Home » News, UFC

Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra Likely For April 2009

Posted by Kris Karkoski on Oct 22, 2008 at 3:09 pm ET41 Comments

Matt HughesWelterweight rivals and former champions Matt Hughes and Matt Serra are likely to headline a yet to-be-announced UFC event in April 2009, according to an entry by Hughes on his official site.

UFC executive Joe Silva confirmed the matchup with Hughes this week, though an exact date and venue have yet to be determined for the featured bout.

Hughes, who held the title for two extended periods before losing to BJ Penn and Georges St-Pierre, was originally booked to face Serra for the belt in November 2007 following Serra’s surprising upset of the then-champion St-Pierre in April of the same year. The matchup was then pushed back to UFC 79 in late-December but was ultimately scratched after Serra withdrew from the bout due to a back injury.

Hughes remained on the UFC 79 card, losing a rubber match for the interim title to St-Pierre. Serra returned in April, also losing to St-Pierre. Following another loss by Hughes, this time to Thiago Alves in the main event of UFC 85 in June, Hughes and Serra are again scheduled to meet.

Check out the MMAFrenzy.com MMA rumors section for the latest UFC rumors.

Tags: ,

41 Comments »

  • 2girls2cups says:

    can’t wait. i hope serra submits him

  • MC84 says:

    I think hughes is gonna gnp serra till the ref stops it

  • FR702 says:

    Wow only a 16 month wait…. Ehh…. I would like to see Serra win, yet Hughes probably will

  • windmiller says:

    why do you want Serra to win? isn’t it a little redickulous that he trys to talk like he is on the same level as Hughes and GSP? i know he beat GSP (1ST ROUND) but who else has he beat? who else has he fought besides BJ (in the start of BJ’s career)? is he really a top level fighter?

  • FR702 says:

    Windmiller,
    Good points and question…. Is Serra a top level MMA fighter ehh probably not as most people would percieve him to be. And ya he beat GSP hence the “Serra Effect” (just had to bring it up randomly)…
    Serra for me is rather entertaining he is like that little chiauhauha next to the huge bulldog jumpin up and down talking ****, he is funny I don’t know… I’m not the biggest Hughes fan (I respect his great carrer and what he has done) and I would just like to see him go out to pasture if u will

    I will enjoy the fight but because I’m not the biggest Hughes fan and Serra makes me laugh that’s why I would like to see Serra win but again he probably will get destroyed by Hughes

  • 2girls2cups says:

    i think if hughes was still in his prime this would be no contest but he’s not. I think at this point, there pretty close but i would have to expect hughes to win. i’m hopin for the upset though cuz hughes just seems too cocky. serra seems like a cocky guy as well, but he’s still respectful and i’ve grown to like him after seein him on both seasons of tuf.

  • Cole Miller says:

    I liked Serra until he coached on tuf…he reminded me of a lil high school girl…gettin caught up in the drama..all the he said she said bullsh*t..I wish he would keep big new yorker mouth shut..and let his abilities speak for themselves….that bein said..I liked his attitude on tuf 4 and he does have some pretty good jj…but I just don’t think hes up at hughes level….since they’re both old, athleticism won’t be major factor in this fight..it will rely more on talent which I think Hughes just has better skills than Serra(putting aside that I am a Hughes fan)…should be a great fight tho since they both depise each other can’t wait….a country boy will survive

  • YZFOXRACING says:

    DIDN’T I MENTION THIS YESTERDAY…

    I CAN’T SEE HOW ANYONE CAN LIKE SERRA… HIS WIN OVER GSP IS OBVIOUSLY A FLUKE. LOOK HOW GSP DOMINATED HIM. I CAN’T STAND HOW HE CRADLED THA BELT AND THEN ACTED LIKE HE GOT HURT… THE DUDE SOUNDS LIKE A ****IN QUEER…

  • JustJoe says:

    Was Serra ever really a champion? The guy held the belt for a year without making a title defense.

  • YZFOXRACING says:

    SERRA HASN’T WON A FIGHT BY SUBMISSION IN YEARS. KRIS DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG ITS BEEN SINCE HES SUBMITTED SOMEONE…

  • Us And Chuck says:

    I lost interest in this fight about 18 months ago.

    I like both fighters so i don’t care who wins.

  • FR702 says:

    3~22~2002 Kelly Dullanty via Triangle choke

    Serra has beat:::
    Yves Edwards,Jeff Curran,Chris Lytle,GSP

    Serra has lost to::
    GSP,BJ Penn, Karo Parisyan,Din Thomas and Mr.International Shonie Carter (hl spinning backfist)

  • Justin says:

    I think Hughes will win, and I prefer that he win. I am a Hughes fan anyways, but I also dislike Serra. But then I’ve never really liked many “typical New Yorkers” like Serra.

  • Willy D says:

    Would pull for Hughes, but after the **** he said regarding the GSP/Fitch fight, I hope they both knock each other out Balboa/Creed style.

  • Cole Miller says:

    Willy D….

    I think you need to look into things a lil more before making a commment like that….heres what hughes reply was to what was said…

    “I usually don’t do this, but I’m going to break my rule this time. There’s been so much talk about my last blog entry that it’s amazing. Some of it is legitimate thinking, some of it is just from idiots. I never said the GSP fight was boring, the reason I walked out was because I wanted to beat the crowd. I didn’t think Fitch was going to get back in the match and the fight wasn’t as exciting as I thought it would be. If you want, you can go look at my last blog entry and see that this is basically what I said. So people criticized me for leaving the fight early and said that was disrespectful to GSP, I disagree, I just wanted to get out of there. Some people just need to realize that this is what I do for a living. Now let’s take what you do for a living, go to a conference every month for a few years and see if you want to leave early during one of them. I even had one guy on Yahoo! Sports report that I said that I thought GSP was on steroids. If you go back to my blog and look at what I actually said, I said that I thought that he looked smaller than he has looked before. Never once did I say that GSP was on steroids for this fight. Just goes to show that you can’t trust some of the journalism for the sport out there.”

  • YZFOXRACING says:

    FR702 YOUR A GOOD MAN THANKS… SEE HE CAN’T EVEN BEAT SOMEONE WITH HIS OWN SPECIALTY. HOW GAY IS THAT. ALL YOU PEOPLE HATING ON HUGHES… HUGHES IS ONE OF THE ORIGINALS. HE WAS THE “MOST” DOMINANT CHAMPION IN THE HISTORY OF MMA… MORE THEN CHUCK… YOU CAN’T HATE SOMEONE FOR SPEAKIN THERE MIND… HES NOT AFRAID SAY ANYTHING AND THATS WHY I LOVE HUGHES… HES A BADASS….

  • JustJoe says:

    Spider is the most dominant champion of all time imo. He wins a couple more 185 fights in 2 rounds or under and he might just be the greatest ever. I want to see him kick Okami’s azz next after Cote.

  • Gi87 says:

    I never liked Serra until i met Hughes. I hope Serra knocks that cocky ego maniac Hughes back to when he was good.

  • Willy D says:

    I did not see that update, thanks for letting me know Cole.

  • T3chn3tnium says:

    16 month wait?…. hughes should win. but anything can happen. thats why they fight…

  • FR702 says:

    T3chn3trium,

    Dec 2007 (UFC 79) to April 2009 is aprox 16 months…?…

  • T3chn3tnium says:

    ok thank you. thought you meant 16 months from now :)

  • Considering this was supposed to happen in November its almost an 18 month wait, but no matter the specific time this fight’s a long time coming and I’m looking forward to it.

  • FR702 says:

    T3chn3trium, no worries
    @Kris sorry for being that specific I forgot about the original injuries of the two Matts

  • E-ROC says:

    Let the hype machine begin. I can’t wait for this fight.

  • Ross says:

    what we have to realize hear is this:Matt Serra is not that good of fighter, i mean dont get me wrong he did beat GSP, but believe me that was a world class upset not a world class beat down. Hughes in 2 rounds by TKO.

  • JustJoe says:

    This will be my first time cheering for Hughes, not to mention any Militech fighter ever.

  • DBiz says:

    Dear Matt Hughes,

    Take care of business. Then retire. Do not pass “mediocre, washed up has-been.” Do not collect an extra $1M. One Ken Shamrock is one too many.

    Love,
    MMA Fans Everywhere

  • T3chn3tnium says:

    lol… i agree to a certain extent..

  • Justin says:

    DBiz,
    Most indications are that this will be Hughes’ last fight.

  • KOuch says:

    Dude/Dudes……….this **** is taking forever. The DMV wait time doesn’t have **** on the Hughes/Serra fight. I am seriously losing interest in this match up. The two obviously hate each other and make a good match based on angry emotion. On the other hand Hughes is next to done and Serra has what most view as a “fluke” win over GSP. Besides the GSP victory Serra is nothing special. I am a fan of Serra but being honest. Nothing special. Hughes is a legend with a beat up body…..he’s a penis too. A God fearing man.

  • SOLO says:

    hughes had his glory days.
    i wish victory for serra, let him taste the clouds as well!
    GO NY!

  • timcat says:

    Can’t wait for it. That being said, there is no way this fight deserves to headline a card. A washed up Hughes and a never was Serra.

  • Surfingk5 says:

    I don’t like either one.

    Hughes lost his drive like all the Militich fighters. For such great coaching you’d think they would have been able to control their ego’s. They get a belt, they gradually get lax and lose…but still talk ****.

    Serra…whatever…he’s also a douche.

    I’d like to see them kick each others asses into retirement.

  • windmiller says:

    Matt Hughes lost to GSP (NO SAME IN THAT) then to Alves who did NOT make 170 (his ankle being hurt did not show AT ALL in his preformance) he look like he was 205? Hughes might be over the hill Might Not!!!!!!!!! IMO to compare him to Ken is a little far stretch for me to see! i say give him Fitch or Sanchez or Kos or Karo, siht Karo has been tring to fight Hughes for YEARS and he never made it! lets see it happen if he losses to Karo then i can say he is past hi prime? IMO

  • JOHNBOY says:

    i like matt serra hes the underdog of all underdogs, he shouldn’t be in the same cage as gsp or hughes but he shows he has balls by steping up there even when every hates him and all, and even winning against gsp, call it a lucky punch say what ever but at the end of the day serra can say he beat gsp fair and square, lets see how many other fighters can say that after they retire, as for this match i think serra is guna sub matt out, serra seems way smarter then hughes and is not guna fight this match on emotion like hughes will, 2nd round sub win for serra here!

  • francisco says:

    i can wait for Hughes submit serra and i agree with timcat. however, i belive hughes is one of the best and serra should be one of the bottom steps for outcoming fighters.

  • Surfingk5 says:

    That’s pretty strong JOHNBOY…wow

  • Zidd says:

    I wish serra wins! via KO!

    cheers

Leave a comment!

Add your comment below, or trackback from your own site. You can also subscribe to these comments via RSS.

Be nice. Keep it clean. Stay on topic. No spam.

MMAFrenzy.com reserves the right to moderate all comments.