UFC 79: Georges St-Pierre Vs. Matt Hughes III & Chuck Liddell Vs. Wanderlei Silva
mookie blaylock 10
Posts: 4,042
finally...liddell vs. silva. it's about two years too late, but better late than never.
matt serra suffered a back injury which will keep him out for an indefinite amount of time. GSP and hughes will meet for the third time for an interim belt that will be unified when serra is healthy enough to face the winner of this match.
also, the debut of sokoudjou!
UFC 79, December 29, 2007 - Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, Nevada - PPV
Main Card:
Georges St-Pierre Vs. Matt Hughes III - Interim WW Championship (GSP!!!
)
Wanderlei Silva Vs. Chuck Liddell
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou Vs. Lyoto Machida
Rich Clementi Vs. Melvin Guillard
Eddie Sanchez Vs. Soa Palalei
Pre-lims:
James Irvin Vs. Luis Cane
Nate Mohr Vs. Manny Gamburyan
Tony DeSouza Vs. Roan Carneiro
Dean Lister Vs. Jordan Radev
Doug Evans Vs. Mark Bocek
(Matt Serra Vs. Matt Hughes cancelled due to Serra injury.)
matt serra suffered a back injury which will keep him out for an indefinite amount of time. GSP and hughes will meet for the third time for an interim belt that will be unified when serra is healthy enough to face the winner of this match.
also, the debut of sokoudjou!
UFC 79, December 29, 2007 - Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, Nevada - PPV
Main Card:
Georges St-Pierre Vs. Matt Hughes III - Interim WW Championship (GSP!!!
)Wanderlei Silva Vs. Chuck Liddell
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou Vs. Lyoto Machida
Rich Clementi Vs. Melvin Guillard
Eddie Sanchez Vs. Soa Palalei
Pre-lims:
James Irvin Vs. Luis Cane
Nate Mohr Vs. Manny Gamburyan
Tony DeSouza Vs. Roan Carneiro
Dean Lister Vs. Jordan Radev
Doug Evans Vs. Mark Bocek
(Matt Serra Vs. Matt Hughes cancelled due to Serra injury.)
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Team Hughes:
Billy Miles (out)
Blake Bowman (out)
Dan Barrera (out)
Dorian Price (out)
Jared Rollins (out)
Mac Danzig (advances to quarter-finals)
Paul Georgieff (out)
Tom Speer (advances to quarter-finals)
Team Serra:
Ben Saunders (advances to quarter-finals)
George Sotiropoulos (advances to quarter-finals)
Joe Scarola (out)
John Kolosci (advances to quarter-finals)
Jon Koppenhaver (out)
Matt Arroyo (advances to quarter-finals)
Richie Hightower (advances to quarter-finals)
Roman Mitichyan (out due to injury)
Troy Mandaloniz (advances to quarter-finals)
Episode 1: Mac Danzig Vs. Joe Scarola - Mac Danzig wins by submission (triangle choke), 1st Round.
Episode 2: Matt Arroyo Vs. Dorian Price - Matt Arroyo wins by submission (rear naked choke), 1st Round.
Episode 3: John Kolosci Vs. Billy Miles - John Kolosci wins by submission (standing guillotine choke), 1st Round.
Episode 4: Richie Hightower Vs. Blake Bowman - Richie Hightower wins by TKO, 1st Round.
Episode 5: Paul Georgieff Vs. Troy Mandaloniz - Troy Mandaloniz wins by KO, 1st Round.
Episode 6: Ben Saunders Vs. Dan Barrera - Ben Saunders wins by unanimous decision.
Episode 7: Jared Rollins Vs. George Sotiropoulos - George Sotiropoulos wins by KO, 1st Round.
Episode 8: Jon Koppenhaver Vs. Tom Speer - Tom Speer wins by unanimous decision.
Quarter-Finals:
Team Hughes:
Mac Danzig (advances to semi-finals)
Tom Speer (advances to semi-finals)
Team Serra:
Ben Saunders (out)
George Sotiropoulos (advances to semi-finals)
John Kolosci (out)
Matt Arroyo (advances to semi-finals)
Richie Hightower (out)
Troy Mandaloniz (out)
Quarter-Final Matches:
John Kolosci Vs. Mac Danzig
Matt Arroyo Vs. Troy Mandaloniz
Richie Hightower Vs. George Sotiropoulos
Ben Saunders Vs. Tom Speer
Episode 9: John Kolosci Vs. Mac Danzig - Mac Danzig wins by submission (rear naked choke), 1st Round.
Episode 10: Matt Arroyo Vs. Troy Mandaloniz / Richie Hightower Vs. George Sotiropoulos - Matt Arroyo wins by submission (armbar), 1st Round. / George Sotiropoulos wins by submission (kimura), 1st Round.
Episode 11: Ben Saunders Vs. Tom Speer - Tom Speer wins by unanimous decision.
Semi-Finals:
Team Hughes:
Mac Danzig (finalist)
Tom Speer (finalist)
Team Serra:
George Sotiropoulos (out)
Matt Arroyo (out due to injury)
John Kolosci (replaces Matt Arroyo)
Episode 12: Semi-Final Matches. Mac Danzig Vs. John Kolosci / George Sotiropoulos Vs. Tom Speer - Mac Danzig wins by submission (rear naked choke), 1st Round. / Tom Speer wins by KO, 1st round.
UFC 80, January 19, 2008 - Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle, England - PPV
Main Card:
BJ Penn Vs. Joe Stevenson - LW Championship
Gabriel Gonzaga Vs. Fabricio Werdum
Marcus Davis Vs. Jess Liaudin
Jason Lambert vs. Wilson Gouveia
Kendall Grove Vs. Jorge Rivera
Pre-lims:
Alessio Sakara Vs. James Lee
Sam Stout Vs. Per Eklund
Paul Taylor Vs. Paul Kelly
Antoni Hardonk Vs. Colin Robinson
UFC Fight Night 12, January 23, 2008 - The Palms, Las Vegas, Nevada - Spike TV
Main Card:
Mike Swick Vs. Josh Burkman
Patrick Côté Vs. Drew McFedries
Nate Diaz Vs. Alvin Robinson
Thiago Tavares Vs. Michihiro Omigawa
Pre-lims:
Kurt Pellegrino Vs. Alberto Crane
Gray Maynard Vs. Dennis Siver
Cole Miller Vs. Jeremy Stephens
Matt Wiman Vs. Justin Buccholz
Corey Hill Vs. Joe Veres
UFC 81, February 2, 2008 - MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada - PPV
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Vs. Tim Sylvia - "Interim" HW Championship
Brock Lesnar Vs. Frank Mir
Cheick Kongo Vs. TBA (possibly Justin McCully ?)
Nate Marquardt Vs. Thales Leites
Tyson Griffin Vs. Gleison Tibau
Alan Belcher Vs. Ricardo Almeida
Terry Martin Vs. Marvin Eastman
David Heath Vs. Thomasz Drwal
WEC 32, February 13, 2008 - Las Vegas, Nevada - Versus
Carlos Condit Vs. Carlo Prater - WEC WW Championship
Rob McCullough Vs. Jamie Varner - WEC LW Championship
Leonard Garcia Vs. Hiroyuki Takaya
UFC 82, March 1, 2008 - Nationwide Arena, Cloumbus, Ohio - PPV
Dan Henderson Vs. Anderson Silva - MW Championship Unification Match (Pride and UFC Titles)
Jon Fitch Vs. Akihiro Gono
Evan Tanner Vs. Yushin Okami (GO EVAN!!!)
Josh Koscheck Vs. Dustin Hazelett
Travis Lutter Vs. TBA
Luke Cummo Vs. TBA
Jorge Gurgel Vs. John Halverson
UFC 83 (?) March 8, 2008 - London, England - Spike TV or PPV
Mauricio Rua Vs. TBA
Michael Bisping Vs. Charles McCarthy
UFC Fight Night 13, April 2, 2008 - Denver, Colorado - Spike TV
Kenny Florian Vs. Joe Lauzon
Stephan Bonnar Vs. Matt Hamill
The Ultimate Fighter 7 - Premieres April 2, 2008 on Spike TV.
Tournament of 16 MW competitors. Coaches: Quinton Jackson and Forrest Griffin.
UFC 84 (?) April 19, 2008 - Bell Centre, Montréal, Quebec, Canada - PPV
Georges St-Pierre Vs. TBA
Jason MacDonald Vs. TBA
Jeff Joslin Vs. TBA
Jonathan Goulet Vs. TBA
Mark Bocek Vs. TBA
Summer, 2008
Quinton Jackson Vs. Forrest Griffin - LHW Championship
...bringing over roland's post of the official site for this thread.
Friday, November 23, 2007
MMAWeekly.com
Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight titleholder Matt Serra has had to withdraw from his Dec. 29 title defense against Matt Hughes due to injury.
UFC president Dana White announced the withdrawal via the promotion’s website early Friday morning. Evidently, Serra suffered a herniated disc in his lower back following a routine training session in his Long Island, N.Y. gym.
“This is devastating news because they were so looking forward to fighting each other," said White. “Unfortunately, injuries happen and I look forward to Serra recovering quickly, and to getting him back into the Octagon.”
Serra had just finished a Jiu-Jitsu and wrestling training session and was demonstrating a move when he fell to the floor in excruciating pain. He went to the hospital and underwent an MRI, which revealed the herniated disc in his lower back.
“This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” said Serra. “I’ve never had a back injury before; I could hardly get off the MRI table. There is no way I can train through this, and I’m devastated, especially because this was such an important fight. I was looking forward to fighting Matt Hughes. All my training was going phenomenally until Monday – All I can do now is to get better and to fight again as soon as possible.”
http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=5127&zoneid=13
November 23, 2007
The UFC officially announced earlier today that current welterweight champion Matt Serra has injured his back and will be unable to compete in the main event at UFC 79. His scheduled opponent for the Dec. 29 fight, former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes, today issued a statement, saying that he doesn’t think the injury “is a ploy not to fight.“
Hughes posted the statement on his blog at matt-hughes.com.
Whether it was a veiled knock at Serra or not, Hughes said that he believes his opponent is genuinely injured. However, Hughes also said he had suffered a similar injury and was able to fight through it.
“I believe Serra is actually hurt, so I don’t think this is just a ploy not to fight,” Hughes wrote. “Before my Royce (Gracie) fight (at UFC 60), I had three bulged discs that I was able to repair enough to fight. As everybody knows, you never go into a fight 100 percent.“
A timetable for Serra’s return isn’t known.
Hughes also confirmed that he hasn’t been booked for a possible Plan B fight. Hughes, who coached opposite Serra on the current season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” earned a title shot by defeating Chris Lytle at UFC 68 in March. Although it seems unlikely that the UFC would make Hughes fight a different opponent in the interim, it’s always a possibility.
“I’m just going to continue to train until I find out what’s next,” Hughes stated.
As it stands, UFC 79’s main card still features bouts of Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva, Lyoto Machida vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, and Rich Clementi vs. Melvin Guillard.
http://mmajunkie.com/2007/11/23/matt-hughes-thinks-matt-serras-injury-is-legit/
November 24, 2007
Georges St. Pierre (14-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) will fill in for injured UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra and fight Matt Hughes (41-5 MMA, 15-3 UFC) for the interim title at UFC 79.
The five-round title fight will headline the Dec. 29 pay-per-view event, which takes place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
The stunning announcement came Saturday evening from UFC.com. Hughes confirmed the fight on his official website, matt-hughes.com.
Additionally, a source close to the UFC today told MMAjunkie.com (http://www.mmajunkie.com) that St. Pierre showed no hesitation in taking the fight on short notice.
We passed along the news from early Friday morning that Serra had suffered a herniated disc. The injury occurred during a workout session earlier this week, prompting an announcement that the fighter would be unavailable to compete at UFC 79. Serra, who won the title by upsetting St. Pierre at UFC 69 in April, coached opposite Hughes on the current sixth season of “The Ultimate Fighter.” The show was supposed to build up to their title fight.
Serra doesn’t know how long the injury will keep him sidelined.
However, possibly fearing the worst, UFC President Dana White decided to book the interim title fight. Apparently, though, it didn’t come without a few stipulations from Hughes.
“I’ve asked for this to be for an interim title, and if Matt Serra can’t fight in a year, then this would just be the title fight,” Hughes stated on his site. “But I don’t know if that is going to happen right now. I will keep you all posted.“
Hughes and St. Pierre have fought twice before. Hughes won the first match-up at UFC 50 in 2004. Facing an undefeated French-Canadian who has just begun to garner some international fame, Hughes submitted his opponent in the final seconds of the first round with an arm-bar.
After reclaiming top-contender’s status, St. Pierre again took on Hughes at UFC 65 in November 2006, where he picked apart the longtime MMA veteran to score a second-round TKO.
However, St. Pierre would lose his belt to Serra in his very next fight. Serra had earned the title shot by winning the welterweight division of a special comeback season of “The Ultimate Fighter.“
Hughes rebounded from his loss to St. Pierre with a victory over Chris Lytle at UFC 68. The win guaranteed him a title fight. And while he and Serra filmed “The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs. Team Serra,” St. Pierre got back into the title picture by scoring a unanimous-decision victory over Josh Koscheck at UFC 74, which earned him a title shot. His title shot was expected to come in March or April of 2008, when he’d face the winner of Hughes vs. Serra.
“Obviously, the loss of Matt Serra was brutal, but the great thing about the UFC is that we can put together great fights like Hughes-St-Pierre at a moment’s notice and bounce right back,” White stated. “I have the utmost respect for both Hughes and St-Pierre for stepping up for this fight, and not only are the fans going to see two of the greatest welterweights of all-time settle their score in a rubber match, but (they’re) going to do it in a five-round interim title fight, and the winner is going to face off next year against Matt Serra for the undisputed title.“
This is actually the second “interim” title White has created in the past two months. Sean Sherk, who’s currently awaiting an appeal of a failed UFC 73 drug test, will face the winner of an interim fight between Joe Stevenson and B.J. Penn when his suspension ends. White, saying he was fed up with the California State Athletic Commission’s handling of the appeal, recently decided to book the Stevenson vs. Penn bout for UFC 80, which takes place Jan. 19 in Newcastle, England.
http://mmajunkie.com/2007/11/24/ufc-79-matt-hughes-for-georges-st-pierre-iii-for-interim-title/
and reveling in it's loyalty. It's made by forming coalitions
over specific principles, goals, and policies.
http://i36.tinypic.com/66j31x.jpg
(\__/)
( o.O)
(")_(")
we're on the ball, roland!
looking like a fantastic month of MMA with the finale show, the WEC show the following week, and then 79 at the end of the month.
happy holidays to us!
p.s. GS MF'n P!!!
Matt Hughes 23.0%
Georges St-Pierre 77.0%
"I can't believe the position this puts me in," Serra said on UFC.com. "I'm actually rooting for Matt Hughes so I can beat his ass."
"I'm so excited to get this fight," said St. Pierre in a statement on UFC.com. "I'm fighting Matt Hughes (Pictures) for the interim title right now, and then after that I'm going to go after Serra. I've wanted that rematch against Serra, and this is the best scenario that can happen."
very much wanting to see this rematch.
and reveling in it's loyalty. It's made by forming coalitions
over specific principles, goals, and policies.
http://i36.tinypic.com/66j31x.jpg
(\__/)
( o.O)
(")_(")
this will be awesome.... damn, i wish we all didn't live so bloody far away from each other so that we could watch together!! :(
who wants to got to Vegas for New Years?
Serra's suck a wuss! (I know it realy hurts but I've seen athletes/fighters work with worse)
After Mac wins the Ultimate Fighter finals on the 8th haha.
I REALLY like Hughes and would love to see him win the belt again BUT I like St-Pierre more! I know what its like to lose a parent and I think it was really shitty that he had to fight 2 days after it happen (tho I respect him fighting regardless). I have been waiting a long time to see him show to the world how amazing a fighter he is...even tho this means IF Montreal happens he won't be on the card :(
+1 mooks!!
by the way, I laughed so hard I started crying at your GS MF'n P in the other thread and got a good giggle now.
It hardly needs to be said but ........ VAS-Y GSP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I wish we could all watch together too!And I just realized that I may not be watching this event at all! :eek: I'll be taking a red eye flight back to Nashvegas that night.
i was kind of wondering how matt serra would react to this. he is the champion after all, and it's really the ufc's decision making process that stalled the title fight between him and hughes for the tv show, so i feel bad him and his bad luck with the injury. obviously he'd rather face hughes since that's what the focus has been on and he's already beaten georges...puts him in a tough spot when he likes georges and doesn't like hughes, yet has to root for hughes to win in order to get the match that was supposed to happen in the first place.
still...i can't wait to see the hughes / st-pierre match too, roland!
the st-pierre / hughes fight seems to be the one that more fans wanted to see anyway.
i had to laugh when i read serra's comment about having to root for hughes so he could beat his ass.
if only...here's hoping i have a rich, generous relative who i've never met, who feels the need to make up for 30 years of christmas presents with some big cash wrapped up in a box!
it would be a mighty party, ceg!
p.s. GSP!
i was pumped up, releash!
again, i hope you all don't mind the new thread...just wanted to change it to GSP since the change in main event.
also, i hope you've had some relaxation time on your time off!
i was kind of thinking you might be away and not get this news, then get back and go..."what the heck?!?!"
sorry for all the anti-hughes sentiment, then, accbootleggoddess.
as far as serra's injury goes, it is actually pretty serious so it's not really a choice for him. he simply can't train or fight.
there's still the possibilty that the montreal show will happen when serra is healthy and if (when
are you still going to the finale? i know i posted the rumour about luke cummo fighting at the finale, but it doesn't look to be the case. i've heard his name being thrown around as a possible oppnent for mike swick in january for swick's debut at WW, so i'm hoping that happens so he gets main event status and some long overdue tv time. i think he gone beyond proving himself at this point and continues to improve with each fight.
Dnevnik.hr interview: Cro Cop back in January
Dnevnik.hr: Is CroCop back?
Mirko: CroCop is recovered, it will take a month to begin with sparrings again, although I have a special helmet for protection. The stripes are affecting my visibility so it's not like the real thing, but the regular sparring sessions start in about a month.
I think my next fight is going to happen in January.
You recently had a nose surgery?
Mirko: The nose problems have nothing to do with my defeats. I had trouble breathing, my nose was broken, one side was at 30%, while the other side was blocked completely.
It's important when you face such an intense efforts.
Is this the toughest period in your career after you left K1?
Mirko: Not only that, this is the toughest period of my entire career.
Did you think about ending your career?
Mirko: I did think of it the night after my last defeat, but I'm not going to end my career soon. I will have 5 or 6 fights at least. Maybe even more, who can tell. Every fight could be your last one. You can suffer from a fatal injury, you can break your leg or arm. If I'll be able to fight I'll fight, it's my life and my choice and I enjoy doing it.
I have a very strong motive, especially beacuse of number of "wise" Internet users saying that I'm done. I will prove they were wrong.
Did you ever think about taking a year off to rest and come back stronger?
Mirko: In my case that would be a very long break. Of course, I would train a lot still if it would happen. Sometime you have to end your career, in a year, 3 or 5 years, or even 10 years - look at Randy Couture, he was the champion at 44. I will always train hard, but long breaks like that are not for me.
Are you in touch with Dana White and how does he feel about your defeats?
Mirko: We keep in touch, but you'll have to ask him about that.
So, your nose is recovering well, you are wearing a special helmet. Your return is set for January due to a medical reasons?
Mirko: Yes, because of the surgery I'm not allowed to fight sooner. My nose is not fully recovered and I still have stiches in it.
Are there any rumors about your next opponent?
Mirko: None that I'm aware of.
Who you would like to fight next? Someone with a big reputation or?
Mirko: It's up to the UFC's management. I will fight anyone who they put me against. I have never turned down any opponent.
Anything left to say?
Mirko: I'll be back (smiling).
http://www.mirko-crocop.com/?id=4&solo=80
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQLTd6hDOkI
and reveling in it's loyalty. It's made by forming coalitions
over specific principles, goals, and policies.
http://i36.tinypic.com/66j31x.jpg
(\__/)
( o.O)
(")_(")
Report: Georges St. Pierre Asked for Fight with Matt Hughes (Updated)
November 25, 2007
A UFC 79 fight between Matt Hughes and Georges St. Pierre — a fight booked late last week because Matt Serra was injured and unable to fight Hughes — came about for a simple reason: St. Pierre asked for it.
In a story posted today on MMAjunkie.com’s content-partner site, Yahoo! Sports, Dave Meltzer reports that St. Pierre asked for the fight as soon as he heard of Serra’s herniated disc and subsequent withdrawal from the UFC 79 main event.
Serra’s injury put the UFC in a peculiar spot: Hughes was without an opponent, and UFC 79 was without a main event. A currently scheduled Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva bout will be a major draw for the Dec. 29 event, but with both fighters coming off back-to-back losses, it probably wouldn’t enough to carry the event and register a significant number of pay-per-view buys.
According to Meltzer, UFC executives were first interested in Jon Fitch as a replacement for Serra, but the rising welterweight — who’s 7-0 in the UFC — said he had put on too much weight and was concerned he couldn’t make the cut in a healthy way.
Other fighters were considered, as well.
From Yahoo! Sports:
St. Pierre and his management team called UFC after getting news of Serra’s injury, and asked for the match. At that point, UFC officials were looking at presenting either Josh Koscheck or Thiago Alves, with the latter having the better shot since he was coming off four straight wins. Jon Fitch, who may have been the first offered the fight, turned it down, because he had gained significant weight and felt he couldn’t make weight in a healthy fashion on short notice. His camp, San Jose’s American Kickboxing Academy, suggested Koscheck, who is closer to the 170-pound weight limit, would have made an interesting opponent for Hughes. The only negative was Koscheck was coming off a loss to St. Pierre on Aug. 26.
The UFC added some “oomph” to the fight by making it a five-rounder for the title of interim welterweight champion. Doctors still haven’t given Serra a timetable for his return, so the interim title will assure the division won’t be on hold any longer. It’s already sat dormant for eight months so Serra and Hughes could appear as rival coaches on “The Ultimate Fighter.“
The fact that St. Pierre asked for the title is telling. The popular French-Canadian fighter and former champ was already guaranteed a title shot (by defeating Koscheck at UFC 74). With all due respect to Serra, history tells us that Hughes would pose St. Pierre a greater challenge. So, he could have sat back, hoping that Serra would upset Hughes — and, in turn, give him an easier opponent when his title shot came in.
Instead, he asked for the fight — on just four weeks’ notice.
UPDATE: According to a new blog post on matt-hughes.com, Hughes states that he, in fact, requested the fight with St. Pierre — largely because he wanted to avoid their inevitable showdown from happening in St. Pierre’s native Canada.
http://mmajunkie.com/2007/11/25/report-georges-st-pierre-asked-for-fight-with-matt-hughes-updated/
georges is all class. i especially like the part where he is talking about his dad working too many hours for so many years and that he sees that as being just as crazy as what he does..."we're all crazy"
"UFC calls on St. Pierre"
By Dave Meltzer, Yahoo! Sports
November 25, 2007
Just a few days ago, if you were to pick one word to describe the Ultimate Fighting Championships in 2007, it would be "cursed."
Welterweight champion Matt Serra suffered a herniated disc in his lower back this past week, and on Thanksgiving he told UFC officials he couldn't defend his title in what would have been the biggest match of his career. The loss of the Serra-Matt Hughes Dec. 29 title bout appeared to cripple UFC 79, an event that president Dana White had predicted would break company pay-per-view records.
But on Saturday night, former champion Georges St. Pierre, Hughes and UFC officials agreed to an interesting replacement fight: a five-round match for the newly created interim welterweight championship that will be in play until Serra returns and meets whoever holds the title.
"I'm so excited to get this fight," St. Pierre told UFC.com. "I'm fighting Matt Hughes for the interim title right now, and then after that, I'm going to go after Serra. I've wanted that rematch against Serra, and this is the best scenario that can happen."
St. Pierre generally is considered the most talented fighter in the welterweight division. He's ranked No. 4 in the Yahoo! Sports pound-for-pound rankings, ahead of Hughes (No. 9) and Serra, the division's champion, who is not in the top 10. Hughes, the dominant force in the division from 2001-2006, generally is considered its all-time greatest champion.
But St. Pierre took Hughes apart on Nov. 18, 2006, in Sacramento, Calif., in winning the welterweight championship. Hughes, a two-time All-American collegiate wrestler, submitted St. Pierre with an armbar two years earlier. In the 2006 bout, he couldn't take St. Pierre down. Standing, St. Pierre was quicker, and knocked him out with a high kick.
On April 7, Serra stopped St. Pierre after landing a hard punch to the temple in the opening seconds, and St. Pierre never recovered, being pounded out quickly on the ground. Most considered Serra's win the MMA equivalent of a hole-in-one. Hughes had publicly stated that he didn't think Serra was in the top 10 in the weight class.
St. Pierre and his management team called UFC after getting news of Serra's injury, and asked for the match. At that point, UFC officials were looking at presenting either Josh Koscheck or Thiago Alves, with the latter having the better shot since he was coming off four straight wins. Jon Fitch, who may have been the first offered the fight, turned it down, because he had gained significant weight and felt he couldn't make weight in a healthy fashion on short notice. His camp, San Jose's American Kickboxing Academy, suggested Koscheck, who is closer to the 170-pound weight limit, would have made an interesting opponent for Hughes. The only negative was Koscheck was coming off a loss to St. Pierre on Aug. 26.
St. Pierre was thought off limits. He already had a guaranteed title shot in April, with his home city of Montreal close to locked up as the location. But with seven months between fights, St. Pierre was getting antsy for competition. He had even talked of competing in amateur wrestling at the Canadian national level. St. Pierre, with no competitive wrestling background, outwrestled Koscheck in his win.
While St. Pierre asked for the fight, even though he'd only have four weeks of intensive training, about half of a normal top-level fighters camp, it was still up to Hughes to agree.
"I'm going to fight Georges St. Pierre on Dec. 29," Hughes wrote on matt-hughes.com. "I've got a couple reasons why I've made this decision and I will share those at a later time. I've asked for this to be for an interim title and if Matt Serra can't fight in a year, then this would be just the title fight."
UFC agreed to make it an interim championship match, which means five rounds. Hughes is already in training, and had he beaten Serra, as he was favored to do, he'd have had to face St. Pierre next anyway.
When Serra is healthy, he would face whoever holds the interim title as soon as possible. Serra's doctors have yet to give him a timetable as to when he can fight, another reason UFC agreed to the interim title idea.
Serra, who respects St. Pierre and has publicly shown disdain for Hughes, is in the weird position of hoping for a Hughes win.
"I can't believe the position this puts me in," Serra said on UFC.com. "I'm actually rooting for Matt Hughes so I can beat his ass."
WHY UFC 79 WAS IN PERIL
Serra's injury came on the heels of major upsets, injuries, contract signing issues and disputed drug test results, all of which have hurt big-money fights. The problems have also led to several makeshift main events, and a likely dip in last year's estimated $223 million pay-per-view numbers.
For the final major show of the year, in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva was the headline "dream" match. It pitted UFC's most famous star against Pride's 205-pound weight class legend, who held the company's middleweight title (the 205 class was called middleweight in that company) for six years. White had been trying to make the match for five years.
Even though Silva was coming off two straight knockout losses – to Mirko Cro Cop (a heavyweight in an open-weight tournament) and Dan Henderson (on Feb. 14 in Las Vegas in a title loss) – only a small percentage of UFC fans were aware of those matches.
Liddell lost to Jackson twice but still was the country's most famous MMA fighter. It was almost a perfect scenario. Whoever won would move into a title match with Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.
Had Liddell won, he'd have beaten a legitimate future Hall of Fame fighter, and a Liddell-Jackson rematch had a chance to threaten the UFC pay-per-view record of more than one million buys.
But Liddell's stock took a tremendous hit on Sept. 22 when he lost to Keith Jardine. Even with an impressive win over Silva, another title shot is at least another win or two away. It's still a big match, and on paper, looks to be an exciting match. But it's not the bout it was hyped up to be.
As for the Hughes-Serra fight, filming was already completed for The Ultimate Fighter season, which would air for three months before the championship fight. Serra and Hughes didn't like each other to begin with. The TV show captured that dynamic weekly.
Based on styles, there was no guarantee this would be a great fight, but it had every element that makes people pay to see a fight.
Serra's injury, at least temporarily, ruined the payoff of a season of television.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news;_ylt=Al4I95fu4e2Ind2o.OImklQ9Eo14?slug=dm-stpierre112507&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
the yahoo article was actually pretty well done. it's good to see the coverage of MMA getting a little more widespread and professional.
i just saw your thread about going to vegas, so i guess that answers my question about you going to the finale.