Matt hughes - Was he out classed at UFC 65

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pitbull
1/12/07 5:57:10PM
Wow I was amazed at how Matt hughes seemed completely outclassed fighting Georges St. Pierre. I thought it would me much closer, any news on a re-match?
DoTheMMAth
1/12/07 6:06:16PM
GSP did lay the smack down in that fight indeed.

GSP is fighting Serra next. They were supposed to fight at UFC 67 but GSP got injured so it was postponed. Hughes fights next at UFC 68 vs Chris Lytle. As long as the expected happens (Hughes gets past Lytle and GSP gets past Serra) a Hughes GSP rubber match is probably guaranteed to bet set up by Dana some time later this year.
camzaro28
1/13/07 10:12:01PM
Also, if GSP and Hughes make way with wins, they are most likely going to fight in Canada!
evilslutt
1/14/07 1:16:50PM
I honestly think Matt was unprepared. I may sound biased but I was expecting him to win. If I may be overlooking something from GSP's past wins, then Matt may definitely be overclassed and a rematch would end up like Tito's last fight.

I was sure enough that coming out from coaching in Ultimate Fighter had a small factor. The media and all. But I would like to see a rematch again.
pitbull
1/14/07 4:39:19PM
Yeh i would like to see a rematch also but Matt will have to bring his A game this time.
nate22
1/15/07 6:49:25PM

Posted by pitbull

Yeh i would like to see a rematch also but Matt will have to bring his A game this time.



On the night he was outclassed, no doubt, severely.

In a rematch I have every confidence in Hughes finding that takedown and goodnight Pierre. I also feel that Pierre/Serra will be a very good, close match. I think Serra has been pretty much written off in light of George taking the title and this will work to his advantage.
thepitbull00
1/15/07 11:56:45PM
It was scheduled to happen April 7th in Montreal but GSP said he wanted more time in between fights so that show went down the tubes. Also if he does get past Serra and Hughes, Diego Sanchez is next in line.
Kameleon
1/16/07 1:55:27AM
I'm a huge Matt Hughes fan and I will say he was outclassed by GSP. GSP will beat Serra and Hughes will beat Lyte. Not sure if he gets shot after that, he might have to face Penn, unless Penn drops in weight class. I think Hughes will beat GSP, and I hope it's in Canada.
Lifer
1/16/07 3:30:08AM
How many times did we hear GSP say that he couldn't believe how well he was doing in their first fight and was overwhelmed by fighting his idol? He came back to show that he did have the ability and he put a definitely hurting on hughes in every area.

His takedown defense in that fight amazed me. I always thought b.j. penn had the fanciest takedown defense but if you watch Matt try to force GSP to the ground in that fight he does this amazing jump and ends up parallel to the ground in mid-air and defends the takedown.

Matt Hughes had no options in that fight. He is so stuck on himself. I hated him as a champion. Glad the belt is in Canada and it's going to stay for a long time.
strikefirstgear
1/17/07 3:11:03AM
GSP is higher up the MMA evolutionary ladder than Hughes. Hughes was a great champion but he was hardly able to beat Penn and he won't win a rematch against GSP.

It will be fun to watch though.
WaikruMass
1/17/07 10:31:51AM
He should never have won their first fight. GSP had hero worship, as soon as that passed it was only a question of when.
hippysmacker
1/17/07 1:08:22PM
Bad gameplan. He should never have thought he could stand with GSP. He needs to keep going for takedowns. Not just 1 or 2 attemps. Even BJ Penn said if he kept trying for the takedown he would have got it. I'm not saying he will be beat GSP next time. However I think we will see 4 or 5 rounds, and a competitive fight next time.
strikefirstgear
1/17/07 3:01:28PM

Posted by hippysmacker

Bad gameplan. He should never have thought he could stand with GSP. He needs to keep going for takedowns. Not just 1 or 2 attemps. Even BJ Penn said if he kept trying for the takedown he would have got it. I'm not saying he will be beat GSP next time. However I think we will see 4 or 5 rounds, and a competitive fight next time.



No gameplan! Hughes said after the fight that the last few fights he had gone in with no fight plan just figuring that he could find a way to win once there. Typical champion over confidence.

He got lucky with Penn and should never have been so unprepared for GSP. That loss may be the best thing that ever happened to him. I think he got bored with winning. He has a challenge now!

You can bet the next fight with GSP will be better. He will still lose but it should last longer. I can't wait!
zephead
1/17/07 4:39:07PM
It's the standup game that does Matt in. Matt is a great wrestler who uses his strength to take his opponet down and keep them down. BJ, who can prevent Matt from taking him down, showed how to beat him.

It's fighters like GSP and Chuck who will dominate grabblers. They can stop the takedown and have great standup. How good is Chucks ground game? Who knows, but as long as he can prevent that takedown or just pop right backup he doesn't have to worry about it.

GSP, who might just be the best all-around fighter in the world will roll on the ground, but I think he knew his standup was far superior to Matts standup and chose to keep it standing. Plus, GSP is strong as a bear.


Matt got beat by a better man that night.
waylon_o
1/17/07 4:40:17PM
FYI, Chuck is a purple-belt in bjj i believe...not too shabby, but not world class
crimethinc
1/24/07 4:39:39AM
I think Matt Hughes got way to confident that he was unbeatable and I really think it showed not only against Pierre but previously against Penn as well. It is true that I don't like Matt Hughes so I may be a little biased but I think all of the notoriety may have gone to his head. He got obliterated by St. Pierre pure and simple. And when he fought BJ Penn, I wasn't at all impressed by his win. The 1st round he got his ass handed to him by Penn and had he not wrestled Penn to the ground and laid across his chest, that very well could have been his last night as champion.

I understand Hughes' confidence, with "the most dominating welterweight in UFC history" being bashed into our heads by the UFC advertising team. But self-confidence can quickly turn to arrogance, and when you honestly believe that no one can defeat you, it's really easy to be caught off guard.

I think the same thing happened to Forrest Griffin against Jardine. I know Griffin was coming off a loss but ever since TUF he has been the UFC golden boy and I don't think he expected what came out of Keith Jardine. I could be wrong and I'm sure plenty of you can explain the holes in my logic, but this is just my opinion.
bigdaveyb
1/24/07 8:06:56AM

It's fighters like GSP and Chuck who will dominate grabblers. They can stop the takedown and have great standup. How good is Chucks ground game? Who knows, but as long as he can prevent that takedown or just pop right backup he doesn't have to worry about it.


I totally agree. The fighters who can sprawl and brawl are dominating the BJJ and wrestlers. I think the take down is going to be the main technique fighters like this will need to step up in order to beat Chuck or GSP. I noticed the one fight when Chuck fought Randy and Randy got him in the clinch. Chuck had a look of worry on his face, knowing that if he went to the ground with Randy, he would be out of his comfort zone. I still find it amazing that a Kempo guy is the light heavyweight champion. I remeber when he fist showed up in the UFC. I didn't think he had a chance. When he first fought Tito, I thought Tito was going to man handle him, but the combination of Chuck's sprawl and striking aim was too much. I know I know, there was the thumb in the eye :)
nate22
1/24/07 9:14:15AM

Posted by crimethinc

I think Matt Hughes got way to confident that he was unbeatable and I really think it showed not only against Pierre but previously against Penn as well. It is true that I don't like Matt Hughes so I may be a little biased but I think all of the notoriety may have gone to his head. He got obliterated by St. Pierre pure and simple. And when he fought BJ Penn, I wasn't at all impressed by his win. The 1st round he got his ass handed to him by Penn and had he not wrestled Penn to the ground and laid across his chest, that very well could have been his last night as champion.

I understand Hughes' confidence, with "the most dominating welterweight in UFC history" being bashed into our heads by the UFC advertising team. But self-confidence can quickly turn to arrogance, and when you honestly believe that no one can defeat you, it's really easy to be caught off guard.

I think the same thing happened to Forrest Griffin against Jardine. I know Griffin was coming off a loss but ever since TUF he has been the UFC golden boy and I don't think he expected what came out of Keith Jardine. I could be wrong and I'm sure plenty of you can explain the holes in my logic, but this is just my opinion.



Not at all great post, there's no doubt Hughes didn't perform on the night, maybe after beating GSP the first time he felt he had George's number, regardless he was wrong.

I agree about Forrest also, god damn I think the amount the UFC have overrated him has really damaged his fighting career. Losing to Jardine in the manner he did kind of proves the point.
MMA
1/24/07 9:42:03AM

Posted by waylon_o

FYI, Chuck is a purple-belt in bjj i believe...not too shabby, but not world class


That does not always translate into a good ground game. Liddell does not like being on the ground, period. He would rather take some shots getting back up then be on the ground.

There are too many intangibles for Liddell when he is on the ground ... I bet he still remembers that beating Couture gave him.

St. Pierre, on the other hand, has amazing all-around skills. He is so versatile because he can manipulate the fight to his desire. If his opponent is the better striker, he will take him down. If his opponent is a submission specialist, he will force him to stand up. That is what makes St. Pierre so difficult to defeat.

I however, think LIddell is a beast. He is able to go into every single fight with the same game plan and win, usually in devastating fashion.

P.S. Regarding the Hughes vs. St. Pierre rubber match, I think St. Pierre will still win only because his takedown defence is sick (recall his mid-air sprawl!) and he can match Hughes with power. Those are the two main problems that Hughes will have to overcome to get St. Pierre on his back.
Beenosworld
1/24/07 10:42:42AM
Matt boos
and now he is pussying out by fighting chris lights out lydel.
he should be fighting Diego sanchaz
nate22
1/24/07 11:27:24AM

Posted by Beenosworld

Matt boos
and now he is pussying out by fighting chris lights out lydel.
he should be fighting Diego sanchaz



Lol are you drunk? It's funny how all of a sudden, Hughes the guy with greatest title reign in UFC history is now 'pussying out' because he is facing Lylte, give him a break.

Did Hughes choose this fight? Anybody know? I sincerley doubt that he did.
freakozoid
1/24/07 11:54:15AM
When I saw Matt's fight against GSP, I was not really surprised. Although I did see that GSP has a better ground game compared to Matt. It's like a BJ and Matt fight all over again. Matt got a bit confident in my opinion.
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