Matt Hughes Responds to Serra’s Injury
By: Kris Karkoski | Nov 23, 2007
Matt Hughes isn’t such a bad guy after all. The former Welterweight Champion was all class when he responded to Serra’s withdrawal from UFC 79. Seems like Hughes is taking this very professionally and is patiently waiting to see what plans the UFC has in store for him. Here’s Hughes’ reaction taken from his official website:
As of now, Matt Serra is out of the fight because of a herniated disc in his lower back. I believe Serra is actually hurt, so I don’t think this is just a ploy not to fight. Before my Royce fight, I had three bulged discs that I was able to repair enough to fight. As everybody knows you never go into a fight 100%. So, I’m just going to continue to train until I find out what’s next. –Matt
Translation:
“Matt Serra has saved his beating for another day. While I imagine Serra is the kind of person who *might* fake an injury to avoid a fight, I don’t feel like accusing him in public. I, of course, would simply train through this “injury” because I’m just that much tougher. As everybody knows, that’s what a real man would do. So, I’m just going to continue to prepare for Serra, rather than take a fight with a guy I think might actually be able to hurt me.”
exactly
hahah… you got it, Harim. That’s exactly how my brain processed that statement
Well he gets to hold on to his title a lil longer. Jeez, it seems like forever since we seen a welterweight title fight.
I would almost say it has been too long. I believe there is a time limit between title defenses. I am with whomever stated “You are not a true champion until you successfully defend the title.” It was either GSP or Anderson Silva, but it holds very true in my mind. I think that it is a shame for the whole division that the title is on hold for even longer now. It has already been on hold for most of the year waiting for the TUF season to finish out. I am one of the people who believe Hughes will “bowl” (ha,ha)through Serra. I don’t think he “just got lucky” when he beat GSP, he would have destroyed anyone THAT NIGHT. The key phrase is THAT NIGHT. I think he is what people refure to as a “1 hit wonder”. Hughes will beat Serra, and I think that GSP will get Hughes again(but I hope I’m wrong) Then the future is going to be open for some really amazing and interesting fights on the road to the WW title.
I just heard that Thiago Alves, or John Fitch could replace Serra! Both fighter present dangers to Hughes, but the UFC needs to replace this fight with another high calliber contest. Fitch is a better wrestler than Hughes, and comes close to matching his strenghth. On the other hand Alves has greater striking and Jitz than Hughes, but I think that the Alves fight would be better for Hughes. I honestly believe that Fitch could ride Hughes to a victory in a 3 round fight. 5 round championship probablly not, but Hughes looses a lot of the advatage he held over fighters when he was champ because his cardio is off the hook. I hope one of these fights does take place, but I doubt Hughes wants to put himself out there to loose his title shot to one of these more than quality replacements.
So there won’t be a title until the end of January? This is getting long.
I say strip Serra. He ’s holding up the careers of a lot of better fighters. It isn’t fair. He’s had a pass for much too long.
give the fight to gsp so he can give hughes another tuning and bring the title back home
Serra hates Hughes so much. This has to toaltally devastate Serra for having to pull out of this fight. Let’s give Serra a chance in this fight. If he can pull off one miraculaous upset of all time; he can do it again. Serra will have another great fight and it seems unlikely that he will win, but let’s gave Serra a chance here to pull off another upset.
Matt Serra will probably announce his retirement some time soon due to the injury and finish his career “on top”.
It was Matt Hughes that said your not a champion until you’ve defended your belt successfully.
That being said those of you who say you would train through this injury and fight have never had a hurniated disk in your back obviously. Back injuries are the WORST to train through. They completely kill your ability to use core muscles and bend and turn. Disk injuries are that pain x100. And to even fight well he’d need a cordizone shot or steriod injected into his disk and that is illegal to fight with so he’d be guilty of using a banned substance for fighting. Then what would you all say about him?
That being said Hughes will win by UD in a really borring fight.
uh, how the hell is serra “holding up” anyone? Dana freaking white decided to put the belt on the shelf, not Matt Serra. Hughes came off exactly like the smug prick that he always does in that statement. Personally, the UFC is screwing up their great opportunity to OWN MMA by staging lame events (78!) and holding the belts out of circulation (LW, WW), and not signing the best talent (well, some of the best talent, at MW for sure).
All that said, Serra’s still the champ until the org strips him, or he gets beat. Hughes is just a smug jackass. God I hope he gets Fitch and has to deal with his own lay-n-pray garbage.
Brandon is right. I have been off work for 7 months (in Phys. Therepy now) and I won’t be able to go back to the same work. Herniated discs vary, and are case sensitive, but in no way, shape, or form could I imagine stepping in the ring right now, let alone when it happened.
[...] Matt Hughes Responds To Serra Injury [...]
Well, looks like Fitch is out. That is good for Hughes. I guess Fitch will be out of the country. It is too bad, because this is the type of fight that it takes to boost your career into the stratusphere.
i think serra hughes will be closer than most people think.serra isnt the sort to be bowled over by anyone.hughes had better hope he can get it to the ground cos his stand up is garbage.so serra definatly has a shot.we will all just have to wait a bit longer for it to happen.
Matt Serra can hardly be blamed for keeping the WW title on the shelf. The UFC decided to have a casting call, auditions, film, produce, and televise a season of TUF just so they could hype a fight that much more in December. Certainly Serra’s injury does delay any title activity in that division for a bit but it was not a conscious decision on his part and won’t delay things anywhere near as long as TUF6 has.
And oh, by the way. Why not just have them fight at the TUF finale like they have done in previous seasons…Penn/Pulver, Shamrock/Ortiz? Serra may have been done training for this fight already or been at a diffeent stage of his training. Oh, that’s right!…the UFC wanted the PPV revenue that their hyped-up superevent would have brought. So enjoy watching Silva and Liddell going at it with their walkers and canes!
ortiz and shamrock II didn’t fight on the tuff live finale it was on the following ppv. there is no way in hell ufc would put one of their best fighters of all time on a tuff finale especially when there is a belt involved. hell ya i’m going to enjoy the 2 best 205ers of all time go to war.
GIP
you’re right. I was thinking of ortiz/shamrock 3. my bad. And i will enjoy the silva liddell fight also, but i still think it was a bad gamble by ufc to put serra hughes off for so long. if fans are impatient about the ww divison it is the ufc’s fault, not serra’s.
1. - Harim - You read between the lines perfectly.
6. - I would love to see Hughes vs Fitch. The only problem with Hughes fighting anyone other than Serra, is that he stands a chance of losing thus diminishing a match with Serra (how does Matt get a title shot if he loses to Fitch?, etc). I really think the only viable option for Hughes is to sit and wait for Serra.
11. - Only way that happens is if he has a career ending injury (which this isn’t). Serra hates Hughes so much that he will do whatever he has to to make this fight happen as soons as possible as opposed to not at all.
12. - All good points (except for your prediction of course).
13. - Dana will sign some of the top 185 fighters in 2008, especially if Silva beats Henderson. Filho can’t stay in the WEC forever (he’ll never get PPV bonus $$, etc) so I expect him to move to the UFC when Zuffa negotiates his next contract.
18. - I agree 100% with the fact that Dana and the booking team are the ones that have kept the WW belt on the shelf for 8 months, not Serra.
jmuaythai- for sure dude it is the ufc’s fault for putting the ww title on hold for so long. but looks like all is well now that it’s gsp/hughes III.
Of course he’s handling it like a professional, he probably isn’t ready for his career to take a turn for the worst - Phoenix
“…he’d need a cordizone shot or steriod injected into his disk and that is illegal to fight with…”
Cortisone is a steroid. A catabolic steroid like prednisone. They are used to shrink tissues. They behave nothing like anabolic steroids and have no ban on them. As for injecting an anabolic into the disc…well that would be rather painful and may result in an abscess. They are designed to be intramuscular. Any other injection method would be at least wasteful at most extremely painful and cause some serious acute problems.
As for the fight… I am just tired of talking I just want them to get in the ring and be done with it.
Sounds like alot of people are seriously underestimating Matt Serra. World class jiu-jitsu, aggressive striker, never say die attitude, I believe this man could beat anyone at 170. I guess now we may never know.
Rohan, you are an idiot. Cortisone (not cordisone) is a corticosteroid and is not banned. they don’t inject anabolic steroids for discs.
“Bill says:
Rohan, you are an idiot.”
I’m an idiot? Your rest of your post is exactly what I said.
Since you are agreeing with me I can only assume you’re an idiot too.
If you don’t think cortisone and prednisone are steroids you may want to google “catabolic steroids”. It’s kinda like me stating a cow and a lion are animals and you calling me an idiot because a cow is an herbivore. Cortisone is a steroid.
Read post #12 from Brandon, then re-read mine.
Oops,that should read “The rest of your post…”
estrogen is also a steroid. rohan, try learing the difference between ANABOLIC and CATABOLIC steroids. anabolic ones are banned, catabolic ones are not.
Serra is good, but hes a ball sack. Dana doesnt even like serra.. he wants to see serra lose
I’m not sure where you get the idea that Dana doesn’t like Serra. He may rather see GSP or Hughes be champion over Serra, but he has always been respectful to Serra the fighter and especially to Serra the coach.
I think George will beat Matt, i think Matt would have beaten Serra, but what the heck , any way you look at it, George and Matt is a great fight, either way whover , if ever Serra fights of those two will kick his ass, reason being, one will be pumped after winning, and the other pissed after losing
Bill, like I said in my original post “They behave nothing like anabolic steroids and have no ban on them.”
What you don’t seem to get is this… The first sentence of my original post with quotes around it, is me quoting another user.
So to set everything straight, we agree (from the start in fact) there is a difference in steroids and anabolics are the only ones banned.
So there’s no need for you to be insulting, Douchebag.