Hughes isn't going anywhere

T-Bone · 01-25-2008, 11:48 AM

If Serra loses to GSP, look for Hughes to finally fight Serra.

Quote:

It’s said that time heals all wounds – physical and otherwise – and this is true for professional fighters as well.

You lose a tough match, take a few weeks off in seclusion with your family and friends, and then that itch will usually come back.

Matt Hughes didn’t get that luxury of retreating to his Hillsboro, Illinois farm to regroup and relax with his wife and kids after his second round submission loss to Georges St-Pierre on December 29th in Las Vegas. No, a week after only the sixth loss of his storied 49 fight career, Hughes – still showing the scars of battle – went out on the road for a book tour to promote his recent biography “Made in America”.

“I didn’t look forward to it,” admitted Hughes of the book tour. “When that loss came, I was like ‘now I’ve got to go out and face everybody.’ I still had a pretty dark black eye, so people could see that I had been in a fight, and the fans knew the outcome of the GSP fight, but never once did I run across somebody who was any type of jerk, and everybody was respectful. If they said anything, what they said was ‘don’t retire.’ And now at the end of the book tour, I feel stronger than when I started it because everybody was so supportive in not wanting me to retire yet.”

For two weeks, Hughes – along with co-author Michael Malice – made the rounds of bookstores across the nation, hitting everywhere from Minneapolis and St. Louis to Las Vegas and good old Staten Island, New York – about a 45 minute drive from the home of his Ultimate Fighter 6 coaching nemesis – UFC welterweight champ Matt Serra. Yet despite being so close to Serra country, the line to see Hughes in the Staten Island Barnes and Noble wrapped around the inside of the store.

“I was a little surprised,” said Hughes of the reception he received. “I really thought that being in the New York area I would get a lot of Serra fans, but it was the opposite, and I’m not trying to knock Serra, but I had a lot of people say that they wanted me to come back and fight him. I was surprised at how nice everybody was. No matter what area I was in, people were super and there are a lot of respectful fans out there.”

And the book seems to have hit a chord not only with MMA fans, but with readers in general.

“One of the best things that was said was when people would say ‘I don’t buy books, I don’t normally read books, but I picked this up and read it from front cover to back cover in one sitting,’” he recalled. “When people say that, I’m pretty happy.”

Hitting this week’s New York Times bestseller list at number 21 isn’t too bad either.

“I’m an athlete, not a writer,” said Hughes. “It’s nice to be able to say that (getting on the bestseller list), but my co-author, he totally flipped out about it – he said ‘this is like you winning the world title, for me to get on the bestseller list.’ He knows a lot of writers, and he doesn’t know anyone who’s been on the bestseller list. I am just amazed that we hit it, and maybe we can go from 21 to 19 or 18 next week.”

So why now for a biography? Is this a sign that Hughes has decided to close this chapter (pardon the pun) of his life by writing about it and then moving on to something else? Well, not exactly.

“I’ve got an extensive bio on my webpage, but I’ve also got a lively forum, and people were asking a lot of questions about things that weren’t there and finally it came up – ‘why don’t you write a book?’” he explains. “I kinda dismissed it for a little while, and then I got approached by Simon and Schuster to write it. So when they approached me and since I had so much material for a book, I decided to go ahead and do it.”

And if you’ve followed his career or read past interviews, you’ll know that Hughes pulls no punches. It’s the same in “Made in America”, and as always, the two-time welterweight champion’s honesty is refreshing.

"The number one thing that I wanted the book to get across was honesty,” he concurs. “I wanted people to know that what they were reading was the truth. I had a fairly long discussion with my wife about it and she wanted the same thing, so there’s a lot of stuff in there that didn’t need to be in there, but we just wanted a true account of what actually happened.”

So should we expect a sequel from the bestselling author?

He laughs.

“There’s been a lot of talk about a sequel, but I’m not gonna worry about that right now,” said Hughes. “If there is a sequel, it will happen in a couple of years.”

And if the 34-year old Hughes has his way, there will be plenty of big things happening in those next couple of years to warrant a sequel.

“I feel healthier now than I ever have, I’m really happy with my camp and who I’ve got, and I’ve got to put all the blame on me for that loss,” said Hughes of the St-Pierre fight. “I just didn’t go out there and do the things we worked on. I was hesitant and just wasn’t pulling the trigger like I should have. My camp got me in shape, I was ready to go, and I was just a little bit hesitant, so that’s on me, not on anybody else. So as healthy as I am and as much as I want to compete, I’m not going anywhere. First off, I would never retire off of a loss like that – never. Number two, I just feel super healthy.”

Any plans for the comeback fight then?

“I told (UFC President) Dana (White) that I might take a little time off to see my family and because I’m starting this new gym, the H.I.T. Squad, and I’m getting my clothing line out there,” he said. “But I want to see Georges and Matt fight, and I told Dana that I’d probably like to fight Matt Serra after that fight. If Matt loses, I’ll be looking to fight him.”

You heard it, Matt Hughes isn’t going anywhere.

“The fans will definitely see me in the Octagon again,” he said. “I will be there.

UFC® : Ultimate Fighting Championship®

Crashsti · 01-25-2008, 11:53 AM

I am personally glad to hear that Matt is'nt leaving. The UFC can't really afford to lose him just yet and there are still alot of great match ups for him. I don't think he'll ever hold the belt again but thats not really an issue for me.

OneBigThrow · 01-25-2008, 12:32 PM

thank god, im glad amtt still has the fightin spirit, GSP is only one guy...the WW division is chock full of studs for matt to challenge himself with that will fuel his fire to train

T-Bone · 01-25-2008, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OneBigThrow

thank god, im glad amtt still has the fightin spirit, GSP is only one guy...the WW division is chock full of studs for matt to challenge himself with that will fuel his fire to train

but if Serra makes him look silly, all bets are off.

StratTone · 01-25-2008, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crashsti

I am personally glad to hear that Matt is'nt leaving. The UFC can't really afford to lose him just yet and there are still alot of great match ups for him. I don't think he'll ever hold the belt again but thats not really an issue for me.

I'm glad he is sticking around too. I think it is funny for someone to say that Hughes' honesty is refreshing when I hear so many people diss Dana for being honest and a straight shooter. I hate PC and whether I agree with someone or not is pointless. I just like to hear it how it is.

jyd94 · 01-25-2008, 01:33 PM

Less and less a fan of the guy every year, but as a fighter I am glad he stayed.

Rush · 01-25-2008, 01:53 PM

I'm really not upset that he's leaving. Actually, I was really looking forward to seeing Serra vs. Hughes, and it looks like we just might get to see it after all.

bayouboy · 01-25-2008, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by T-Bone

but if Serra makes him look silly, all bets are off.

He won't