Exclusive Interview: Matt Hughes - 1/25/2004
by Michael DiSanto

Theres not one word that properly defines Matt Hughes as a champion. Greatness. Dominant. Unbeatable. Unstoppable. Fierce. No, I cant think of a single word that does him justice. But I can think of a two word phrase that fits him perfectly the best. Simply put, Matt Hughes is the best mixed martial artist in the game today. Just look at what his teammates had to say. If you think I took the wind out of B.J. Penns sails, Matt Hughes is going to sink the ship, said Jens Pulver, who handed Penn the only defeat of his career. Former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia added, You should see Matt in training. Hes pissed that B.J. is coming up from lightweight and thinks he actually has a chance. Hes going to hurt this guy.

Hughes is as focused and prepared as hes ever been for a fight. I caught up with the confident Hughes after he finished training. Heres what he had to say:

InsideFighting: I remember talking with you back in December and you mentioned that you went right into training for B.J. Penn following the Frank Trigg fight, which was unusual for you. Talk to us about that for a moment.
Matt Hughes: Yes, I just kept training right through after the Trigg fight. I normally dont do that. I did take a week and a half or two weeks off during Christmas and New Years, which is kind of bad. Its kind of bad having the holidays right there, but I pretty much kept training has just continued.

IF: Have you trained any differently for Penn compared to your other opponents?
Hughes: No, I havent really done anything differently. I just train on my weak spots. But I have been working with Jens on my standup. You know, trying to work with smaller, quicker guys. There are a few other small guys whove worked with me on my standup, but thats about it. Thats about the only difference, so its been very minor.

IF: Matt, when you look at the fight with Penn, how do you see it unfolding?
Hughes: I think Ill be able to decide where the fight will happen you know, on the ground or standing. He is going to be tricky on the ground. Hes going to be short, so hell be able to get his guard back a lot like Sherk. You know, hell be able to use his knees to get his guard back. Standing, I see me having the reach advantage, but hell maybe have a bit of a speed advantage over me. But I think it will all come down to my power as the answer for any advantage. I think Ill be able to overpower him.

IF: Do you think that your two fights with Carlos Newton, who is one of the top jiu-jitsu guys in the world, served to prepare you for B.J. Penns excellent ground game?
Hughes: Maybe. You know, I do think that Carlos is one of the trickiest guys out there. And he goes for a lot of submissions during the fights. But B.J. doesnt go for many submissions when he fights to be honest. He went for one armbar against Jens there near the end of the round. I think he knew how much time was left, so thats why he went for it. But B.J. really doesnt do a lot of submission work in his fights. You know, Im pretty good with submissions, but I really dont see submissions as a factor. Unless I really make a mistake and get overextended, I really dont see him being able to use submissions against me.

IF: How do you feel about a lightweight moving up to face you? Youve dominated the competition at 170 pounds, so do you look at this like whats this little guy thinking coming up to fight me?
Hughes: I dont care who I fight. Thats what I tell the UFC. Ill fight whoever they put in front of me. As far as being a lightweight fighter moving up, Im thinking about doing the same thing, so I cant say complain too much about B.J. for doing it.

IF: So you are thinking about moving up to the 185 pound division and trying your luck up there?
Hughes: Yes, if theyd ever have a champion at that weight class, Id definitely want to fight for the belt.

IF: Really? Out of curiosity, how do you think you would match up against the middleweights? You cut a fair amount of weight to fight at 170, and youre clearly the strongest welterweight in the world. Would you be able to bring that strength advantage to middleweight?
Hughes: I dont think Id be lacking in the strength department at middleweight. As far as being able to dominate people at 185 pounds, I dont think that would be the game at 185 as opposed to 170. But I think I can match up well against some of those guys. I would really look forward to moving up if the UFC would ever put a champion there.

IF: On MMAWeekly Radio today, Dana White mentioned that they are very close to putting a television deal together (although hes not getting excited until it actually happens). That would obviously give the UFC the airtime to put the middleweight title back into the mix. Have you heard anything about that?
Hughes: Theyre talking to Spike TV, arent they?

IF: Yes.
Hughes: Right, I think theyre talking to Spike TV on a weekly television deal. But Ive not heard anything about them bringing the 185 pound title back to be honest. If the do, that would be great. Thats for sure. A weekly television show is just what the UFC needs though.

IF: After B.J. Penn, is there anyone at all at 170 pounds that piques your interest?
Hughes: No. I really dont care who they put in front of me. Ive never asked for an opponent, and I dont think I will to be honest.

IF: You know, Matt, I must say that it is refreshing to see you always handle yourself with class. Even with all the trash talking that Frank Trigg did, you maintained a respectful demeanor all the time.
Hughes: Thank you. In fact, thats the reputation that I want.

IF: A good portion of our readers are boxing fans who may not know about the UFC or maybe theyve never watched a UFC pay-per-view. What would you say to them? Why should they buy the PPV? What can they expect to see?
Hughes: For a boxing fan whos just opening his eyes to the UFC or mixed martial arts, they need to look at the ground game and try not to see it as boring. Instead, look at the technique. For the standup game, it is boxing combined with Thai boxing and kickboxing. So theres just so much more than guys just throwing punches at each other. I think if they open their eyes [to MMA], they will appreciate it and really start to like it.

IF: Do you actually train much in straight boxing?
Hughes: Yes. We actually have some pro boxers come in and train with us. So we do a lot of boxing, actually. If a boxer comes in, well just box. But if it is just us guys sparring, well kickbox. You know, well go ahead and use our kicks. But if a boxer comes in, he doesnt want to get hit in the legs like that. [We both laugh] So we wont do that to him because thats not his gamewe just straight box with him. So, yes, we do a lot of boxing.

IF: You were down at ICE in Cincinnati last weekend refereeing Jeremy Horns fight. Talk to me about that experience.
Hughes: That was different. Im always in Jeremys corner. You know, if there are two guys who are pretty close and want to be in each others corner, its Jeremy and I. We just have that brotherly aspect with each other. So it was tough being in there and not being able to talk to him. You know, seeing the fight and wanting to tell him what maybe I think he should do. But I had to just stand there and be quiet just being a ref. I didnt really like that. I knew his opponent, though, because my brother has fought him. So I didnt think there was going to be problem. I didnt think I needed to be in his corner. But we talked afterwards on the things that I would have wanted him to do like be more aggressive with his hands instead of being a counterpuncher. We got to talk about all that afterwards, so all that went well. You know, I got to see his fight a lot better by being in there as the referee as opposed to looking through the cage.

IF: Is that something you see yourself doing more of in the future? You know, refereeing matches. Or was that more of a favor to Monte [Cox, Matts manager]?
Hughes: No, Ive actually refereed quite a few matches, and I enjoyed it. I enjoy it a lot. Id be willing to referee matches for anyone else too.

IF: Interesting. You mentioned Jeremy played the role of counterpuncher too much in his match. When you look to your fight with Penn, do you expect him to dictate the pace to you? Or do you think you will be the one to dictate the pace when the fight is standing since you have the size and reach advantage?
Hughes: I think hes going to try to dictate the pace a little bit because I dont think he can just sit back and just let me punch at him. Hes going to try and make things happen. Thats the way I would coach him to fight me. He cant just sit back and wait. He has to try and make things happen.

IF: If he does try to make things happen, are you comfortable playing the role of counterpuncher?
Hughes: Well, I dont know about being much of a counterpuncher. I like to initiate things. If he comes in my range, Im just going to start throwing. Thats just the way I am. So if he comes in my range, you can count on me throwing punches at him.

IF: Sounds good. In closing, is there anything else that we havent covered that you want to discuss?
Hughes: No. I think you pretty much covered everything.

IF: Great. Well, Matt, I definitely appreciate your time. Good luck to you in your fight against B.J. Penn. Above all, stay healthy, my man, and well talk to you at the post fight press conference.
Hughes: Okay. Thank you.

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