I'm not a hardcore Matt Hughes fan. I don't think he's the best fight in the world at 170 right now (I rank him #3, behind Georges St. Pierre and Shinya Aoki), but there are some things about Hughes that every hardcore fan knows only he has done.
After all, no one else has knocked an opponent out with at 170 pounds.
No one has defended a title (in any weight class) 7 times. (Tito Ortiz is second with 5 defenses, Chuck Liddell has 4)
No one else has destroyed Jiu-jitsu legend the way that Hughes did.
No one else has held the 170 pound title more than once.
He's a living legend, and the fact that he may hold the belt for a 3rd time if he defeats Matt Serra in November.
Matt Hughes will go into his fight with Serra the favorite, because many believe that Serra's win over former champ Georges St. Pierre was a fluke and have a hard time respecting anyone who was on TUF 4.
While many think that the way St. Pierre beat Hughes (demolishing him with a headkick a minute and a half into round 2) has demoralized Hughes, they know that the incredibly strong wrestle from Hillsborough, Illinois is going to have a hard time getting back in the mix. After all, after he was beaten by BJ Penn the first time he lost his title, he was quick to take it back.
While Hughes' wrestling skills are well documented and well known, there is one facet of his game that everyone who "analyzes" the Serra fight seems to forget about. Matt Hughes is very good with submissions.
At Abu Dhabi (the worlds top submission wrestling competition, Hughes holds a record of 2-2, with a win over 185 pound grappling legend Jeremy Horn (Hughes competes at 170 pounds in MMA). His two losses are to former lightheavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz (a 6 time defending UFC champion at 205 pounds) and Jeff Monson (a former heavyweight title competitor in the UFC who weighs about 240 pounds and has held the ADCC Heavyweight and open weight titles).
Matt Hughes is only 1 of 2 fighters to repeat his success in the UFC and take back a belt he has lost. The other is Randy "The Natural" Couture (who has done it 5 times in 2 weight classes). If Hughes beats Serra he will up his number to 3 at 170 pounds.
Hughes has already sealed his place in the UFC hall of fame and will, without a doubt, be remembered for championing the 170 pound division longer and more powerfully than any fighter in the sport so far.
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