UFC 98: Serra-Hughes
Published by Charles Jay on May 16th, 2009 in Current Events

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UFC – Serra-Hughes

Charles Jay

WHO WILL BE THE DOOR-MATT IN THIS ONE?

Matt Serra may be throwing more hurtful blows with his words than he might be throwing with his hands on Saturday night in Las Vegas. The former UFC welterweight champ – and that is something many people still find hard to believe – will hop into the Octagon with Matt Hughes, in a fight that, you might say, is a year and a half in the making.

Hughes is listed as a -275 favorite at BetUS.com (http://www.betus.com/ats/12911/mid/3200/promo/ufc), while Serra fetches a price of +190.

In November 2007, these two were supposed to face off for what was then Serra’s UFC welterweight belt, snared form the grip of Georges St. Pierre, who had beaten Hughes for it back in November of 2006. Serra pulled out of that one with a herniated disc, allowing Hughes one more crack at GSP, who submitted him.

Now here they are, in what could legitimately be called a “crossroads” fight, because the winner will undoubtedly get one more opportunity to do something substantial in the sport, while the loser must reassess his future in a big way.

As for Hughes, he’s a little more damaged goods now than he was when the fight was discussed originally, having been knocked out in two rounds by Thiago Alves in his last fight, suffering a torn MCL in the process. It has been eleven months since he has fought, which naturally brings up questions as to exactly what he has left.

Serra, who won the Ultimate Fighter welterweight tournament before his huge upset win over GSP, has already done enough in the sport to ensure himself of local celebrity in his native Long Island, where he operates a couple of jiu-jitsu schools. He has a ways to go to reach the same rarefied air as Hughes, who has won the UFC welter crown two separate times and made seven successful title defenses (and oh by the way, that does not make him a nine-time champion, as he touts on his website).

With all this time to build up hatred for Hughes, Serra has certainly had ample opportunity to work on his material.

“I don’t think he’s a good guy,” Serra said at one press gathering. “He’s such a d**k of a person that he has to hide behind religion, you know, to make himself feel better.”

That’s ugly stuff, especially considering that – and I say this as not the most religious guy in the world – I know that a lot of people embrace faith to, yes, make themselves feel better. I don’t think it makes them a dick.

I am not alone when I wonder whether Serra might just be the Leon Spinks of the MMA world. True, he scored a shocking win over someone who is one of the better pound-for-pound competitors in the sport, but he’s done little else of world-class significance. He has fought infrequently; in fact, he has won only two fights in the last five years. His pro record to date is only 9-5, and his only knockout was the one he scored over St. Pierre, before getting stopped in the rematch.

Hughes may be a “has-been,” but Serra is desperately trying to avoid that label of “flash in the pan” or, more appropriately, “never was.” There’s an old saying that a great shot fighter can always beat a good shot fighter. I don’t necessarily think that’s 100% true, but Hughes shows a tremendous edge in experience, with 50 fights to Serra’s nine. Hughes is adding in his own dose of dramatics, by saying this is his last fight. While he may be more one-dimensional than Serra, I like to stick with experience, especially against the Leon Spinks-types of the world, if indeed that’s what Serra really is.

THE PICK: HUGHES -275