UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes Retires

When I saw that Matt Hughes had retired I felt many emotions. I felt old, upset, sad and happy. I started watching UFC and MMA when I was 10 years old back in 1996. I went to a friend’s house and his mom dropped us off at a video rental store and I rented UFC 1 on VHS. I already liked boxing and amateur wrestling and to see the combination of the two was surreal and blew my mind. Then I saw a small man named Royce Gracie totally dominate all of these behemoths and made it look easy. That is when I started to love Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as well.

At first I was more in love with the sport as a whole. I liked some fighters like Vitor Belfort and Randy Couture but never had a “favorite fighter”. I grew up a Buffalo Bills fan (still am one) and had a favorite player in Jim Kelly. I have been a Yankees fan all my life and Paul O’Neill was my guy. But I never had that same connection with a fighter until I saw Matt Hughes fight at UFC 34: High Voltage back in 2001. I saw Hughes fight a few times before on earlier UFC cards but never noticed him too much. This fight left me stunned. He was a normal smaller regular guy like me. I saw myself in him. I am also a relaxed nice religious kid and was astonished at what this “ordinary” man could do. He was fighting Carlos Newton for the UFC Welterweight Championship and Hughes was the challenger. Newton had looked phenomenal going into this fight so I thought he would submit Hughes like he did with Hughes’ coach Pat Miletich when he won the title. I was wrong. Hughes came in and literally threw Newton around the cage. The fight ended when Matt picked Newton up in a power-bomb formation and slammed Newton down so hard he was completely knocked out. I had never seen anything like that in my life. I couldn’t believe anyone his size had the strength to do that.

Going into that fight was a very strange time in my life. The attacks on September 11^th had just happened and living right outside a major city (Chicago) made me and everyone else feel uncomfortable. There were so many talks about possible attacks on the Sears tower and other areas. I was constantly worried because my dad worked downtown everyday and it was just a dark time. Watching Hughes took my mind off of that tragedy. I had a new hero. I became hooked and started following his career like white on rice. One of my greatest experiences I ever had was when I was wrestling in high school and made it to the State Finals. It was held at Eastern Illinois University; the same college Matt Hughes attended. I got to wrestle on the same mats Matt Hughes wrestled on throughout his days. That was incredible and I will never forget it.

His career became a great one to follow because he finished almost everyone he fought. He put on exciting fights and was a great ambassador for the sport. He used his wrestling, ground and pound and submission skills to easily handle everyone. Then he lost to BJ Penn back at UFC 46 and I was devastated. But that loss gave me a chance to see the true heart of a champion when he made his way back to being champion and then defended it multiple times. Especially in his second fight against Frank Trigg. Trigg kneed Hughes in the groin and the ref made a move to pause the fight but then retracted and Hughes was almost knocked out but somehow came back and choked out Trigg and this all happened in just the 1^st round.

Then the UFC announced the fight between Hughes and Royce Gracie. I had to pinch myself to make sure I was awake. I had dreamt of this fight. I had hypothetically talked about it for years. Who would win? It would answer which martial art is superior: wrestling or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu? When the fight happened at UFC 60 I honestly thought it would be a close technical grappling match. But instead Hughes absolutely destroyed Gracie and brutally TKO’d him in the 1^st round. I was so stunned by the fight that my reaction was delayed. I literally could not believe what I just saw.

Then he had his rematch with B.J. Penn. I was so scared for this fight and had good reason to be. In the early going Hughes was caught in a tight triangle but somehow survived and eventually the round ended. Hughes went on to dominate Penn and eventually got the stoppage when he trapped Penn in a crucifix position and rained down punches until the ref had seen enough. I watched the fight from the back corner of the room with my hand of my eyes. I yelled so loud in elation that I lost my voice.

Hughes went on to have a few loses and then a short resurgence in his career. But lost his last two fights to Penn and Koscheck both by KO in the 1^st round. That is the only reason I am happy about Hughes retiring. I don’t want him to have brain issues later in life because he took too much damage at the end of his career.

Hughes is now going to be working for the UFC as Vice President of Athlete Development and Government Relations. This is a perfect role for Hughes and I am so glad he will still be involved with the sport.

I only wish he went through his prime now so that everyone could appreciate him the way he should be appreciated. The main part of Hughes’ career was already complete by the time the UFC hit it big. I am so glad I was able to witness his career as it happened. Matt Hughes will forever by my favorite fighter and a personal hero of mine.

Congrats Matt on a wonderful career.

Dana White Mini-Series Part 3: The Future

(Photo by MMAjunki.com)

So, this is the last segment of our Dana White Mini-Series. We have received a lot of positive feedback and we appreciate it. This subject is so interesting and we would love to hear what you have to say about it in the comments section.

In the world of MMA many people discuss the future when it comes to fights, TV deals and PPV numbers. But what is never written about is the future of MMA focused solely on Dana White. Dana White literally holds the current state of MMA in the palm of his hand. Yes, One FC is building some promise out in Asia and we have Bellator in America but let’s be honest, the UFC dictates where MMA is going. The UFC lays the path and other promotions try their best to follow in those giant footsteps. 

Dana White, like I stated in my other two articles in this mini-series, does more for his company than most other presidents. He rarely delegates responsibilities and has a major influence on everything from sponsors and public relations, to the TUF show, fighter relations and putting together events. So, when a man has that much influence in the top promotion in the world, then he truly dictates where the whole sport of MMA is going.

Dana, does everything and does most of it very well. But what will happen when he retires? Dana is only 43 years old but his job is demanding. Now is it a scary thought for some of you to think of Dana retiring and disappearing from the UFC? It is for me. Think of everything that makes Dana unique, which is an endless list of attributes, being gone and a different set of attributes, which will be owned by the new president, taking their place. Will the new president go to the locker room after a fight and give the fighter their win bonus even though they lost? Will he be a man that can be both a loving uncle and yet intimidating enough to demand respect? Dana White is such a unique and distinct personality the odds are that no matter who replaces him they will not be someone we will want to watch on TV and hear his every word. Will he have the great rapport with the fighters and fans that Dana does? Probably not because Dana is the only president of a billion dollar company that goes out into -50°F weather outside at 2:00am to go take pictures and sign autographs for some crazy fans (yours truly was present). Even if the new president does these things will it feel natural and authentic or will it feel forced and fake to try and fill the void that Dana left behind? I am not sure and we will have to wait to find out but let’s hope that when the time comes the right suitor is chosen that can be his own man but still captivating in his own right. When it comes to a replacement Dana and the Fertittas need to try and find someone better. That should always be the goal. It might be near impossible but when the time comes they will have to put in maximum effort. They cannot hire someone that flatlines the company. In today’s financial crisis you need someone that continues growth. Now, the economy might be more stable by then but everything still applies. Dana has put himself in a situation where he is the face of the UFC. They have to decide if his replacement will be in the same role or allow the fighters to fully take that spotlight. They need to decide if the replacement will be more like Scott Coker for Strikeforce who is mainly on the sidelines or like Dana right in the heat of things.

Now, the part that Dana needs to start the second the “retirement tingle” starts to itch the back of his brain is getting his company ready for a major transition. Dana needs to plan for a few things: finances, delegation and expansion.

When it comes to finances I would say he would need to do some alterations when it comes to the fighters. First off, get rid of the ridiculous $35,000 tax they charge any company trying to sponsor their fighters. Open the doors for more companies to get involved. Dana also needs to work on getting some other blue-chip sponsors for the UFC. They have Budweiser, Edge shave gel and the latest video games and movies. But he needs to step it up before he leaves. They need to be closer to NFL status than they are currently. There is so much more I could list here (new TV show, tournaments ect.) to help bring in revenue but I won’t go there.

Delegation will be a key aspect in his departure. Dana is too involved at this point and I think as he ages and his body demands more rest and less traveling this will be a more natural transition. However, when the time comes he might even need to restructure parts of the company. Dana needs to start building towards having his job spread out into multiple other jobs. This is common when big transitions like a new employee in a major role start a job. Sometimes they restructure that open role into many other roles before hiring. This is an idea they should start throwing around now. One example is having a guy in charge of the team that does TUF or whatever TV show they have going at that time. They have something similar to that now but Dana is still very involved at this point. When he leaves he must make sure that everything is settled and all of the duties are spread out to a reasonable extent.

Expansion is something that will never truly stop. However, Dana needs to keep cracking away at this. Lorenzo Fertitta (Co-owner and CEO of Zuffa) has been put in charge of making this happen at a faster pace. But by the time Dana retires he will need to have stars in most major countries; which means Joe Silva and Sean Shelby (UFC matchmakers) needs to step it up. Now, some of you might not know this but the UFC is taking a page out of the book of Shane McMahon; the son of WWE CEO Vince McMahon. PPV buy rates started to plummet in the mid 2000’s in America for the WWE. So, Shane set out and started a global expansion plan. It worked wonders. He had wrestlers representing almost every major market in the world. It literally saved the WWE. The UFC has been trying to do the same with TUF Brazil, TUF UK vs. America and, the most recent, Australia vs.UK. They also promote Cain Velasquez as a Mexican-American fighter, Michael Bisping (the best fighter from the UK), Georges St. Pierre from Canada, the many fighters from Japan and all of the amazing talent from Brazil. They are trying very hard to push these fighters as representatives of their homelands. But it is so much harder to do that with the UFC than the WWE. The WWE is fake and they can write any story and make anyone they want champion. But the UFC has to have the ability to find the best fighters from these areas across the world and hope they succeed. Expansion needs to be bigger and more secure than it is now.

No matter what the outcome of all of this will be, it will be an interesting time. Possibly a scary time. A time of absolute uncertainty for many. But if Dana and the Fertittas handle this transition carefully it could work out just fine. But more than anything, Dana’s presence will be missed.

Let us know in the comments what you think about this subject. What do you think some of the changes will be when Dana retires?

Farewell, Tito: A Look Back at the People's Bad Boy

Tito Ortiz at his HoF induction ceremony.
Photo by MMAJunkie.com

Tito was once the most polarizing person in MMA. From his comical rivalry with Ken Shamrock to his confusing stand off with Dana, Tito was always himself. He was always loudmouthed and was in your face when he wanted to be, making him a love or hate figure in the sport.

He entered the sport in the UFC at the age of 21 in the year of 1997. He made an immediate impression after dismantling Wes Albritton in 31 seconds, pairing him up with one of the UFC’s top guys at the time in Guy Mezger, sparking one of the most well known rivalries in MMA history (aside from him and Chuck) between him and the Lion’s Den. He would lose the fight by guillotine but that wouldn’t stop him from defeating Jerry Bohlander to get another crack at Mezger, defeating him in under ten minutes by TKO.

A 3-fight win streak gave him a crack at Frank Shamrock for the light heavyweight belt. Tito Ortiz pushed Frank Shamrock like no one else had in the UFC but eventually succumbed to strikes very late in the fourth round. Due to his impressive performance before this stoppage, he received an immediate title shot again after Frank retired. This was against Wanderlei Silva. The dynamic Brazilian didn’t have the tools to defeat Ortiz and lost a decision to the wrestler.

This was the beginning of the hall of fame chapter in Tito’s life.

He ended up defending his title to Yuki Kondo, Evan Tanner with a brutal slam in 20 seconds, Elvis Sinosic, Vladimir Matyushenko, and Ken Shamrock. That was two and a half years of one of the most dominant champions in UFC history and the most dominant champ in the UFC’s light heavyweight division. He would end up losing his title to Randy Couture and losing again to Chuck in their first chapter of their famous rivalry, but their isn’t much disappointment in that.

He would rebound his career with wins over Patrick Cote, Vitor Belfort, Forrest Griffin, and Ken Shamrock twice. Although his wins over Forrest and Vitor are highly disputed, he still won those fights.

Although he only won one in his last nine fights, his early career is anything short of spectacular and he is one of the few who deserves a spot in the UFC’s hall-of-fame.