Tag: Matt Hughes

Classic Fight: Matt Hughes Discusses the Night He Fell Asleep and Woke Up Champion

(Props: fueltv via Taz Styles)

In this clip from FUEL TV’s Ultimate Matt Hughes special, the UFC Hall of Famer (and current Vice President of Athlete Development and Government Relations) recalls his infamous welterweight title fight at UFC 34 back in November 2001, in which he defeated Carlos Newton via slam-knockout, despite being nearly finished by a triangle choke. At the time, Hughes was returning to the UFC after building up a seven-fight win streak outside of the organization, and Newton had just become champion by bulldog-choking Hughes’s homey Pat Miletich seven months earlier at UFC 31.

From the moment that Newton emerged for his pimpin’-pimpin’ walkout to the cage, Hughes wasn’t impressed. (“This guy’s off in la-la land, thinkin’ this is some entertainment show…I’m gonna mop this guy up.”) And Hughes did just that for a while, until he found Newton’s legs wrapped around his neck. As was often the case when Hughes found himself in trouble in a fight, he picked up his opponent and carried him like a bale of hay.

Hughes claims that he slammed Newton intentionally — even though it kind of looked like he just passed out on the spot — but he does admit that he was dazed afterwards, half-asleep from the affects of Newton’s triangle choke. But since Newton was completely unconscious, the belt went to the challenger. Hughes would defend the title five times during his first championship reign, including a fourth-round TKO win over Newton in a rematch the following year. Newton never fought for a UFC title again, and is currently trying to sell his afro wig on eBay.


(Props: fueltv via Taz Styles)

In this clip from FUEL TV’s Ultimate Matt Hughes special, the UFC Hall of Famer (and current Vice President of Athlete Development and Government Relations) recalls his infamous welterweight title fight at UFC 34 back in November 2001, in which he defeated Carlos Newton via slam-knockout, despite being nearly finished by a triangle choke. At the time, Hughes was returning to the UFC after building up a seven-fight win streak outside of the organization, and Newton had just become champion by bulldog-choking Hughes’s homey Pat Miletich seven months earlier at UFC 31.

From the moment that Newton emerged for his pimpin’-pimpin’ walkout to the cage, Hughes wasn’t impressed. (“This guy’s off in la-la land, thinkin’ this is some entertainment show…I’m gonna mop this guy up.”) And Hughes did just that for a while, until he found Newton’s legs wrapped around his neck. As was often the case when Hughes found himself in trouble in a fight, he picked up his opponent and carried him like a bale of hay.

Hughes claims that he slammed Newton intentionally — even though it kind of looked like he just passed out on the spot — but he does admit that he was dazed afterwards, half-asleep from the affects of Newton’s triangle choke. But since Newton was completely unconscious, the belt went to the challenger. Hughes would defend the title five times during his first championship reign, including a fourth-round TKO win over Newton in a rematch the following year. Newton never fought for a UFC title again, and is currently trying to sell his afro wig on eBay.

The Unsupportable Opinion: Why Are We Still Talking About Fallon Fox?


(Not pictured: Anything Fallon Fox has actually done in the cage.)

Let me make one thing clear from the very beginning: I’m not trying to say that it wasn’t newsworthy — even inspirational — when Fallon Fox first came out as a transgender MMA fighter. Transgender individuals are extremely prone to harassment, discrimination, violence and bigoted stereotyping — all tragically evident by looking at the Facebook posts and tweets that have been directed at Fox since she came out roughly one month ago. I am in full support of her rights to be socially acknowledged and treated as any other woman would be treated outside of the cage.

Yet during this past month, Fallon Fox has received more attention for simply existing (she’s 0-0 since coming out) than most professionals have received for actually fighting. We’ve seen numerous fighters come forward to offer their opinions on whether or not Fox should be allowed to compete against women. Some have managed to do so in a reasonable, intelligent manner. Others have spoken about “it” as if she isn’t even human. For that matter, even people who aren’t MMA fighters have expressed a willingness to compete against her.

Mind you, this was all before Matt Mitrione called Fox “a lying, sick, sociopathic, disgusting freak” on Monday’s edition of “The MMA Hour,” earning him an indefinite suspension from the UFC.

Despite the punishment, UFC fighters are still willing to discuss Fallon Fox — who, let’s remember, doesn’t even fight in the UFC — with reporters. Yesterday, The New York Post published an interview with one of the most talented, popular, and accomplished female fighters of all time, Ronda Rousey. A total of zero questions had anything to do with Rousey’s own future in the sport, instead focusing on how she feels about potentially fighting Fallon Fox:

“She can try hormones, chop her pecker off, but it’s still the same bone structure a man has,” Rousey told The Post. “It’s an advantage. I don’t think it’s fair.”


(Not pictured: Anything Fallon Fox has actually done in the cage.)

Let me make one thing clear from the very beginning: I’m not trying to say that it wasn’t newsworthy — even inspirational — when Fallon Fox first came out as a transgender MMA fighter. Transgender individuals are extremely prone to harassment, discrimination, violence and bigoted stereotyping — all tragically evident by looking at the Facebook posts and tweets that have been directed at Fox since she came out roughly one month ago. I am in full support of her rights to be socially acknowledged and treated as any other woman would be treated outside of the cage.

Yet during this past month, Fallon Fox has received more attention for simply existing (she’s 0-0 since coming out) than most professionals have received for actually fighting. We’ve seen numerous fighters come forward to offer their opinions on whether or not Fox should be allowed to compete against women. Some have managed to do so in a reasonable, intelligent manner. Others have spoken about “it” as if she isn’t even human. For that matter, even people who aren’t MMA fighters have expressed a willingness to compete against her.

Mind you, this was all before Matt Mitrione called Fox “a lying, sick, sociopathic, disgusting freak” on Monday’s edition of “The MMA Hour,” earning him an indefinite suspension from the UFC.

Despite the punishment, UFC fighters are still willing to discuss Fallon Fox — who, let’s remember, doesn’t even fight in the UFC — with reporters. Yesterday, The New York Post published an interview with one of the most talented, popular, and accomplished female fighters of all time, Ronda Rousey. A total of zero questions had anything to do with Rousey’s own future in the sport, instead focusing on how she feels about potentially fighting Fallon Fox:

“She can try hormones, chop her pecker off, but it’s still the same bone structure a man has,” Rousey told The Post. “It’s an advantage. I don’t think it’s fair.”

Rousey said Mitrione worded his views “extremely poorly” and believes the UFC was justified in suspending the heavyweight fighter. But she thinks his sentiments came from the right place. In Rousey’s opinion, Mitrione believes Fox is still a man, who wants to beat up women for a living.

“I understand the UFC doesn’t want to be associated with views like that,” Rousey said. “I’m also glad they didn’t straight cut him.”

Speaking of questionable word choices, I can’t help but feel that her usage of the word “pecker” is going to create an overreaction among the mainstream media outlets. But I digress.

It’s right around now — when accomplished athletes such as Ronda Rousey and Alexis Davis are fielding questions about Fallon Fox instead of their own careers — that we in the MMA media need to stop and ask ourselves what we’re actually doing. Are we really respecting a woman’s right to be treated as any other female, or are we treating Fallon Fox like a sideshow and milking her transgender status for as many page views as we can get?

Because — let’s be honest — if we’re truly concerned with treating Fallon Fox the way that we’d treat any other woman, we wouldn’t continue to force her name into interviews and conference calls. As Jonathan Snowden recently argued, Fox is a thirty-seven year old fighter competing in a small-time, regional promotion that even most hardcore MMA fans wouldn’t recognize. She is 2-0 in her professional career, but has yet to fight an opponent who has actually won a professional bout. She has not been offered a contract by the UFC, Invicta, or Bellator. This is all to say that she hasn’t accomplished anything yet that justifies the non-stop media attention that she has received for the past month.

Giving Fox undue attention over her transgender status isn’t embracing her so much as it’s exploiting her. Forcing her into conversations with UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez isn’t being tolerant, it’s being a carnival barker — we’re emphasizing what makes her different in hopes of generating reactions from other people. Emphasizing her reputation over her skills and accomplishments wades into Kimbo Slice territory; that’s bound to make the fans’ reactions that much more harsh when she actually loses. Also, when former UFC heavyweight Sean McCorkle starts looking for ways to involve himself in this story by taking credit for Mitrione’s suspension-earning jokes, it’s safe to say that we’re no longer coming from a place of acceptance.

This doesn’t mean it’s wrong to make the distinction between Fallon Fox the woman and Fallon Fox the fighter. As of now, there is no conclusive evidence that transgender females do not have unfair competitive advantages over their opponents. There is research that suggests that unfair advantages exist. There is also research that suggests they do not. Another “MMA fighter says Fox has/doesn’t have a competitive advantage” article isn’t going to bring anything new to the discussion.

But you know what will bring something new to the discussion? The result of her fight against Allana Jones on May 24th. After that we might be able to gauge what kind of future — if any — she has in our sport. We’ll be able to publish a story about Fox that’s actually pertinent to what she has been doing in the cage. And if we’re truly concerned with treating her as an equal, we can hold off on cramming her into our headlines until then.

@SethFalvo

UFC Releases Code of Conduct Aimed at Curbing Detrimental Behavior from Fighters

Over the last few years as the UFC has started to grow into one of the largest sports organizations in the world, the headaches of policing athletes outside of the cage has become a relevant problem. Ten years ago when the sport was still in its infanc…

Over the last few years as the UFC has started to grow into one of the largest sports organizations in the world, the headaches of policing athletes outside of the cage has become a relevant problem.

Ten years ago when the sport was still in its infancy, the number of fighters under UFC contract were still in double digits.  The UFC’s growth in the worldwide marketplace, in terms of being recognized as a mainstream sport, also continues to expand.

Now with more than 400 fighters under contract, the UFC has joined the NFL, NBA and other major sports promotions by introducing a code of conduct for its athletes.

First announced earlier this year by UFC attorney Lawrence Epstein, the new code of conduct is meant as a guideline and education tool for the fighters the company employs. 

The need for a code of conduct became ever apparent in the last couple of years with fighters unfortunately crossing boundaries in interviews and most notably on Twitter, with top names like Forrest Griffin making jokes about rape and other disconcerting subject matter that landed the UFC in hot water.

Now a newly introduced UFC code of conduct will serve as a tool to hopefully prevent further misconduct, but it also means fighters are now aware that punishment will come with bad behavior.

According to a report from Yahoo! Sports, the UFC code of conduct was created in coordination with Washington D.C. law firm Covington & Burling, who also helped develop similar rules for leagues like the NFL and Major League Baseball.

The UFC code of conduct starts in very familiar language that covers the NFL in their document of the same name:

Fighters shall conduct themselves in accordance with commonly accepted standards of decency, social convention, and morals, and fighters will not commit any act or become involved in any situation or occurrence or make any statement which will reflect negatively upon or bring disrepute, contempt, scandal, ridicule or disdain to the fighter or the UFC

The broad sweeping statement is very close to that of the NFL’s code of conduct that states, “All persons associated with the NFL are required to avoid ‘conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in the National Football League.'” (here is a link to the full NFL Code of Conduct)

The idea behind such a wide statement is to allow the NFL, or in this case the UFC, the right to crack down on a competitor for any such occurrence that could be seen as detrimental to the league or the image of the league.

In the UFC’s version of the policy they go into further explanation of the rules concerning athletes being involved in criminal activity as well as involvement with performance enhancing drugs.  Unlike the NFL’s code of conduct, the UFC goes into more specifics in terms of other behavior that could be considered a violation of the policy.

Here are further terms outlined in the newly released UFC code of conduct policy:

Derogatory or offensive conduct, including without limitation insulting language, symbols, or actions about a person’s ethnic background, heritage, color, race, national origin, age, religion, disability, gender or sexual orientation

Inappropriate physical, verbal and online behavior (such as inappropriate statements made via email, text messaging or social networks)

Conduct that undermines or puts at risk the organization or promotion of a UFC event, including without limitation, failure to deliver, engage in or otherwise execute any and all promotional responsibilities, or failure to return in a timely manner the accurate and complete documents, or information for immigration, licensing, medical, tax or athletic commission purposes and

Conduct that undermines or puts at risk the integrity and reputation of the UFC.

UFC heavyweight Matt Mitrione is the latest athlete to find himself under fire and was recently suspended under the new code of conduct after making inflammatory statements about transgender fighter Fallon Fox.

Mitrione isn’t the first person to make statements about Fox.  As a matter of fact, UFC commentator Joe Rogan also recently went on a venomous rant about Fox on his personal podcast, but at least according to the language within the UFC code of conduct, it’s only aimed at fighters employed by the promotion.

That’s one major difference between the UFC and NFL code of conduct policies.  In the NFL code of conduct, it clearly states the rules apply to “all players under contract; all coaches; all game officials; all full-time employees of the NFL, NFL clubs, and all NFL-related entities; all rookie players once they are selected in the NFL college draft; and all undrafted rookie players, unsigned veterans who were under contract in the prior League Year, and other prospective employees once they commence negotiations with a club concerning employment.”

It is a different situation for the UFC however because many of the people involved such as referees are actually employed by state athletic commissions and not the promotion itself.  Rogan however is an employee of the UFC, but as of yet the organization hasn’t made any statement about his comments towards Fox.

“We’re not a bunch of police officers and we’re not sitting around all day trying to figure out ways to catch guys,” said Epstein in an interview with Yahoo! Sports.  “We’re trying, hopefully, to push guys in the right direction and make sure they’re being respectful and not being disrespectful to any race, gender, etc.”

Former UFC champion Matt Hughes has also been hired by the promotion to serve as counsel to athletes and advise them on their careers in situations just like this.  Hughes unfortunately has already dipped his big toe into controversy when asked during a fan Q&A about Fox and the former champion referred to her as “it.” 

Still the UFC code of conduct is hopefully a step in the right direction as they look to expand into new markets and states like New York later this year.  Some fans have voiced their opposition about the rules because it appears the UFC is somehow trying to censor fighters from speaking their minds, but the promotion has done nothing different than any other sports league in the world.

The new code of conduct policy also outlines prior to disciplinary action being handed down, the UFC will do an investigation into the infraction.  The discipline handed down could vary from fines, suspensions or possible termination of service.

The UFC will also have an appeals process in place to allow fighters arbitration in situations where punishment has been handed out for any violation of the code of conduct.

If the UFC hopes to make it to the biggest heights and join the ranks of the NFL, a code of conduct to oversee fighters is absolutely necessary.  Now the key is enforcing the rules on a consistent basis for all fighters across the board—whether they are undercard fighters or main event draws.

Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Current UFC Champions and Their Hall of Fame Counterparts

Each UFC champion has his own skill set that makes him stand out among other competitors in his respective division. Having analyzed the promotion’s current list of champions, it’s nice to see some of them resembling former fighters that ar…

Each UFC champion has his own skill set that makes him stand out among other competitors in his respective division.

Having analyzed the promotion’s current list of champions, it’s nice to see some of them resembling former fighters that are now included in the UFC Hall of Fame.

The following slides detail the similarities of four of UFC’s current champs with its Hall of Famers. 

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UFC 158: Will We See a Dark Side in Georges St-Pierre?

Most MMA fights are about two people utilizing their techniques, their discipline and other talents to see who comes out on top. They indulge themselves in interviews on their opponent whether it will be a fight between two respected fighters or if the…

Most MMA fights are about two people utilizing their techniques, their discipline and other talents to see who comes out on top. They indulge themselves in interviews on their opponent whether it will be a fight between two respected fighters or if there is bad blood between them. It is all about building the hype.

Then they will talk about how they will win their fight whether it be by a spectacular knock out or a beautiful submission. The hype is partly what makes the fight exciting.

Once the fight starts, it is all business. All the talking is now replaced with action. With No. 1 UFC Welterweight Contender, Nick Diaz, the hype and talking doesn’t stop, but neither does the action.

Nick Diaz has been calling out UFC Welterweight Champion Georges “Rush” St-Pierre for some time now. Before Georges was placed on the shelf due to a serious knee injury last year, the fight between GSP and Diaz was suppose to happen.

Instead we ended up with Condit vs Diaz for the Interim Welterweight Championship, which was a great match, but it didn’t quite have the electricity of a GSP vs Diaz fight.

Even while GSP was on the injured list, Diaz was still talking trash to him. GSP took Condit to a five round beating in his last fight and Diaz still continued the trash talking.

That is how Nick Diaz is. He is a trash talking fighter that can back it up with a sick ground game to go along with an unorthodox, yet effective, stand up game.

Just like his little brother, Nate, Nick has that unique stand up game in which he doesn’t throw all of his power into one punch. Instead he will unload with a barrage of what UFC commentator Joe Rogan calls “50% punches”.

 

 

Combine those punches with the fact that Diaz is a cardio freak and you have someone that will not stop until your face is messed up.

If you don’t want to get beat up by Diaz standing up, do you take a gamble and take the fight to the ground with a Jiu Jitsu wizard? It is almost a lose/lose situation.

The result equals a mangled face and bruised ribs for the opponent. For Diaz, it is a win. Just ask UFC legend BJ Penn. I have never seen Penn get beaten up the way Diaz beat him up at UFC 137. It was hard for me to watch because Penn is one of the fighters I looked up to when I competed.

And the trash talking to GSP still continued for Diaz.

Diaz finally got what he wanted when St-Pierre expressed himself about the Stockton Native during an interview. The Canadian born fighter stated on how he is offended on how Diaz is and that he deserves a beating and that you will see a Dark Side of the Welterweight Champion.

Dark Side? Does that mean we will see an angry GSP?

The last time a fighter got under the skin of the Welterweight Champ it was in December of 2010 at UFC 124 when he fought Josh Koscheck. Georges busted him up for five rounds with some wicked jabs that resulted in a fractured orbital bone in Koscheck‘s face.

Georges was mad, but he has never been this mad. 

 

 

Last year, I wrote an article about Diaz and GSP. The article was about Diaz and could he be the one that brings out the finisher in GSP?

I still hope that happens. I want the GSP that made my idol, Matt Hughes, verbally tapout. I want the GSP that broke the nose of Sean Sherk. 

I want the GSP that finishes fights in spectacular fashion.

Well those are my thoughts. Now it is time to hear yours. Did Nick Diaz make the biggest mistake of his life by awakening the Dark Side of St-Pierre? Will we see the GSP that finishes fights? Or is this all part of Diaz‘s plan to use Georges’s anger to throw him off his game? 

This Saturday in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, we will find out.

Until then, this is Balistik signing out.

 

PEACE OUT

“MMA ALL THE WAY”

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Matt Hughes Retires: 5 Memorable Moments from His Career

Matt Hughes is one of the best UFC welterweight fighters of all time. Hughes was such a dominating and skilled fighter that he was able to defend his belt seven times against all the UFC could throw at him. He currently holds the distinction of be…

Matt Hughes is one of the best UFC welterweight fighters of all time.

Hughes was such a dominating and skilled fighter that he was able to defend his belt seven times against all the UFC could throw at him.

He currently holds the distinction of being the only fighter in UFC history with 18 wins on his resume.

Hughes was also inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame back in 2010.

He has now officially retired and has taken a job as the Vice President of Athletic Development and Government Relations for the UFC.

His career is filled with many unforgettable moments. From success to failure, Hughes was all over the map.

He produced many memorable moments from his career. Here are just a few.

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