Sunday, September 5, 2010

My favorite MMA fights: Hughes vs. Serra

 
Matt Hughes vs. Matt “The Terror” Serra

Date of Fight: May 23 2009

Outcome: Hughes wins by unanimous decision


Although Hughes and Serra have similar accomplishments (both former UFC Welterweight champions and coaches on the Ultimate Fighter), these two fighters were opposites when it came to their personalities and backgrounds. 

Hughes is a country boy, born again Christian with a wrestling background.  Serra was born to an Italian American family from New York and earned a black belt in jiu-jitsu under Renzo Gracie.

Serra is a winner of the Ultimate Fighter Season 4 while Hughes has acquired twice as many wins as Serra has on his fight record. 

This rivalry between the two Matts began when Hughes was a coach on the Ultimate Fighter.  Serra grew irritated at Hughes’ criticism of the other fighters and bragging of his own accomplishments.  This rivalry came to another level when Hughes and Serra-who was the Welterweight champion at the time-were coaches of The Ultimate Fighter Season 6. 

Although Serra’s team won six of the eight fights in the first round of the competition, Team Hughes’ Mac Danzing and Tommy Speer would make it all the way to the finals.  Hughes and Serra were originally scheduled to face each other for Serra’s Welterweight title, but the champion suffered a shoulder injury, postponing the fight. 

Hughes would go on to face Georges St. Pierre for the Interim Welterweight title and lose.  St. Pierre would go on to defeat Serra (the man who defeated him) and become the Undisputed UFC Welterweight champion.

Hughes and Serra would eventually face each other at UFC 98.  The rivalry had reached a point to where the fighters did not touch gloves before the match started.

In the first round of the fight, Serra dominated early on with a head butt that dropped Hughes to the canvas.  Hughes would reverse the position near the end of the round.

Hughes would go on to control the next two rounds, taking Serra down within the first minute and keeping Serra on the mat.  Serra was able to gain some offense in the last minute of the third round. 

Going into the fight, the Hughes and Serra rivalry was heated, but after the fight, it seemed the fighters gained a new found respect for one another.

After his fight with Hughes, Serra would go on to run Frank Trigg out of the UFC after knocking him out in the first round at UFC 109.

As for Hughes, he has been making a reputation to defeating members of the Gracie gym.  He defeated Serra’s trainer Renzo Gracie at UFC 112 by TKO in the third round, then defeated his student Ricardo Almeida at UFC 117 by submission in the first round.

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