How good was Matt Hughes?

[Gracious Warrior]

Based on accomplishments I'd say he's a top 10 atg.

But if we were to analyze him without regard for era then I'd say he'd struggle to crack top 5 at WW today

 

[DestinedAussie]

He didnt improve his standup. He had a hall of fame career. His career is as good as it had to be tbh. Most people would kill for that.

Because he didn't have too at the time. The game was also different back and people were much more encouraged to embrace a "style". I think in a modern environment he would work on his standup a lot more (as a tool to enable his wrestling).

Yeah his career is indeed hall of fame worthy. Had almost triple the defences of Khabib and took on the biggest names like GSP, Gracie, Penn.

 

[r-harper-1]

Lol at no 185 pride fighter beating Hughes .....Hendo and Bustamonte (?) would’ve destroyed him

 

[wwkirk]

One of my favorite fighters at the time.

 

[hoevan]

What are you guys talking about? He may have been 5ft 9, but the guy was stacked.

Top 5 WW of all time, and possibly top 3.

 

[ChickenBrother]

Still #2 WW all time after GSP.

That said, Newton should have retained in their first fight - they were both out and was a clear double KO NC just like Gray Maynard vs. Rob Emerson. This isn't f'ing WWF where whoever wakes up first, wins. Hughes won their next fight fairly squarely but his momentum would have taken longer to get going if he'd been forced to get back in line for a TS.

 

[Oldman1]

Matt Hughes was the best we 15 years ago. Had noteable wins over Gsp and Bj Penn.

Had plenty of fights and have fought the best ww. During this time I guess nobody in pride would be able to beat him at 170 lbs or even 185 lbs to be honest.

After Matt lost GSP 2006 do you think he should make the move to 155 lbs back then? Would he able to beat Sean Sherk and Frankie Edgar?

He'd be mediocre today and would have fallen very hard when usada came in.

 

[gono btw]

During this time I guess nobody in pride would be able to beat him at 170 lbs or even 185 lbs to be honest.

Reachin´there.... the Charuto fight, for instance, would have been scored against him im Pride...

You new to mma bro?
headbutted and punched by Serra

more headbutted than punched, tho...

he was a wonderful submission grappler.

His Rings run did show his limitations, tho... [see the OG Kanehara fight]

 

[DaleBoca]

I wish that fight with Karo happened. It seems not long after, both of their careers went haywire.

 

[StewDogg11]

He was absolutely incredible for his time. One of the best grapplers in the history of the sport. People undersell him when they call him a wrestler imo, he was a wonderful submission grappler.

Also this. Does no one else remember when he tapped out freaking Ricardo Almeida?!?

 

[gspieler]

Lol at thinking prime Hughes wouldn't be relevant today's. He was a high-level wrestler, had a good sub game, strong as an ox, cardio for days, and was mentally tough. He was basically a 170 version of Brock, only could roll with the punches.

 

[HI SCOTT NEWMAN]

UFC 40 Hughes was super good, he got smaller and smaller over time, but between UFC 30 - 45 he was so strong and powerful

 

[Baltimore Bro]

He was good then would be mediocre in today’s Mma .......i know one thing for sure that he got TKOed by that train lol

 

[GordoBarraBJJ]

I don’t think the cut would have been good for him.
I think he should have left MFS and joined Jackson’s. Would have improved his striking

Agreed all MFS did was give him CTE quicker with their dumbass sparring sessions.

Too big for 155 (and very stiff and slow with him striking).

But he was also a complete prick so I'm not sad about anything that has happened to him since.

 

[Krixes]

Great wrestler but very one dimensional. He wouldn't even be a top 10 guy today with his atrocious striking, and USADA testing.

 

[eddymotto]

Still #2 WW all time after GSP.

That said, Newton should have retained in their first fight - they were both out and was a clear double KO NC just like Gray Maynard vs. Rob Emerson. This isn't f'ing WWF where whoever wakes up first, wins. Hughes won their next fight fairly squarely but his momentum would have taken longer to get going if he'd been forced to get back in line for a TS.

I agree. that ending was such bullshit. doubly so for me because I disliked Hughes and was cheering hard for Newton

at least Carlos got the re-match and, as you say, that one was clear cut. it would have been worse if Carlos left for Japan and had never fought Hughes again

Hughes was a beast back in the day. the best 170 talent was in the UFC. he was the legit world champ for years. even GSP could not stop all of his take downs in their first fight

 

[ChickenBrother]

I agree. that ending was such bullshit. doubly so for me because I disliked Hughes and was cheering hard for Newton

at least Carlos got the re-match and, as you say, that one was clear cut. it would have been worse if Carlos left for Japan and had never fought Hughes again

Hughes was a beast back in the day. the best 170 talent was in the UFC. he was the legit world champ for years. even GSP could not stop all of his take downs in their first fight

Yeah I always rooted for Newton - on top of an exciting and well-rounded game, he seemed like a good dude. If he'd been able to turn away Hughes, he could have been a great crossover ambassador for the sport like GSP.

 

[GordoBarraBJJ]

On a side note Lucky Gi recently made some "UFC 1" royce gi's. They overall look good but the patching is



I wish the back patch was optional because overall the gi looks nice.

That back patch is

 

[D'z]

To ask this question is weird to me.

I get it, I was fortunate to have been the perfect age for SuperBrawl 1 when it came out on VHS. And that dates me back. And as a fan, I haven't missed too many fights since, and certainly no UFC's. And you know, maybe if I was introduced to MMA sometime later, even say the Conor era several years ago, I'd sorta understand outright not knowing the answer to this question. But what really baffles me is....

And really the primary reason....How does one get to the point where they create a sherdog account without truly being engrossed in the sport?? This just doesn't compute. And would love some sort of sound explanation. I mean, I wasn't alive for the 30's 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's...yet I still have genre's of music from those eras that I'm familiar with and even enjoy. Why? Because I'm a fan of music. I'm a mma fan. So naturally if I wasn't a fan in it's early days, I'd want to get caught up. At the very least get caught up on the UFC's and Prides', right? Starting with UFC 1 and go from there. I dunno, to me it just seems a logical conclusion. I guess my real question would be, how does one become a sherdogger while remaining a fair-weather fan? And moreover, how is that sustainable?? Like, you just read us talk about things that happened and have no clue what we're talking about? Lol, and it never dawns on you to go watch these fights we're referring to? I don't know how yall feel, but to me....it's weird af.

 

[Istryker]

Second best UFC WW of all time, strong dominant wrestling limited striker. Shit tier human being.

Hell no