By Ron 'The Yacman' Yacovetti
Commentator for Call to Arms MMA (www.calltoarmsfights.com)
hue (hyōō) n.
1.Appearance; aspect: a man of somber hue.
At UFC 98, two prominent names in the organization who share the same first name, Matt, squared off for a place in the welterweight division's top ten.
Matt Hughes, the MMA legend and one-time master of the slam, took on Matt Serra, a solid BJJ practitioner who also possesses heavy hands. Hughes, admittedly or not, is fighting for relevance in a division he no longer rules. Serra ruled over the 170 lb. class more recently, but for a time frame similar to how long humans have ruled the Earth in comparison to how old the planet is...a proverbial blink of an eye.
Matt "The Terra" Serra looked ready. He appeared prepared to continue waging his ongoing battle to crawl out from under the "one hit wonder win over Georges St. Pierre" shadow. Going into this fight, it seemed ideal in that respect too. Serra would be dangerous, being the heavier handed fighter, should it remain a stand up war, and with his high level of Jiu-Jitsu equally dangerous against a wrestler who will look to dump him on his back.
So what exactly happened?
We saw a hue of Hughes we continue to see more of since he's lost in recent years. He no longer provides the crowd pleasing, high, back-breaking slams, but instead, churns out a slew of outside leg trips and smooth double-leg take-downs.
Now what, you may ask, is wrong with that? - Well, nothing at first.
The problem comes when Hughes does what MMA fans the world over call "laying and praying." It's often done by one fighter, to simply smother their opponent so as to get a rest, tire them out or literally make time to pray that the referee stands both fighters back up.
It is a pretty strong accusation to make, especially when talking about one of the UFC's finest, in Matt Hughes. However, I cannot recall one submission attempt by Hughes, at any point when the action (or lack thereof) was on the ground.
Hughes did what a wrestler who does not know any submissions would do, merely controlling his opponent, holding him down and sustaining dominant position (See Lesnar versus Herring for another example, as Brock took his back and rode him like a rodeo bull, ignoring the rear naked choke entirely).
The frustrating thing to watch was how Serra was unable to move fluidly beneath him, making Hughes work and fend off submissions. It was only in the third round that the official began to stand them up more and wait less time before doing it.
Round two was very much like watching Hughes laying on a raft in a pool.
He got on top of it, stayed balanced on it and chilled out. No question he is strong as an ox to be able to smother a guy like Serra, but he really did not help his cause very much either.
Having recently read reviews of the entire fight card, which was awesome to me, but more specifically, about Hughes and if he deserves a title shot now, I am not unsure about how I see that, at all.
Did Matt Hughes win the fight over Matt Serra? Yes.
Was the fight close enough to be a split decision? Yes, I thought it was going to be a split.
Did Hughes' performance scream title shot against St. Pierre? I'd say it did not even whisper it.
It would not be a bad thing to have Hughes take on another fight or two, against top level guys, before saying, "He's back!"How about testing his resolve and desire to reign over the welterweights by making him take on Anthony "Rumble" Johnson, who will relentlessly push the pace and not likely get pinned down like a beaten WWE guy about to lose?
This review is an assessment of what happened in UFC 98, Hughes versus Serra. There is no question how talented, strong and iconic Matt Hughes has been in his dominant UFC career. But, in all of combat sports, you do not get to declare superiority long after your performances stop displaying it.
The old hues of Matt Hughes will always remain impressive. Sadly, fighters often remain competitive when it is no longer within their ability or desire to be that great anymore. As a result, fans like us are let down because after having heard their name mentioned on a fight card, we found hope that the hues that made us love them, just might inexplicably, show up that night too.
- YACMAN
www.yacandjshow.com
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