I heart LNP

He will not regain the WW belt as long as GSP is champ. That said I think he will fight 1 or 2 more times then call it a career. First fight will be against GSP for the rubber match. After he gets KTFO again he will either retire or have one final match against an up and comer.

As far as im concerned this is the begining of the end for Matt.

Jras0001

Hughes has another fight on his contract I believe. Im a bit curious if they will give him an instant rematch or if they might try to get the rubber match between Hughes and Penn in before Hughes retires.

Hughes said in an interview on the UFN not long ago that he wasnt going to be retiring anytime soon so I hope to see him fight again soon, possibly make a title run....

OGIE

Hopefully he can get his legs under him but my gut tells me your right. My gut also told me that Monson would beat Sylvia...

__________________
This young man has had a very trying rookie season, with the litigation, the notoriety, his subsequent deportation to Canada and that country's refusal to accept him, I guess that's more than most 21-year-olds can handle.

SLAPSHOT

ChipShank

LOL....It's just like Arlovski, Franklin and numerous others who were touted as being "invincable & dominant"....They always are......until they lose.
Then everyone goes on about how they got pwned, how they were always over rated to begin with and how it's the end of the road for them...yadda yadda.
They'll say it about Chuck when he finally loses again and probably even about Fedor....if he ever does.

Bottom line, is that GSP took Matt out hard.....But even a Hughes who's been beaten down by GSP, can still take out at least 98-99% of the UFC WWs on a good day....probably even 80-90% on his worst days.
Why would he be done?

If he's done....guys like Serra, Koschek, Lytle, Riggs, Diaz and so on, should even bother to put on there gloves anymore. Cause Hughes can still most likely take anyone of them out on any given day....So if he's done....There's no point in them even trying anymore.
Much like the Franklin/Silva scenario....I believe that GSP now has Hughes number and will take him out if they meet again.....But Hughes can still be very competitive in the UFC and who knows what will happen with GSP's title in the future. Someone could have a career night against him and Hughes would be right back on the WW title doorstep if he stays active.

I will say, that personally I think that GSP's prefight interviews struck on a very accurate statement about Hughes' training, in that he's too "comfortable" in his Iowa camp & that he should be mixing things up and learning from people that he doesn't know so well....Much like what I think was a big problem with Franklin's training for the Silva fight.
I don't think that ego is so much Hughes' problem, as it was just being too comfortable in his training routine and not being prepared for the unexpected. Too much time spent training with the same folks, doing the same ol things as always.

cdub

couple thoughts:

1- yes, matt didnt lose against bj, but really, unless you are blind he was losing badly till bj was injured, and

2- ya, matts pretty much guaranteed permanent #2 position, because no one else in ufc right now will beat him. o, also

3- ya not a chance in hell hes gettin that belt back LOL!

MTKrav911

Hughes has no standup. Period.

It baffles me that a Miletich camp that prides itself in "preparing" its fighters allowed one of their champions to go this long lacking in a necessary aspect of MMA (striking)...

Hughes can't strike. Period. Perhaps in camp, they already know this up at MFS. SO they don't bother anymore with Matt.

No offense to Matt. But if he rematches with GSP, the same result will occur.

Matt has no standup.......Not even the basics of defense. And that's sad to say for a 7 time defending WW champ.

In other words......

All your title defenses couldnt strike for crap either!

Until now. And you lost!

__________________


"You Don't Like Beethoven!"

Malf

The torch has been passed, and to a great fighter, and a great person. Hughes is an icon, but I don't think he will even want a rematch wiith GSP, at least not right away.

I can see Hughes taking on Sanchez, or maybe Karo.

As for GSP.... the king is dead, long live the new king! GSP had Hughes beat every way possible. He dominated the standup, crisp japs, great movement with the feet, and amazing kicks. The few times they hit the ground, GSP was on top with relentless GnP. Hughes got his takedown attempts from the clinch stuffed. I said it before, and I'll say it again; GSP is just as strong physically as Matt Hughes.

I don't think Hughes should retire though. I think he should go to 185 and take a shot at Anderson Silva.

__________________


A mixed martial artist should have a mixed arsenal.

St. Pierre - Penn - Lauzon - Florian - Torres
www.myspace.com/malf922

pickman30

I think that Diego should get a title shot against GSP. Hughes should fight Penn in the rubber match and the winner becomes the number 1 contender. If for some reason Diego is able to beat GSP, which I think is a long shot but possible, then Hughes is not finished. If Hughes immedialty fights GSP again I think it would be bad career move and might be the beginning of the end. He needs a least one fight and he more importantly he needs to see GSP defend the title against someone else , build a plan off that and then go for it.

PINOYPRIDE

If it is true that Hughes has one more fight left in his contract then I think he should fight GSP again, But if it is not and still have several fights left in his contract then he should go against Diego, then again to GSP.

ChipShank

My only point is....Are you "finished", do you "quit", just because you're now #2?
That's insane.
Recently, only BJ and GSP so far, have made Hughes look "bad"....But c'mon, the dude is 40-5....how "bad" can he really be? "Bad" enough to quit/retire?
And it's not as is he's built a career outta fighting some no-name cans either. He'll never beat GSP again, IMO....You can give him endless rematches, but I believe that Georges is now past the hurdle of that first loss and he's now got Hughes' number. Despite that Hughes is not done, by a long shot. He can still make a very ample living outta beating down up and comers who think that they are the next big thing.

Personally....I can't stand Hughes' arrogance, but I will at least give him the credit that he deserves for his accomplishments and won't say that his career is over, just because he's now #2 in the world behind the current and obvious #1.

Now....if he goes out in a couple months and gets his ass handed to him by Shonie Carter....By all means....Let the retirement party begin! LOL

Profane

this is where i disagree. Matt has been the champ for so long. if he was unable to regain his title then he should look for another goal or retire all together. losing to GSP is not the worst way to walk out of the sport. you passed the torch agianst a guy who you already beat, you avenged the one loss you had as a champ regardless of who was winning that fight with Penn, Hughes won the fight. so what else does he have to prove. if your not fighting to be the champ you shouldnt be fighting and that goes with every fighter in the bussiness. Hughes has nothing left to prove in the WW division. he could do something a la Couture and fight in a different wieght class to try and make himself a bigger legend then he already is but beating up on B level fighters does nothing for Matts legecy.

__________________
ATT Orlando

sitnspin

They were implying at the TUF4 finale that Lutter would get his shot at Anderson Silva in February. We're halfway to December, so if Silva's going to fight someone between now and then it has to happen at the next UFC, and I can't see them adding a MW title defense to an already stacked card.

I'm only bringing this up because I'm wondering if they'll want GSP to give Serra his title shot on the same night as Silva-Lutter. If that's the case, then Hughes will have to wait until at least April for a rubber match against Georges. I would imagine that the UFC will give Matt a tune-up fight, one that will also build some hype.

My prediction: Diego. If Matt beats a guy who's undefeated in the octagon that many are calling a future champion, it'll prime him for the rematch with GSP. And if, by some unbelievable stretch of the imagination, Diego manages to get past Matt Hughes, it'll set up his title shot beautifully.

I also predict that GSP will push for a rematch with Hughes ASAP, in the same way that Tim Sylvia wanted to erase any doubt about his win over Arlovski and, as he said, "get him out of my rearview mirror."

__________________

Elder

Georges needs to strike while the iron is hot. If he asks for a rematch immediately then it means an even bigger payday and an easy win. He knows he can beat Hughes but if Hughes loses before the rematch.. forget about it.

Hughes will want a rematch ASAP for the bigger payday as well. If loses before, then interest will wain and he won't ever fight GSP.

Huges should have retired before the GSP fight and gotten a huge payday like Gracie got by coming out of retirement.. Now noone will really care if he comes out of retirement or not.

King Kameamea

Matt's done but I hope he does stick around for a few more brutal beatings...er a I mean fights.

King Kameamea

I guess country breakfast isn't running his mouth off this morning...it's probably too sore from being bashed in.

asronn

you have to consider that those 45 fights have taken a toll on him...When I was watching the fight I was wonder why Matt was willing to keep it standing. I mean GSP was just tagging him. He just didnt look li,ke a fighter who thought he could win. I mean he has watched all those GSP fights just like we have...And on the prefight he was talking about one day retiring with his family and working on his farm. It just seems like he was satisfied with his carrear after he stopped BJ

__________________
I've got a strategy, it's called whoop that ass!"

-Quinton Jackson

ChipShank

I would say, if his heart is still in it and he loves doing it....why quit?

Besides, everybody looks invincible when they win big like GSP just did, but they're not. MMA is more about how fighters matchup, than who is THE BEST fighter period. There's no "season"...only one night, individual matchups....so really, anything could happen. He may never again take out GSP, but someone else could have a career night and do it...and they in turn may not matchup well against Hughes...next thing you know, he's right back in it.
I'm just saying that stranger things have happened and Hughes is by no means and old man. By hanging around and demolishing some of the "new breed" like Sanchez, Fitch, Burkeman etc....he could still prove plenty to the nay-sayers out there who claim that he's over and still stay relevant until another opportunity presents itself. He didn't go from one of the most dominant fighters around, to a piece of crap because of one loss. It's a shame to think that a 44 fight legacy could be viewed as being so diminished by one fight.

Same goes for guys like Arlovski, Franklin and Penn...to name a few others. One or two losses, should not signal the end of an otherwise brilliant career IMO.

Jagular

45 MMA fights and he's a millionaire. If he retires now, he is still at the top echelon of the sport (like Couture and not like Ken Shamrock who stuck around waaaay too long) and leaves with a terrific career and takes over Joe Rogan's spot with Randy. Time to leave Matt!

Jagular

I don't think anyone thinks Couture's legacy is diminished because he lost to Liddell.