Matt Hughes

Matt Hughes

Matthew Allen Hughes (born December 13, 1978 in Hillsboro, Illinois) is a retired American mixed martial artist. Hughes is a former two-time UFC Welterweight Champion^[1] and UFC Hall of Famer.^[2] He put together two separate six-fight winning streaks. He defeated all the available opposition in his weight class. He defeated six former UFC Champions. Hughes also was the coach for the reality shows The Ultimate Fighter 2 and The Ultimate Fighter 6. He was the host of Trophy Hunters TV.

On June 16, 2017, Hughes was hospitalized with a serious head injury after a train struck the passenger side of his truck at a crossing near his home in Montgomery County, Illinois.^[3]

Championships and achievements

Mixed martial arts

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • UFC Welterweight Champion (two times)
  • Seven successful title defenses
  • Second most successful welterweight title defenses (seven)
  • Tapout of the Night (four times)^[4]
  • Submission of the Night (one time)
  • Fight of the Night (one time)
  • UFC Hall of Fame
  • Third most wins in the UFC (eighteen)^[5]
  • Most finishes in the Welterweight division (Thirteen)
  • Two separate six-fight win streaks in the UFC^[6]
  • Defeated all but one (Pat Miletich) of the other UFC welterweight champions while active
  • Defeated six different UFC champions
• Black Belt Magazine
  • 2006 NHB Fighter of the Year^[7]
  • Black Belt Magazine Hall of Famer^[7]
• Bleacher Report
  • 2000s Welterweight of the Decade.^[8]
• Sports Illustrated
  • 2000s #3 Fighter of the Decade^[9]
  • UFC's #4 Greatest Fight vs. Frank Trigg on April 16, 2005^[10]
  • UFC's #1 Greatest Fight vs. B.J. Penn on September 23, 2006^[11]
• About.com
  • 2000s #5 Fight of the Decade vs. B.J. Penn on September 23, 2006^[12]
  • 2000s #3 Fight of the Decade vs. Frank Trigg on April 16, 2005^[12]
• Fight Matrix
  • 1999 Fighter of the Year 3rd Place^[13]
  • 2002 Fighter of the Year^[13]
  • 2003 Fighter of the Year 3rd Place^[13]
  • 2004 Fighter of the Year 3rd Place^[13]
  • 2005 Fighter of the Year 3rd Place^[13]
• MMAFighting
  • 2002 Welterweight Fighter of the Year^[14]
  • 2003 Welterweight Fighter of the Year^[14]
  • 2005 Submission of the Year vs. Frank Trigg on April 16, 2005^[14]
• Yahoo! Sports
  • 2000s #6 Fight of the Decade vs. Frank Trigg on April 16, 2005^[15]

Amateur wrestling

• National Collegiate Athletic Association
  • NCAA Division 1 All-American Team (Two times)
  • NCAA Division 1 158 lb - 8th place out of Eastern Illinois University (1996)^[16]
  • NCAA Division 1 158 lb - 5th place out of Eastern Illinois University (1997)^[16]
• National Junior College Athletic Association
  • NJCAA All-American Team (Two times)
  • NJCAA Hall of Fame^[17]
• Eastern Illinois University
  • EIU Athletic Hall of Fame^[18]
• Illinois High School Association
  • IHSA Class A State Wrestling Champion 145 lb (1991)^[19]
  • IHSA Class A State Wrestling Champion 145 lb (1992)^[19]

Submission grappling

• Grapplers Quest
  • 2002 Grapplers Quest West Championships Middleweight Advanced Champion (2/23/02)

Books

• (2008) Made in America: The Most Dominant Champion in UFC History. Simon Spotlight Entertainment. ISBN 978-1-4169-4883-4.

References

1. "UFC 52: Couture vs. Liddell II Preview". sherdog.com. 2005-04-13. Retrieved 2011-07-05.
2. "Matt Hughes inducted into UFC Hall of Fame". mmamania.com. 2010-05-29. Retrieved 2012-07-20.
3. Stratton, James (2017-06-17). "UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes seriously injured in truck vs. train accident". kwqc.com. Retrieved 2017-06-17.
4. Hughes, Matt. "Titles & Awards". matt-hughes.com. Retrieved 2012-07-22.
5. "Most wins in UFC bouts". fightmatrix.com. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
6. "Most consecutive wins in UFC bouts". fightmatrix.com.
7. "Matt Hughes: 2006 NHB Fighter of the Year". blackbeltmag.com. 2011-03-20. Archived from the original on 2013-04-13. Retrieved 2012-07-11.
8. "MMA Awards of the Decade". bleacherreport.com. 2009-12-23.
9. "Fedor Emelianenko, Anderson Silva among MMA's best of decade". sportsillustrated.cnn.com. 2009-12-16. Archived from the original on 2012-11-13. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
10. Martin, Todd. "UFC's Greatest Fights 7 of 10". sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Archived from the original on 2013-12-17. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
11. Martin, Todd. "UFC's Greatest Fights 10 of 10". sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Archived from the original on 2013-12-17. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
12. Rousseau, Robert. "UFC 63 left Hughes as the Greatest Welterweight of All-Time". martialarts.about.com. Archived from the original on 2020-11-04. Retrieved 2012-07-21.
13. "Fight Matrix Awards". fightmatrix.com.
14. "MMA Fighting.com 2006 Year End Awards". mmafighting.com. 2007-01-01. Retrieved 2012-05-05.
15. Cofield, Steve (2009-11-30). "The best of the decade: 10 best MMA fights". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2012-07-21.
16. "Champions Database-Matt Hughes". nwhof.org. Retrieved 2012-07-12.
17. "NJCAA Hall of Famer". matt-hughes.com. 2012-03-01. Archived from the original on 2012-10-17. Retrieved 2012-07-29.
18. "EIU Hall of Famer". matt-hughes.com. 2008-09-15. Archived from the original on 2011-05-21. Retrieved 2012-07-29.
19. "Boys Wrestling Medalists". ihsa.org. Retrieved 2012-07-12.

Other websites

• Matt Hughes' official website
• Official UFC Profile
• IMDB page
• Matt Hughes' training facility
• Matt Hughes profile at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame