After UFC 98 nail-biter, Matt Hughes and Matt Serra back off retirement talk
Heading into this past Saturday's Ultimate Fighting Championship event, Matt Hughes and opponent Matt Serra couldn't dodge the retirement talk.
The two bitter rivals would settle their long-brewing feud in UFC 98's co-main event, and both hinted that the long-awaited bout could be their last in the organization.
However, after a nail-biter that ultimately earned Hughes a close decision victory, both fighters backed off the retirement talk and began looking ahead to the future.
The fighters, who served as coaches on "The Ultimate Fighter 6," continued a public feud that first developed on the fourth season of the show. Serra, a contestant on the special "comeback" version of the reality series, said he was rubbed the wrong way by many of the comments made by Serra, who spent some time on the show as a coach.
"I just didn't like the guy, didn't like what he said," Serra would tell MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com). "He was just so arrogant. The way he treated (fellow visiting coach) Georges St. Pierre was just ridiculous. I just wanted to punch him in the mouth."
Those hostile feelings carried over to the sixth season of the show, which was supposed to conclude with a fight between the coaches. However, Serra pulled out of a planned December 2007 bout at UFC 79 due to a back injury, and Hughes would suffer a knee injury in a loss to Thiago Alves seven months later.
The stars finally aligned for UFC 98, 20 months after the first episode of "TUF: Team Hughes vs. Team Serra" aired on Spike TV.
UFC 98 farewell tour?
In a pre-event media call, Serra hinted that fight with Hughes could be the last of his 10-year career - one that included a one-fight reign as the UFC's welterweight champion.
Serra admittedly was never one of the sport's best, but he said he'd be content with a few wins over guys who are. He got his biggest in an upset of Georges St. Pierre, one of the world's top pound-for-pound best fighters, for the title in 2007, and he hoped to add Hughes' name to the list.
"In the future there are guys like GSP and Matt Hughes, who I'm sure are going to be hall-of-famers," Serra said before the event. "If I get Matt Hughes under my belt and take care of him, even if I would not be considered one of the best ever, I'd have some victories over some guys who will be. I can live with that."
"But I also love to compete. And while I still can do it and have the hunger for it and the desire, I'm still going to do it. I'll take it a fight at a time."
While Hughes was a little more tight-lipped about his future, his friend, UFC light heavyweight Stephan Bonnar, took to ESPN's "MMA Live" on May 21. There, Bonnar said he heard directly from Hughes that the UFC 98 fight would be his last, win or lose.
However, both fighters were noncommittal in this past Thursday's pre-UFC 98 press conference.
Matt vs. Matt
Despite the long layoff and concerns that the fight might have lost its luster, interest in Hughes vs. Serra slowly heated up as UFC 98 approached.
The wait proved worth it.
Early in the first round, Hughes shot in for a takedown just as Serra also dipped. Their heads collided, and Serra's dome crashed into Hughes' chin. Hughes dropped to the mat from the heatbutt, and Serra followed and frantically tried to force the stoppage. But Hughes, a 50-fight veteran who two separate title reigns, regrouped and survived the round.
Hughes, one of MMA's first superstar wrestlers, used trademark takedowns and ground control to win the second round to even up the score.
With both competitors fresh for the third round, they had their moments in the deciding frame. Hughes scored the early takedown and controlled his opponent for more than half the round. However, Serra scored a slick toss of his own in the final minute to make it close. Ultimately, though, all three judges gave the first round to Serra (9-6) and the second and third to Hughes (43-7), who earned the 29-28 victory.
The hatchet appeared buried after the sworn enemies embraced after the fight. Hughes got the win, but neither fighter left the MGM Grand Garden Arena a loser.
New beginnings
About an hour after their bout, Hughes and Serra made their ways to the post-UFC 98 press conference. Both rightfully held their heads high after the crowd-pleasing fight, and news that each earned a $60,000 Fight of the Night bonus made the deal even sweeter.
For Hughes, the fight marked the final commitment on his UFC contract. However, he made it clear that he wants to fight and that he's only going to do so in the UFC.
"[Dana White] and I will get in a room and talk about it and figure it out," Hughes said. "I definitely still want to compete, still think I'm competitive in this weight division. I'll keep going."
Serra, meanwhile, will likely follow suit.
While he's made no definitive decision about his future, retirement seems unlikely at this point.
"Where do go I from here?" said Serra, who's opened two successful gyms in New York. "I don't know. Let me absorb this, spent some time with family.
"I took this fight real seriously. I trained for three months, and I'm just going to chill a little bit and weigh out my options."
