UFC steps up in a big way with Hughes vs. St. Pierre III
Posted by Sam CaplanAs you may or may not know, Matt Hughes announced on his website last night that he will be fighting Georges St. Pierre at UFC 79 on Dec. 29 for the interim welterweight title. The match was later confirmed via UFC.com.
This bout replaces the previously scheduled welterweight title match between Hughes and Matt Serra that was scrapped after Serra sustained a herniated disk in his lower back during a training session on Monday.
Sometimes pundits question the UFC’s matchmaking ability but it’s time to give credit where credit is due. The UFC has hit a homerun in signing the third installment of the trilogy between Hughes and GSP. Since Wanderlei Silva vs. Chuck Liddell was not at its optimum marketing appeal, the loss of Hughes vs. Serra from the card after all the time and money that was put behind the promotion of it could have been a doomsday situation for the UFC. Simply put, a rumored replacement bout between Hughes and Thiago Alves wasn’t going to cut it.
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i wonder if gsp has been training hard?…if he was not expecting to fight for 5 more months he may have been enjoying the “fruits ” of his labour too much…he has gained the rep as a ladys man and a bit of a partier???
Yeah I cannot wait to see this fight. If GSP beats Hughes I cannot wait to see GSP pumble Serra!
Brian,
I see where you’re coming from, but at the same time, Hughes has been training for a specific opponent in Matt Serra. Obviously Serra and GSP present two totally different skill sets and fighting styles, so they are both starting from the same place. The only advantage to Hughes may be his conditioning since he’s already into a training camp period. GSP is usually always in good shape and he’s a world class athlete. Should be a fantastic fight.
I expect this card to put the Fedor Circus that is Yarrenoka to shame.
Looks like Hughes will never be Champ again! Serra was his only chance, GSP will beat Hughes 9 times out of 10
Why is everybody so happy about this. To hell with GSP he had his shot and Serra fucked him up. They let Gsp recover and heal from that injury right after he beat hughes. You all are disrespectful towards Serra because he took his shot and made the most of it, so now the hata’s wana see him burn for it. Serra would have destroyed Hughes. He’s a much more well rounded fighter and I think besides wrestling Serra has him beat in everything else. So stop whinig and making excuses about why GSP got his ass kicked and just acept it. Serra is the rightful champ no matter how this turns out. End of story
Must say that the UFC, Hughes and St.Pierre did a great job all stepping up and putting this fight togther. This card needed something besides Silva-Liddell(unbelieveable as that is to say) to make it a big time card. I really don’t think they could have done better then this.
Serra is still the champ
Just imagine Dana’s face if his two boys Chuck and Georgie were to win on the same night….he’d be a pretty picture for sure.
In fairness however the UFC have truly stepped up here, 79 is an awesome card and just about makes up for all the bollocks since 75.
i don’t think gsp is dana’s boy at all.i think he likes that gsp has a huge following because of his obvious talent,but i definatly don’t think he’s a dana favorite
I am curious if the roles were reversed what would Dana have done. So lets say Hughes was the champ and he got injured right before facing Serra. Do you think that dana would have just made Serra Vs. Gsp for the interim title? I have my doubts.
#5 Broncos… thats the stupidest thing I have ever heard.. matt serra would have gotten crushed by hughes … 2nd round maybe … serra is a b-level fighter who was the better fighter on one night.. when serra is all healed he can fight the winner.. this is for an interim belt its not like serra was stripped
It raises an interesting question - how long do you let a guy hold the belt while working through an injury?
Quentin is in the midst of a pretty long work through . . .
How long is “too long” to wait for a guy to defend his belt? I don’t want any of Serra’s fans to have a kitten, I’m not saying he’s been out ‘too long’, I’m just asking. Is once a year title defense the bare minimum? Does anyone know of any contractual requirements that are in play?
The UFC can’t really penalize Serra in any meaningful way. It was their idea to delay his first title defense for 9 months… not Serra’s.
BORING! I can’t believe yall think this is a good fight. Every fan has seen this fight twice already. Nobody cares about GSP vs Hughes.
any time you can watch gsp ,its a treat….regardless who he’s fighting.his talent is incredible
Is it me or is chuck not as confident in his interviews as he was before he lost to rampage. He went from saying “I’ll knock him out in the first round!” against rampage to “I think I can knock him out!” against silva. Hmmmmm?