lb (77 kg; 12 st)
Division	Welterweight
Reach	73.0 in (185 cm)
Style	Wrestling, Collegiate wrestling, Amateur wrestling
Stance	Orthodox
Fighting out of	Hillsboro, Illinois
Team	The H.I.T. Squad
Rank	NCAA Division I Wrestling
Years active	1998–present
MMA record
Total	51
Wins	44
By knockout	15
By submission	19
By decision	10
Losses	7
By knockout	3
By submission	4
Other information
University	Eastern Illinois University Lincoln College Southwestern Illinois College
Spouse	Audra Moore-Hughes
Notable relatives	Mark Hughes, twin brother
[http://matt-hughes.com Official website]
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Matthew Allen Hughes (born October 13, 1973), is a professional mixed martial arts fighter and former two-time UFC Welterweight Champion. Hughes put together two separate six-fight winning streaks in the UFC, won the welterweight title on two occasions, defended the belt a record seven times, and holds the record for most wins in the UFC.

A long-time member of Miletich Fighting Systems, Hughes left the Miletich camp in late 2007 to start Team Hughes. Team Hughes fights out of The H.I.T. Squad (Hughes Intensive Training), a Granite City, Illinois gym, which he co-owns with Robbie Lawler, Matt Pena and Marc Fiore.

Early life

Hughes was born in Hillsboro, Illinois. Hughes has two siblings, a sister and his twin brother Mark. He and Mark spent a lot of time on the family farm in their childhood. During their high school days, they both played football and wrestled.

Hughes went to college at Southwestern Illinois College, a two-year college located in Belleville, Illinois before transferring to Lincoln College, in Lincoln, Illinois and then on to Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois. His freshman and sophomore years, he made the NJCAA All-American Team, and his final two years he was listed on the NCAA Division I All-American Teams.

Wrestling

Hughes was a two-time 145 lb IHSA (Illinois High School Association) Class A state wrestling champion. He won in 1991 and 1992 while attending Hillsboro (IL) High School. Furthermore, Hughes is a two-time Division I All-American wrestler, with an 8th and a 5th place finish in the 158 lb division.

Hughes has competed in the prestigious ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship, in which he held a record of 2–2. This consists of wins over Ricardo Almeida and Jeremy Horn, and losses to Jeff Monson and Tito Ortiz.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Welterweight championship

Hughes won his first UFC World Welterweight title at UFC 34: High Voltage on November 2, 2001. Hughes was caught in a triangle choke by Carlos Newton, but Hughes lifted Newton in the air and slammed him to the mat, causing Newton to hit his head and lose consciousness just as Hughes was on the verge of blacking out himself from the choke. After the match Carlos stated that he felt the reason Hughes fell to the mat was because he was rendered unconscious from the triangle choke. This was confirmed by Hughes himself upon reviewing the tape of the match Hughes can be heard telling his corner after the fight "I was out." In their subsequent rematch, Hughes won by technical knockout when he successfully trapped Newton in a modified crucifix position, which allowed him to rain unanswered blows on Newton's defenseless face.

He successfully defended his championship belt several times thereafter, defeating Hayato Sakurai, Carlos Newton (in a rematch), Gil Castillo, Sean Sherk, and Frank Trigg. He kept the title until UFC 46, when he was submitted by Hawaiian Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist B.J. Penn via rear naked choke. The title was vacated upon a contract dispute between Penn and the UFC. Hughes regained the vacant welterweight title by submitting Canadian contender Georges St. Pierre via armbar in the final second of the first round at UFC 50.

After regaining his title, Hughes successfully retained it in a rematch with Frank Trigg at UFC 52. After being accidentally hit in the groin early in the first round, Hughes looked to the referee for assistance; however, the referee had not seen the strike and Trigg capitalized on Hughes' distraction by staggering Hughes with a barrage of punches. The fight quickly went to the ground, with Trigg ground-and-pounding Hughes, then attempting a rear naked choke. After nearly two minutes of struggling, Hughes broke free of Trigg's choke attempt, then picked Trigg up, carried him across the Octagon, and slammed him to the ground. Hughes then ground-and-pounded Trigg before securing the victory with a rear naked choke of his own. Hughes' next fight took place at UFC 56, where he was scheduled to fight Judo practitioner Karo Parisyan. After Parysian suffered a hamstring injury and could not fight, Joe Riggs took his place. The match was originally scheduled as a title bout, but since Riggs could not meet the 170-pound weight limit, it became a non-title fight. Hughes defeated Riggs in the first round by kimura. In UFC 60, on May 27, 2006, Hughes defeated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend Royce Gracie in a non-title, catch-weight bout by TKO (strikes). Before the stoppage, Gracie was caught in an armlock from the side mount position; although Hughes appeared to have the submission in place, Gracie would not tap out, Hughes has stated in past interviews, that he could not get enough leverage on Gracie's arm to break it. He released the hold to pursue a more dominant position.

Hughes and Penn before their match at UFC 63: Hughes vs. Penn

In September 2006, Hughes defended his title in a rematch against B.J. Penn, stopping him in the third round. Although Penn dominated the first 2 rounds, he struggled in the third with Hughes taking advantage. British MMA/wrestling magazine "Fighting Spirit" reported that Penn had sustained a rib injury late in round 2, leaving him gasping for air. This may explain his lack of performance in the latter round, though some attribute this to a lack of cardiovascular endurance training. Afterwards, Georges St. Pierre (who was supposed to face Hughes at this event but pulled out due to injury) stepped into the ring and congratulated Hughes on his win, but also stated, "I was not impressed by your performance."

Losing his belt to St. Pierre

On November 18, 2006 at UFC 65: Bad Intentions, Georges St. Pierre defeated Hughes by TKO via strikes at 1:25 of round two, ending Hughes' title reign. In the first round, Hughes sustained two unintentional kicks near the groin; after Hughes went down from the second kick, St. Pierre was given a warning by referee "Big" John McCarthy. Hughes however stated in his post fight interview that the second kick mainly affected his legs, rather than his groin. Nearing the end of the first round, St. Pierre landed a 'superman' punch, which floored Hughes. St. Pierre then followed up with strikes on his stunned opponent. When it appeared that the fight would be stopped, the bell rang signaling the end of the first round. It was in the second round that St. Pierre ended the fight with a head kick which stunned Hughes and knocked him to the mat, following up with a flurry of punches and elbows that forced McCarthy to call a stop to the contest at 1:25 of round 2.

On March 3, 2007, Hughes returned to the Octagon for UFC 68: Uprising, defeating Chris Lytle by unanimous decision, winning 30–27 on all three judges' scorecards.

Following a championship win by Matt Serra over Georges St. Pierre at UFC 69, it was announced by UFC President Dana White that Hughes will again be fighting for the World Welterweight title in November 2007 against Serra. This fight was later changed to December 29, 2007 in Las Vegas, at UFC 79: Nemesis. On November 24, however, Serra sustained a herniated disc in his lower back and had to inform the UFC that he would not be able to compete for an indeterminate time. As a replacement for the Serra/Hughes title match, the UFC quickly signed a rubber match between Hughes and St. Pierre which would also be for the UFC Interim Welterweight Championship. Despite his best efforts, Hughes was unable to mount any serious offense on St. Pierre, who easily avoided all of Hughes' takedown attempts while also taking Hughes down at will and using Hughes' own ground-and-pound style against him. Near the end of the second round, St. Pierre attempted a kimura on Hughes' right arm that he escaped, but in a reversal of their first fight, St. Pierre was able to twist it into a straight armbar with fifteen seconds remaining in the round. Hughes fought the extension, but with his left hand trapped between the mat and St. Pierre's legs, was forced to verbally submit at 4:54 of the second round. In the post-fight interview, Hughes praised St. Pierre as the better fighter and stated his intention to take some time off and spend with his family.

Hughes also expressed interest in going up a weight class to middleweight to fight champion Anderson Silva if former champion, Rich Franklin was unable to beat Silva in their rematch at UFC 77, a match that Silva did win. Hughes stated that if this fight occurs, it would happen in 2008 following his scheduled title shot against Serra, although the fight with Serra has now been postponed indefinitely. He also recently revealed his intention to retire from MMA within the next few years on the second episode of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs. Team Serra.

In late mid 2007, Hughes left the Miletich camp with Miletich stablemate Robbie Lawler, longtime boxing coach Matt Pena, and wrestling/conditioning teacher Marc Fiore to form The H.I.T.(Hughes Intensive Training) Squad in Granite City, Illinois.

Hughes fought Thiago Alves in a highly anticipated welterweight fight at UFC 85: BEDLAM on June 7, 2008. Hughes lost the fight to Thiago Alves due to referee stoppage (TKO strikes) at 1:02 in round 2. After receiving a powerful flying knee from Alves he dropped to the ground with his own left knee pinned behind his hips. He indicated during post-fight interviews that the landing did injure his knee.

Hughes has been very vocal about his career being in its twilight, evidenced by his speech after his loss to Georges St. Pierre at UFC 79, in which he hinted at the possibility of retiring in an effort to afford time to his family and a potential second book. However, a bout was confirmed shortly thereafter for UFC 85 against Thiago Alves. Alves failed to make weight for the match, but Hughes elected to fight him at a catch weight anyway. Hughes would lose by TKO, ultimately leaving him with a torn MCL and partially torn PCL.

The Ultimate Fighter

In 2005, Hughes participated as a coach opposite Rich Franklin in the second season of the Spike TV reality television series, The Ultimate Fighter. In 2007, Hughes participated as a guest coach for long time friend and training partner, Jens Pulver during The Ultimate Fighter 5 season.

Hughes agreed to be head coach again for the The Ultimate Fighter 6, alongside former UFC World welterweight champion, Matt Serra. Despite the fact that after the preliminary round, Team Hughes' record was 2–6, both Mac Danzig and Tommy Speer of Team Hughes made it to the finals.

Hughes vs. Serra and future

Immediately after the Alves fight, Hughes stated that he had "one more fight" left in him, and that he wanted to fight Matt Serra. Their rivalry stemmed from the time when Serra was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter and Hughes a coach. Serra did not like the way Hughes criticized other contestants on the show, and was disgusted when Hughes constantly picked on Georges St. Pierre during a lunch break and bragged about his submission victory. On January 9, 2009, Hughes confirmed on his web-site blog, that UFC 98 would likely be the day he and Serra met in the Octagon. The fight was confirmed by the UFC.

Hughes won the grudge match against Serra at UFC 98 via unanimous decision. After the fight Hughes and Serra embraced each other and ended their feud. Hughes posted on his blog: "When the fight was over, I was pretty confident I was going to get my hand raised. Some people have asked why I raised his hand at the end. Actually I didn't, he raised mine. He also told me that, no matter what the decision was, he was done with the rivalry". After the fight Matt Hughes said "I think I have a few more fights left in me."

Hughes signed a multi-fight deal with the UFC. Hughes defeated Renzo Gracie via third round TKO at UFC 112, setting the record for most wins in the UFC with 17. Hughes is expected to face Renzo Gracie student and 3rd degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Ricardo Almeida, on August 7, 2010 at UFC 117.

Personal life

Hughes is a born again Christian and regularly posts Bible verses on his website. Hughes and his wife Audra have one daughter together and they each have a son from a previous relationship. The couple's second daughter was born on January 2, 2010. He published his autobiography, Made in America: The Most Dominant Champion in UFC History.

Records and achievements

• Most wins in the UFC (17)
• 2× UFC Welterweight Champion
• 2× 6-fight win streaks in the UFC
• NJCAA All-American Team
• 2× NCAA Division I All-American Team
• Defeated all but one (Pat Miletich) of the other UFC Welterweight Champions
• UFC title defenses (7)

Mixed martial arts record

Result	Record	Opponent	Method	Rd.	Time	Date	Event	Location	Notes
		Ricardo Almeida				2010-08-07	UFC 117	Oakland, California
Win	44-7	Renzo Gracie	TKO (Strikes)	3	4:40	2010-04-10	UFC 112: Invincible	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Win	43–7	Matt Serra	Decision (unanimous)	3	5:00	2009-05-23	UFC 98: Evans vs. Machida	Las Vegas, Nevada	Won Fight of the Night Honors
Loss	42–7	Thiago Alves	TKO (Strikes)	2	1:02	2008-06-07	UFC 85: Bedlam	London England, UK	Catchweight fight; Alves's official weight was 174.
Loss	42–6	Georges St-Pierre	Submission (armbar)	2	4:54	2007-12-29	UFC 79: Nemesis	Las Vegas, Nevada	For UFC Interim Welterweight Championship
Win	42–5	Chris Lytle	Decision (unanimous)	3	5:00	2007-03-03	UFC 68: The Uprising	Columbus, Ohio
Loss	41–5	Georges St-Pierre	TKO (Strikes)	2	1:25	2006-11-18	UFC 65: Bad Intentions	Sacramento, California	Lost UFC Welterweight Championship
Win	41–4	B.J. Penn	TKO (Punches)	3	3:53	2006-09-23	UFC 63: Hughes vs. Penn	Anaheim, California	Defended UFC Welterweight Championship
Win	40–4	Royce Gracie	TKO (Punches)	1	4:39	2006-05-27	UFC 60: Hughes vs. Gracie	Los Angeles, California	Fought @ catchweight of 175 lbs (non-title fight).
Win	39–4	Joe Riggs	Submission (kimura)	1	3:26	2005-11-19	UFC 56: Full Force	Las Vegas, Nevada	Non-title fight; Riggs failed to make weight.
Win	38–4	Frank Trigg	Submission (rear naked choke)	1	4:05	2005-04-16	UFC 52: Couture vs. Liddell 2	Las Vegas, Nevada	Defended UFC Welterweight Championship
Win	37–4	Georges St-Pierre	Submission (armbar)	1	4:59	2004-10-22	UFC 50: The War of '04	Atlantic City, New Jersey	Won UFC Welterweight Championship
Win	36–4	Renato Verissimo	Decision (unanimous)	3	5:00	2004-06-19	UFC 48: Payback	Las Vegas, Nevada
Loss	35–4	B.J. Penn	Submission (rear naked choke)	1	4:39	2004-01-31	UFC 46: Supernatural	Las Vegas, Nevada	Lost UFC Welterweight Championship
Win	35–3	Frank Trigg	Submission (rear naked choke)	1	3:54	2003-11-21	UFC 45: Revolution	Uncasville, Connecticut	Defended UFC Welterweight Championship
Win	34–3	Sean Sherk	Decision (unanimous)	5	5:00	2003-04-25	UFC 42: Sudden Impact	Miami, Florida	Defended UFC Welterweight Championship
Win	33–3	Gil Castillo	TKO (cut)	1	5:00	2002-11-22	UFC 40: Vendetta	Las Vegas, Nevada	Defended UFC Welterweight Championship
Win	32–3	Carlos Newton	TKO (strikes)	4	3:27	2002-07-13	UFC 38: Brawl at the Hall	London, England, UK	Defended UFC Welterweight Championship
Win	31–3	Hayato Sakurai	TKO (strikes)	4	3:01	2002-03-22	UFC 36: Worlds Collide	Las Vegas, Nevada	Defended UFC Welterweight Championship
Win	30–3	Carlos Newton	KO (slam)	2	1:27	2001-11-02	UFC 34: High Voltage	Las Vegas, Nevada	Won UFC Welterweight Championship
Win	29–3	Steve Gomm	TKO	2	3:18	2001-09-08	Extreme Challenge 43	Orem, Utah
Win	28–3	Hiromitsu Kanehara	Decision (majority)	3	5:00	2001-08-11	RINGS: 10th Anniversary	Tokyo, Japan
Win	27–3	Chatt Lavender	Submission (side choke)	3	2:31	2001-07-13	Extreme Challenge 41	Davenport, Iowa
Win	26–3	Scott Johnson	KO (Punch)	1	3:24	2001-06-16	Extreme Challenge 40	Springfield, Illinois
Win	25–3	John Cronk	Submission (strikes)	N/A		2001-05-11	Gladiators 14	Omaha, Nebraska
Win	24–3	Bruce Nelson	Submission (strikes)	1	3:01	2001-03-31	Freestyle Combat Challenge 4	Racine, Wisconsin
Win	23–3	Brett Al-azzawi	Submission (armbar)	1	3:27	2001-03-17	RINGS USA: Battle of Champions	Council Bluffs, Iowa
Loss	22–3	Jose Landi-Jons	KO (knee to head)	1	4:45	2001-02-08	Shidokan Jitsu: Warriors War 1	Kuwait
Loss	22–2	Dennis Hallman	Submission (armbar)	1	0:20	2000-12-16	UFC 29: Defense of the Belts	Tokyo, Japan
Win	22–1	Maynard Marcum	Submission (keylock)	1	6:29	2000-11-12	RINGS Australia: Free Fight Battle	Brisbane, Australia
Win	21–1	Robbie Newman	Submission (arm triangle choke)	1	1:40	2000-09-30	RINGS USA: Rising Stars Final	Moline, Illinois
Win	20–1	Chris Haseman	Decision (unanimous)	2	5:00	2000-08-23	RINGS: Millennium Combine 3	Osaka, Japan
Win	19–1	Joe Guist	Submission (armbar)	1	2:45	2000-06-29	Extreme Challenge 35	Davenport, Iowa
Win	18–1	Marcelo Aguiar	TKO (cut)	1	4:34	2000-06-09	UFC 26: Ultimate Field of Dreams	Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Win	17–1	Shawn Peters	Submission (arm triangle choke)	1	2:52	2000-05-21	Extreme Challenge 32	Springfield, Illinois
Win	16–1	Alexandre Barros	Decision (unanimous)	3	5:00	2000-05-13	WEF 9: World Class	Evansville, Indiana
Win	15–1	Eric DaVila	Submission (keylock)	2	3:24	2000-04-15	SuperBrawl 17	Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	14–1	Jorge Pereira	TKO (cut)	1	6:00	2000-01-15	WEF 8: Goin' Platinum	Rome, Georgia
Win	13–1	Daniel Vianna	TKO (slam)	1		1999-11-20	Independent Event
Win	12–1	Laverne Clark	Submission (rear naked choke)	2	1:35	1999-11-13	Extreme Challenge 29	Hayward, Wisconsin
Win	11–1	Tom Schmitz	Submission (eye injury)	1	0:48	1999-11-13	Extreme Challenge 29	Hayward, Wisconsin
Win	10–1	Joe Doerksen	Submission (strikes)	2	0:25	1999-11-13	Extreme Challenge 29	Hayward, Wisconsin
Win	9–1	Valeri Ignatov	Decision (unanimous)	3	5:00	1999-09-24	UFC 22: Only One Can Be Champion	Lake Charles, Louisiana	UFC debut
Win	8–1	Akihiro Gono	Decision (unanimous)	3	5:00	1999-05-29	Shooto: 10th Anniversary Event	Yokohama, Japan
Win	7–1	Erick Snyder	TKO (slam)	N/A		1999-04-24	Jeet Kune Do Challenge 4	Chicago, Illinois
Win	6–1	Joe Stern	Submission (strikes)	1	2:30	1999-04-02	Extreme Challenge 23	Indianapolis, Indiana
Win	5–1	Ryan Stout	TKO (towel)	2	5:00	1998-12-11	Extreme Shootfighting	Waukesha, Wisconsin
Loss	4–1	Dennis Hallman	Technical Submission (guillotine choke)	1	0:18	1998-10-17	Extreme Challenge 21	Hayward, Wisconsin
Win	4–0	Dave Menne	Decision (unanimous)	1	15:00	1998-10-17	Extreme Challenge 21	Hayward, Wisconsin
Win	3–0	Victor Hunsaker	TKO (strikes)	1	1:39	1998-10-17	Extreme Challenge 21	Hayward, Wisconsin
Win	2–0	Craig Quick	Submission (strikes)	N/A		1998-04-25	Jeet Kune Do Challenge 1	Chicago, Illinois
Win	1–0	Erick Snyder	Submission (Slam)	1	0:15	1998-01-01	JKD – Challenge 2	Chicago, Illinois

Books

• (2008) Made in America: The Most Dominant Champion in UFC History. Simon Spotlight Entertainment. ISBN 978-1416948834.

Notes and references

External links

• Matt Hughes' official website
• Official UFC profile
• Professional MMA record for Matt Hughes from Sherdog
• IMDB page
• Matt Hughes' training facility