UFC 79: St. Pierre To Face Hughes for Interim Welterweight Title
Georges St. Pierre has agreed to fill in for Matt Serra and will fight Matt Hughes on December 29th for the Interim Welterweight Championship in the headline bout of UFC 79 the UFC announced on Saturday. St. Pierre was expected to take on the winner of the Serra-Hughes title match in early-2008 in Montreal but that match could now be his first title defense if he is able to defeat Hughes.
In 2004 at UFC 50 Matt Hughes handed St. Pierre the first loss of his career, submitting the Canadian fighter late in the first round. St. Pierre exacted revenge late last year by defeating Hughes with an early second round TKO. With both fighters securing a quick victory in the first two meetings this match is as unpredictable as they come. St. Pierre will have just over a month to focus on training for this fight though he is regarded as one of the most athletic fighters in the sport today and is expected to be fully prepared to recapture his title.
Serra shocked the world in April when he knocked St. Pierre out in round 1 of their title bout at UFC 69. The win, the first UFC championship won by a castmember of The Ultimate Fighter, led to Serra and Hughes being coaches on the sixth season of The Ultimate Fighter with the goal that they square off following the conclusion of the season. After suffering an injury earlier this week Serra was forced to withdraw from the title match prompting the UFC to book St. Pierre to face Hughes for an interim welterweight title. The winner of the match is then expected to face Serra in 2008 to unify the belts.
The severity of Serra’s injury is not yet known and he could be out for the better part of a year if surgery is required.
St. Pierre enters the bout with a 14-2 professional MMA record that includes wins over BJ Penn, Sean Sherk, Frank Trigg, and Karo Parisyan. Following his loss to Serra St. Pierre defeated Josh Koscheck in August in a battle of top contenders.
Hughes holds a 41-5 record but has fought just once since losing to St. Pierre in October of 2006. Hughes defeated Chris Lytle in March at UFC 68.
For more on UFC 79: Nemesis check out the MMAFrenzy.com UFC rumors section.
Tags: Georges St. Pierre, Matt Hughes
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This is going to be a great fight! I’m more excited for this than for Hughes vs. Serra.
I am very happy about this fight. This is a much better fight for Hughes in that if he looses, it will not tarnish his career. Had it been Alves, or Fitch, a loss might have pre-maturely ended Hughes’ career. I think Hughes has a better chance this time than last, but I wouldn’t bet on this fight.
Damn, now i have a bigger reason to order UFC 79!
Dana Thank you!! Georges Thank you!!
GSP > Hughes
GSP to be (Interim) Champion again. All is right in the universe.
scotchy – good points – while Hughes waits for Serra (assuming GSP wins), the rest of the 170 division can continue, and hopefully in Montreal GSP vs Fitch.
So let’s see, GSP will have fought twice since losing the belt and Serra has fought 0 times. Interim my ass, this IS for the belt. GSP saved Dana’s ass. All that hype for nothing.
nice, good move by Dana.
Watch for Hughes to take it to the ground this time. I got Hughes in round 2 via submission. As long as the nut shots stay away, we should have a good fight. I love the matchup, I just really wanted to see Hughes shut Serras mouth. Hopefully in the future.
couldn’t have turned out any better
fixxer- hughes tried last time to take it to the ground. he gave up on that pretty quik. if hughes can get the fight there then he does have a chance at beating gsp. Goerges St. Pierre in round 2or3 via tko..
also fixxer…who ever is champ when serra comes back will sure as hell shut his mouth. whether it’s gsp, hughes, or maybe even fitch. one of these guys will teach serra a lesson.
I hope that GSP doesn’t look past Hughes and look at trying to get HIS belt back. That’s the only way he can lose this fight. Otherwise, GSP beginning or middle of round 2=> TKO again.
gsp will take hughes again.anyone who says matt didnt try and take it to the ground in the last fight needs to watch it again.he tried and failed.then got took apart standing.fact is gsp has improved so much since the first fight i except him to beat hughes again.
Is Serra’s injury serious?
WOWWW!!!!! THIS IS CRAZY!!!! I had no idea that a replacement bout like this was even in the works. I love Serra, but this fight is more appealing and fans like me can’t wait for this showdown to happen. I can’t wait!
yeah, he did try to take him down unsuccessfuly but hopefully he can get past it this time. Like I said, as long as the nut shots stay out of the fight, it should go good. I want Hughes to win….but GSP is the only person that can beat him. Fitch is good, and I cant wait to see him fight someone good. I hope he really does sumthing in this division. I never thought Diego was a “great” fighter….so hopefully they put Fitch up against Alves.
awesome.. and i called it too.. check the comments in the Huges comments on serra story.. lol
I’m taking bets as to what the title of this event will be.
UFC 79 – Temps!!!
UFC 79 – better than before!
UFC 79 – A Real Fight
how bout UFC 79- THE WAY IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ANYWAY
How about….
UFC 79- More that 78 + 1
I like this card, but I hate interim championships. It really is just a glorified #1 contender fight. Don’t get me wrong. I definitely think Hughes and St. Pierre are the best 2 fighters in this division, but the champion should win or lose his belt in the octagon and not because of injury. Simply splitting the belt does not solve the problem.
As for Fitch? Like Koscheck a good wrestler, an elite fighter, but Hughes and St. Pierre are on another level. We saw that with St. Pierre – Koscheck, we would see the same with a St. Pierre – Fitch or Highes – Fitch. One sided.
It’s inevitable that these two would face off again, so why not sooner than later? GSP will definitely be ready despite the short notice. It appears to be a swan song situation for Hughes, since it seems inconceivable that he could beat GSP after his comprehensive destruction in their last fight. He has virtually no avenues to victory: GSP has the best take-down defense (and submission defense) in the game at 170. His stand up is also at or near the best (the Penn and Serra fights non-withstanding) His only weakness is that he can go down if he’s hit with the perfect strike (but that can be said for anyone). The problem for Hughes is that he has the worst stand-up (both offensively and defensively) of any top guy in MMA. He got by on great strength and wrestling ability for a long time, and also by fighting guys that were well suited to his style: like Newton, Trigg, Sherk, etc. Against BJ Penn, he got schooled in their first fight (and was on the doorstep to losing a second time before BJ cracked his rib). Against St. Pierre the first time, he did well to secure a submission with a second left in round 1. That will go down as the best win of his career, I believe. When they fought again it was the definitive changing of the guards fights in MMA history. Anderson Silva vs. Rich Franklin was similar but without the anticipation, since everyone was following GSP’s career very closely after the first Hughes fight and he was the widely acknowledged “future of the sport” before he even fought Hughes again. Silva, coming out of Pride, was somewhat less well-known until his utter ( now two-time) destruction of the previously dominant Franklin. I mention Silva, because I think Silva-Franklin 2 is much like Hughes-GSP 3. You have a previously dominant popular champion (who got by a great deal on superior strength, work ethic, and good match-ups) facing a guy who is an evolution beyond him as a fighter. No matter what Franklin did to prepare for Silva, in such a short period he could not remake himself as a fighter, which is what he would have to do to challenge Silva. The way Franklin likes to fight (claims at being well-rounded but prefers to stand and trade) plays right into Silva hands. So it was just a matter of time before he got KO’d again. He can’t effectively take Silva down and keep him down (though he did get him down briefly in their second fight– that was his big improvement.) Likewise, Hughes can’t stand and trade with GSP or apparently even take him down, as evidenced by their second fight. I think Franklin had a better chance at Silva, because he always had a “puncher’s chance.” Hughes isn’t a puncher, so he doesn’t even have that chance. Has Hughes ever, in anyone’s memory, even landed a notable strike standing in his whole career in the UFC? The only thing Hughes does have going for him, in my estimation, is his belief in himself and his mental toughness. But he really believed he would win their last match and look what happened to him. My guess is that he’ll do a little better this time. He will get GSP down at least once and make a decent attempt at a kimora or something of the sort. But GSP will catch up with him and TKO in 3.
Wow great analysis James! I see what you are saying, but I think this fight will be going to a decision; I’ll go with Hughes by decision.
hughes by decision? maybe if its fixed or he has a picture of somebody doing something that they shouldn’t have been
No i do believe if it goes to decision they will give it to hughes.. from what i see.. populartiy for the most part plays a huge role in decisions. look at the bisping-hamill fight(got his ass handed to him but got the decision).. hell even look at the bisping-evans fight( bisping only won one round but got a split decision)
Huzzah with a dang. Huzzah for the 3rd meeting. But dang about Hughes not getting a chance to do to Serra what Penn did to Pulver. If I hear “Bro” 1 more time….
I think Hughes actually has a better chance at winning by submission than he does in out-pointing GSP over five rounds. In a wild scramble for position it is fathomable (in the far outer reaches of one’s imagination) that Hughes could get his back and lock in a choke. However, in a long drawn out battle, GSP simply has too many tools and is better at every facet of the game. Hughes could out condition him if St. Pierre was the kind of guy (like Penn) who would occasionally show up in less than stellar condition. But look at GSP’s track record on that count. He has never gassed in any fight ever. Granted he hasn’t gone five rounds, but he’s a phenomenally conditioned athlete who has triumphed via conditioning and grit against some of the best in battles that went the distance: Penn, Karo, Koscheck. Hughes won’t gas him. And he won’t outpoint him in a popularity contest with the judges, either. Perhaps in their first fight this could have been a factor. But since, GSP has gone on to become one of the most popular fighters in the game. He won’t get robbed. If Hughes finds a way to beat him it will be legit. But he can’t hold him down and lay on him for five rounds. He can’t take a Delorean and a flex capicitor and go back in time and develop a striking game. In a longer bout GSP’s superior skill set will rise to the top. If Hughes wants to win he’s going to have to bull his way to a takedown early, land a quick elbow and than take GSP’s back in the scramble and secure a rear naked choke. If he does that my hat is off to him. He can go out on top in a manner befitting his long reign as champ (provided he waits around for Serra to recover and beats him as well, not a given but vastly more likely than a victory over St. Pierre). If not, than the future is now and GSP will rule as champ for the foreseeable future. Only BJ Penn is a legit threat to him at this stage of his career.
so if(when) hughes loses does he still plan on moving up to middleweight to fight anderson silva?
Assuming you’re not joking, it would be a ludicrous proposition for Hughes to even consider, in a nocturnal fantasy, taking on Anderson Silva. Silva is going through the 185 division like a buzz saw. He is, in the estimation of many, the best, most complete fighter on the planet at the moment. It is perfect that he is facing Henderson next, the only guy with a prayer at beating him right now. But Henderson is a better wrestler than Hughes and coming down from 205 AND a very good striker in his own right. Hendo only lost by decision against the current 205 top dog Rampage. But that fight was close, and Rampage got the victory because he’s a natural 205 and a little stronger. At 185, Henderson should be much more dangerous. The problem is he’s facing a guy that is aptly named Spider because it seems like he has about 8 arms and legs. And he’s incredibly strong for a guy that looks more like an 800 meter track athlete than a dominant mixed martial artist. But just look at how he tossed Franklin around like a rag doll in their first fight. And Franklin is a huge 185. Matt Hughes at 185 would look like a goddamn Hobbit. I think it’s a case of the kind of absurd speculation you make when you are on top of the game and feel invincible, but something you would never actually do. I recall Liddell considering moving up to heavyweight if he beat Rampage. Funny how both guys got destroyed in their next bout. Any more talk on that front by either fighter should likewise be quickly dismissed, especially for Hughes, unless he visualizes making his exit from the sport on a stretcher.
I think whoever wins this fight will beat matt serra’s ass when he’s cleared to fight. Koscheck has arguably the best takedowns in mma and GSP repeatedly stuffed them. I see this being a replay of the last hughes/gsp where hughes got disected standing up. Hughes is a great champion but GSP is what Rampage is to the Iceman, the one guy who has his #. GSP victory over hughes is similar to Hughes over Gracie. Similar in that dominant champion is upended by the next guy to takeover. Hughes made Gracie look like an amateur. GSP made Hughes look like he had no chance in the stand up portion of the fight. That’s not to take away from what Gracie or Hughes has accomplished but to show when the guy who has surpassed them has shown up. If GSP pulls his **** togeather no one will beat him. Best of luck to all those competing in december, we’ll be watching
Snoooze – Tired of these guys. Tired of Hughes and tired of GSP. At least the Serra fight would have brought a new and hungry champ in to defend, especially after the whooping Serra put on Hughes in TUF. It is interesting to see the original guys that kind of put MMA on to the mainstream map start to fall apart – Hughes, Franklin, GSP, Silvia, Sanchez, etc. I want to see more up and coming fighters given the chance to fight for the belt.
A lot of you certainly have some solid points of view. Though I can’t quite say GSP has the best sub defense in the game, his take down defense is phenomenal. If it stays standing, then I as well as many others look for George to repeat their second meeting. If it does some how get to the floor, it should prove interesting since they are both advanced in the ground game. I do honestly have to give the ground and pound advantage to Hughes because he clearly has found himself successfully in that position more then George. Not to mention that Serra recently exposed GSP’s lack of response to mount pressure when hurt so look for Hughes to visit that category. All in all I feel that it’s going to be a great fight. I am not much of a Matt Hughes fan but one thing I have noticed with him is that he seemingly plugs the holes in his game. GSP has impressed me time and time again through his growth. Last time they fought he took Hughes out of his game and did so in my opinion with ease. Yeah, we all hear time and time again about the devastating blow(s) that he took to the cup. Come on now guy’s… The first one maybe, but the second wasn’t even close. I think with all sincerity that Hughes found himself momentarily out classed and looked to take advantage of a potential break to regain his composure and formulate a new game plan. After all, didn’t he finish Trig after taking a nastier blow to the love cup? In the sport it happens. I’m going to go out on a limb and predict that GSP will win via. decision and then look for Matt Hughes to be lined up against Caro ‘The Heat’ several months from now while GSP should be fighting Serra for the belt. The type of injury that Matt Serra has can and will end some athletes careers. I have talked and trained with Serra in the past and his style leads me to believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that he will do all in his power to get healed, rested up and then back in the fray in the shortest amount of time possible. After all, he and competitors like him didn’t get to where they are today by being slack artists – Phoenix
hughes cant win this fight…doesnt matter how u look at it…GSP dominated both fights already the only mistake he made was gettin caught in that armbar in their first fight…anyone who disagrees..jus wacth both fights again…
GSP>Hughes Rd 1 KO
Am I the only one who doesnt want to see this fight? I know in mma anything can happen at any point to anyone but come on GSP is going to murder him. Matt Hughe’s face is gonna get so mashed up hes gonna need a Matt Hughes mask for people to recognize him. I see GSP winning in a way that makes people scared of GSP in the division. And does it seem like Hughes is sitting there with that ****eating grin on his face right now? Whats a matter Matty boy scared to fight someone you havnt fought before on short notice? Yeah thats right hes scared of Fitch but can you blame him Fitch is an animal. GSP by knockout in the 2nd
Could someone explain to me what interim means exactly and what are the consequences?
It’s what you have when the current champ is injured or in contractual dispute and temporarily (and possibly long term) out of the championship picture. You don’t want the belt to be undefended for long periods of time because the division loses momentum without a top prize for the contenders to shoot for. If and when the actual champion returns, the interim belt holder is considered the #1 contender and the two immediately square off to consolidate the championship. In the meantime, however long the original champ’s absence may have been, you have had the possibility of championship level contests (5 rounds, bigger paydays) as well as the ability to blog the the interim title doesn’t mean anything and it’s really just a #1 contender belt.
Thank you James…
more than half of you are saying GSP cant be beat….. anyone remember last april when the little runt serra knocked him out…. i think hughes can learn from what serra did… keep your head moving. and keep switching levels. fake a takedown go for the body.. keep that up, go for actual takedown…ohhh big slam!
Hughes late round 1
BTY…. I belive serra will not return to the ring. he got his 15 min, off into history he rides undesputed champ (untested)…. oh well. diddily doo
GSP can be beat by anyone that can hit him standing. He needs to be softened up if you want to finish him, because his ground game is too good. Hughes has never landed a notable strike standing his whole career in the UFC.
I was a Serra fan until the show started. He better be hurt bad after all the crap he has been talking about Hughes. If they ever get the chance to fight, Serra better be able to breath. Hughes will choke him out in round 3.