UFC 79: Matt Serra withdraws from Matt Hughes fight with back injury

The hits just keep on comin'.
UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Serra has pulled out of his upcoming fight with former titleholder Matt Hughes at UFC 79: "Nemesis," according to UFC.com.
"The Terror" apparently sustained a back injury during training earlier this week and determined he would not be fit for the New Year's Eve showdown.
Here's a snip from UFC President Dana White:
"This is devastating news because they were so looking forward to fighting each other. Unfortunately injuries happen and I look forward to Serra recovering quickly, and to getting him back into the Octagon."
Serra and Hughes, of course, are opposing coaches on this season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), which has kept the 170-pound belt undefended since Serra stopped Georges St. Pierre at UFC 69: "Shootout" all the way back in April.
Now there's no timetable for a return or when the postponed bout will take place.
Here's a snip from Serra:
"This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I've never had a back injury before; I could hardly get off of 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."
This is certainly a blow to what was billed as a blockbuster pay-per-view (PPV) event from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on December 29. It seems now that the light heavyweight clash between former champions Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva will be bumped up to the main event.
Stay tuned for more details. In the meantime hit up the UFC 79 fight card right here.
0 recs |
163 comments
Comments
Im hopping Matt Hughes is still gonna fight…. i say GSP for interm title
by kickinthehead on Nov 23, 2007 10:01 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Worst news of the year hands down
by Anonymousf*ck on Nov 23, 2007 10:01 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
So now waht do they do with GSP? let him fight someone else until seera can come back or leave him on the shelf for now.
Would suck it he fought and lost
by Matt A on Nov 23, 2007 10:01 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
So now waht do they do with GSP? let him fight someone else until seera can come back or leave him on the shelf for now.
Would suck it he fought and lost
and I can’t spell worth shit.
by Matt A on Nov 23, 2007 10:02 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
What a joke. UFC cards as of late blow. They need a different headlining fight for this card. They cant let lidell and silva headline.
Bump up Silva and Henderson
Make Hughes fight Silva
Bring in AA against anyone.
Another fight has to be added. Validation was bad enough.
by DJ Pullout on Nov 23, 2007 10:18 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Man, this news really sucks. I was looking forward to this fight. I’m not going to lie, TUF sucked me in and I bought into the hype.
When the F are we going to see the WW belt defended??! C’mon!
PS – I don’t think they’ll have GSP fight Hughes for two reasons. 1) If GSP wins, it completely ruins the Serra/Hughes fight that they have been building up for a year. 2) They wouldn’t rush GSP (no pun intended) into such a big fight. GSP/Hughes 3 is going to be a big draw.. I doubt they want to throw it together last minute.
Unfortunately, I don’t think Hughes will be fighting on this card. I hope they add another big fight, though.
by R-Dizzle on Nov 23, 2007 10:20 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
GSP vs. Hughes for a title shot. This is the most frustrating thing I’ve ever heard…RRRRRRRRRRRAAAA!!!!!!!!!! I’m so angry that this belt won’t even have a defense in close to a year. Absolute garbage and absolute crap. This is what you get Dana White you moron!!! If this fight took place months ago like it should have this wouldn’t be an issue.
GSP needs a fight because it wouldn’t be beneficial for him to fight the winner of the Hughes vs. Serra fight because he’d have at least 8 months off by my guess.
GSP vs. Hughes won’t happen though because Dana will protect his boy.
by Shadyone33 on Nov 23, 2007 10:22 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
GSP v Hughes for the iterim sounds good. Rush needs to fight someone otherwise he would have to wait forever to face the winner of serra v hughes, and to be out that long might make him rusty. I dont think he would wanna fight someone else and risk losing his shot at the title.
by Plinko on Nov 23, 2007 10:22 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
GSP v Hughes for the iterim sounds good. Rush needs to fight someone otherwise he would have to wait forever to face the winner of serra v hughes, and to be out that long might make him rusty. I dont think he would wanna fight someone else and risk losing his shot at the title.
I agree, there should be an interim title, but at about 5 weeks away, it’s hard to believe that GSP would have enough time to prepare.
by ragnarr on Nov 23, 2007 10:29 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Well, I gotta say that this is what can happen when you have the champ wait 8 months for a fight. Injuries happen yes, but since the UFC had everyone wait for so long it just seems that much worse.
Lets see now:
HW title in limbo
WW title in limbo
LW title in limbo
This is not a good time for the UFC.
by miarep on Nov 23, 2007 10:31 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
id say this and kennedy getting shot are on par !
by moro on Nov 23, 2007 10:31 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
I’m so sick of having to wait for the champs defend their belts…Serra hasn’t defended yet and then we have Sherk holding onto one belt and then the UFC putting in another belt because of the wait. Rampage is hurt right now so who knows how long we’ll have to wait for him to defend the belt again. Then we have Couture who has the belt but has resigned from the UFC as it still stands. This is getting frustrating from a fan’s point of view. I don’t blame anyonefor this as injuries happen but I do blame Dana for making Serra and Hughes coaches of the TUF season and thus making them wait for months to fight each other for the best when we could have seen them fight a few months ago. What are they going to do with GSP? Are they really going to let one of their premier fighters be inactive for a year while they wait to sort this out? The 79 card is looking pretty weak at this point and they’re going to have to act fast to pull something together.
by Buster Bluth on Nov 23, 2007 10:31 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
I really don’t think that GSP has to worry about losing to anyone. The only one that might have the tools to beat him right now is Fitch. GSP is one of my favorites and it doesn’t matter who they have him fight because he’ll destroy him. Have him fight Tony DeSouza or another decent fighter to keep him active.
by Griffinfan05 on Nov 23, 2007 10:31 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
UFC won’t have any trouble selling wanderlei/chuck as a main event. It’s the most anticipated fight of all time. this fight can wait another couple of months. Dana’s the one who held it off for the Tuff duration anyways.
by jess on Nov 23, 2007 10:33 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
If they don’t add a championship match or another huge fight (which will be hard for them to do with such short notice) I think this event should be on Spike for free. It looked like it was gonna be a HUGE money maker but now all it has is the fight everyone wanted to see a few years ago, with Chuck and Wandi. But know they’re both coming off some loses and the fight will probably only be 1 round. That fight alone can bring a lot of purchases but they need another HUGE fight!
by Griffinfan05 on Nov 23, 2007 10:36 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
This is hard considering this is not the greatest card of them all. Sure Wanderlei and Chuck MIGHT be explosive but in all honesty who really knows?
This really hurts the card.
by "MR. NC-17" on Nov 23, 2007 10:40 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
We all were looking forward to this fight, but injury’s will happen, that is unavoidable and nobody’s fault. We have to be a bit more understanding about these situations as fans, there is way too much pressure placed on fighters to show up to the fight injured or not because well, the show must go on as they say. This added pressure has made many fighters turn to steroids to speed up their healing so they can be healthy for the fight. Franca comes to mind.
Im not defending those fighters who do that, what I am saying is that it’s the pressure put on by fans and promoters that causes fighters to make those choices. Glad to see that Serra is smarter than that.
P.S. I can’t blame Dana for this either, he did put this belt on hold for a while yes, but it was to hype up a great fight and make it that much better for us fans. Dana couldn’t have known that this would happen, I’m sure he’s just as bummed out as all of us.
All we can hope for is a speedy recover so we can see this fight early 08!
by ragnarr on Nov 23, 2007 10:41 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
I really don’t think that GSP has to worry about losing to anyone. The only one that might have the tools to beat him right now is Fitch. GSP is one of my favorites and it doesn’t matter who they have him fight because he’ll destroy him. Have him fight Tony DeSouza or another decent fighter to keep him active.
HA. Fitch is good but ot that good…..yet. Fitch could be amazing in years to come but isnt at that level yet.
by DJ Pullout on Nov 23, 2007 10:42 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
I’m so sick of having to wait for the champs defend their belts…Serra hasn’t defended yet and then we have Sherk holding onto one belt and then the UFC putting in another belt because of the wait. Rampage is hurt right now so who knows how long we’ll have to wait for him to defend the belt again. Then we have Couture who has the belt but has resigned from the UFC as it still stands. This is getting frustrating from a fan’s point of view. I don’t blame anyonefor this as injuries happen but I do blame Dana for making Serra and Hughes coaches of the TUF season and thus making them wait for months to fight each other for the best when we could have seen them fight a few months ago. What are they going to do with GSP? Are they really going to let one of their premier fighters be inactive for a year while they wait to sort this out? The 79 card is looking pretty weak at this point and they’re going to have to act fast to pull something together.
WOW man you just blew my mind !
by moro on Nov 23, 2007 10:42 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Hughes was gonna beat Serra’s ass any how. Serra should fight with the herniated disk, and Hughes ties one arm behind his back.
by Griffinfan05 on Nov 23, 2007 10:46 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
If Randy Couture wants to put on his hero cape again, this would be the perfect time to come back and give UFC fans something to cheer about.
by Pat on Nov 23, 2007 10:55 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
put tito ortiz in there… against whoever. haha
by titoortizfan on Nov 23, 2007 10:59 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
If Randy Couture wants to put on his hero cape again, this would be the perfect time to come back and give UFC fans something to cheer about.
doubtful, no time to train, and he probably just got over his broken arm from UFC 74.
UFC 81 would be the earliest he could fight.
by ragnarr on Nov 23, 2007 11:00 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
F*ck Serra the pussy…I hate Matt Hughes but I hope the farmboy smashes Serra.
by brianwalcott on Nov 23, 2007 11:04 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
I like Serra and I feel bad that he has to pull out….BUT WTF!!!!!
No title defence for how many months? We had to wait for GSP to heal up before he could defend and now the same for Serra. Is this a curse of the Welterweight Belt?
They can’t have Hughes fight anyone b/c if he gets injured or loses, the UFC has an even bigger problem. Silva/Liddel is a great fight and there are some great fights on the undercard, but the UFC needs something else on this card.
Also, depending on how fast Serra heals, this fight could be on the Penn/Stevenson card or on UFC 81 in February. They could call it “UFC, About Effing Time”
by freddy on Nov 23, 2007 11:05 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Jesus… When it rains it pours. I guess that makes wandy and liddell the main event.
by Gene on Nov 23, 2007 11:05 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
If Randy Couture wants to put on his hero cape again, this would be the perfect time to come back and give UFC fans something to cheer about.
UFC 79: Couture vs. Noguiera!
by Space on Nov 23, 2007 11:06 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
I suppose Dana and co. don’t want to ruin the Serra Hughes fight by bringing in GSP to fight Hughes. Still I’m sure Hughes will want to fight someone. But John Fitch could also derail things.
I don’t know. I wouldn’t mind letting GSP and Fitch go at it, could sort out the next in line, although the UFC would have you believe GSP is definitely next in line so that GSP can get that shot and Hughes can fight him in the rubber band match.
5 weeks out, is there enough time to get GSP and Fitch ready. I would love to see it. Who else is there that hasn’t just fought or isn’t booked to fight someone else in the next few events?…Koscheck? Probably not Swick, definitely not Cummo.
Koscheck is the only viable option in my opinion. Yet it’s not at all beyond the realms of possibility that he could upset matters.
by RobH86 on Nov 23, 2007 11:12 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Hell bump the Guida Huerta fight onto 79. I don’t know if they could do that but I would love to see that one on the big stage, it deserves to be because those guys don’t do boring fights.
by RobH86 on Nov 23, 2007 11:15 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
F*ck Serra the pussy…I hate Matt Hughes but I hope the farmboy smashes Serra.
Exactly my point earlier about fans putting too much pressure on fighters. Its an injury, nothing he could do about it, nobody pussed out.
by ragnarr on Nov 23, 2007 11:32 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Put Fitch vs GSP? atleast we would have a fight waiting for the winner of serra/hughes after they fight. Karo will have to wait with his hand broken!
by acer2220 on Nov 23, 2007 11:32 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
1 WW title fight in 2007. Dana White really screwed the pooch.
by skatanicus on Nov 23, 2007 11:36 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Thanks for the news Mania – that’s a huge letdown to fans in both camps. Serra is definitely not the type to puss out of a fight…it must be rough to make that call. I agree that they need to throw something else at 79…good time for AA to fight anyone (as stated above)…cheers all.
by Seamus on Nov 23, 2007 11:40 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
What a joke. UFC cards as of late blow. They need a different headlining fight for this card. They cant let lidell and silva headline.
Bump up Silva and Henderson
Make Hughes fight Silva
Bring in AA against anyone.
Another fight has to be added. Validation was bad enough.
yeah this sucks, and if they want to keep it a great card they need another big fight not just fill it with some tuf fighters.
by roy on Nov 23, 2007 11:45 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Well, I gotta say that this is what can happen when you have the champ wait 8 months for a fight. Injuries happen yes, but since the UFC had everyone wait for so long it just seems that much worse.
Lets see now:
HW title in limbo
WW title in limbo
LW title in limbo
This is not a good time for the UFC.
I heard that Rampage is on hold with a hand injury and may be a coach of TUF 7 – can anyone validate this? If so then the LHW belt would be in limbo for awhile too!
by Roadwar on Nov 23, 2007 11:47 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
5 weeks is plenty of time for people to prepare for a fight. Before a real fight, you usually couldn’t get close to 5 minutes to prepare. Calling this the Ultimate Fighting Championship is getting to be more and more of a joke, these guys fight twice a year, (once if you’re Matt Serra) and they’re the guys who devote their lives to it, and are supposed to be continually proving that they are the best fighters in the world. I think they should change the name to the Fighting Championship for celebrities who want to make occasional appearances as mixed martial artists. There are guys who take fights at short notice, there are guys who just want to fight, and are willing to do it much more frequently than once every 4-6 months. Those guys are fighters, these other guys are just celebrities… fighter personalities.
by skatanicus on Nov 23, 2007 11:51 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
What a shame, I wanted to see Serra get his ass kicked.
by Meatalhead on Nov 23, 2007 11:52 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Yeah, Rampage is injured too. And then at MW, the future doesn’t seem too bright after Silva and Hendo get it on. Maybe it’s time for the UFC to go back to its roots and hold some Grand Prix tournaments? No open-weight tourneys though, that was a crazy idea by Pride.
by Pat on Nov 23, 2007 11:58 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
this sucks
hear i pulled a arm and a leg to get over to vegas for the fights i wanted to see that fight so badly and now the price of the ticket is worthless
they need to make a co main event fast,
either put hughes vs st pierre for title shot
or scrap the fight and add 2 big names say cro cop vs arlovski or something
by bryant on Nov 23, 2007 12:00 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Not anyone is going to be fighting until 2008 period. You can bet your ass Dana will not chance the thought of having GSP or Hughes lose a fight. It will completely kill any big fight he has planned with Serra. Until then we can look forward to the following fights :
1. Jon Fitch vs. Karo Parysian
2. Josh Koscheck vs. Josh Burkman
3. Diego Sanchez vs. Thiago Alves
4. Marcus Davis vs. Mike Swick
Hey we may as well find out who the best of the rest are
by Kevin Kelly on Nov 23, 2007 12:00 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
wow, this is some really bad news…this fight has been a topic of conversation between me and my friends for months now and we were all really looking forward to it…i hope when they do fight that serra is 100 percent because i want to see the best serra fight the best hughes, even though i’m pretty sure hughes is going to dominate the fight…as far as the ppv goes, i like the chuck/wanderlei fight, but this show just lost about half of its appeal to a lot of fans, i hope the ufc can find at least a half way decent fight to add to the card in place of this one, but i doubt it since its only a month away…the end of the year ppv thats always supposed to be one of the best of the year, now looks like probably the weakest since ufc 72…
by tha spida on Nov 23, 2007 12:01 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
You know they still Andrei Arlovski and Cro Cop sitting on the bench. Why not match those 2 guys up to replace the Serra fight. I was going to buy this ppv but if the card stays the same, I’ll pass.
by Gregg on Nov 23, 2007 12:01 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
maybe they should think about moving the guida/huerta fight to the ppv, that would be a nice replacement, but then who would fight at the tuf finale? this is just a bad situation for the ufc and the fans, it sucks…
by tha spida on Nov 23, 2007 12:03 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
HA. Fitch is good but ot that good…..yet. Fitch could be amazing in years to come but isnt at that level yet.
I know, and I’m not saying that he would win. GSP is the best WW in the world in my book. I think a match with Fitch would be a great fight, and one that GSP would win. But Fitch is well on his way to the top 5.
by Griffinfan05 on Nov 23, 2007 12:17 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
But Fitch is well on his way to the top 5.
He’s already there IMO. Serra, Hughes, GSP, Fitch, and (arguably) Karo are the top 5.
by Pat on Nov 23, 2007 12:21 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
maybe they should think about moving the guida/huerta fight to the ppv, that would be a nice replacement, but then who would fight at the tuf finale? this is just a bad situation for the ufc and the fans, it sucks…
That’s a good idea. If you ask me, I don’t really think there needs to be a main event for the finale. The finals match should be good enough seeing how it’s THE ULTIMATE FIGHT tv show finale. But the UFC always adds a main event to the card to put some veterans on the card.
by Griffinfan05 on Nov 23, 2007 12:22 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Pull Stevenson/Penn forward to December, then have Matt/Matt fight at UFC80
by ragnarr on Nov 23, 2007 12:26 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
maybe they should think about moving the guida/huerta fight to the ppv, that would be a nice replacement, but then who would fight at the tuf finale? this is just a bad situation for the ufc and the fans, it sucks…
y do u want to pay for a fight that we are already getting for free. Dana is gonna have to do better than that!
by john on Nov 23, 2007 12:31 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
HOLY SHIT, LISTEN DANA IF YOU READ THIS PLEASE, HAVE GSP FIGHT FITCH
by Josh on Nov 23, 2007 12:32 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
We all were looking forward to this fight, but injury’s will happen, that is unavoidable and nobody’s fault. We have to be a bit more understanding about these situations as fans, there is way too much pressure placed on fighters to show up to the fight injured or not because well, the show must go on as they say. This added pressure has made many fighters turn to steroids to speed up their healing so they can be healthy for the fight. Franca comes to mind.
Im not defending those fighters who do that, what I am saying is that it’s the pressure put on by fans and promoters that causes fighters to make those choices. Glad to see that Serra is smarter than that.
P.S. I can’t blame Dana for this either, he did put this belt on hold for a while yes, but it was to hype up a great fight and make it that much better for us fans. Dana couldn’t have known that this would happen, I’m sure he’s just as bummed out as all of us.
All we can hope for is a speedy recover so we can see this fight early 08!
that’s one of the most intelligent posts ive read on here
by fightfan51 on Nov 23, 2007 12:33 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
F%(k there goes the Montreal card slated (at least we were wishing and hoping) for the spring with GSP VS Matt
How did Serra hurt his back?
Bending over for some more pasta?
by Jo on Nov 23, 2007 12:33 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Pull Stevenson/Penn forward to December, then have Matt/Matt fight at UFC80
This could possibly work because I saw BJ cornering Lauzon last weekend and he looked in shape to me. He definetly wasnt the Buddah BJ that he turns into when he is out of shape. He looked like the lean and fit BJ who fought Jens.
However, I do not know if it is possible though. I doo not know if tickets went on sale yet in England. If they did, I dont think the UFC can just switch the main event on people who have paid to see BJ fight.
I dunno what will happen but this situation sucks badly. It should be the best pay per view and now it literally only has 2 fights that I would pay to see on the whole card. Wandy vs. Chuck, and Soko vs. Machida. This card is in really bad shape, I hope it doesnt get cancelled!
by john on Nov 23, 2007 12:36 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
ragnarr
Nov 23rd, 2007 at 12:26 pm Quote this comment
Pull Stevenson/Penn forward to December, then have Matt/Matt fight at UFC80
Very nice point but I dont think you can convince Matt Hughes who is a farm boy and proud American and also a true typical jerk off from Long Island in Matt Serra to fly to ass fuk England to fight for a title. In all seriousness, it would be extremely tough on Dana’s part.
by Kevin Kelly on Nov 23, 2007 12:36 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
st.pierre won’t take that fight with this short notice…and i think Dana white would rather wait for a few months to see Serra’s condition….i agree with putting Arlovski here somewhere he needs to fight someone fasstttt…
by XxXFactor on Nov 23, 2007 12:41 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
At least it’s still better than the last UFC. We watched it at a sports bar and spent 80 bucks on beer and wings. Should’ve just paid the 40 bucks at home and 20 on beer and snacks. This was the most anticipated UFC ever with the Iceman and AxeMurderer being the second best (anticipated) fight and the Machida vs. AfricanAssasin being the third best (anticipated) fight. Losing the Serra-Hughes fight is terrible. Nobody (besides Serra) could be more bummed out than Dana and the Fertitas. That may cost them half of their pay-per-views as more idiots (like myself) pack themselves in sports bars to spend twice as much watching it there. This is the best news ever for sports bars, although they probably won’t know it until we’re packing ourselves in there because we don’t want to spend the 40 at home.
by UFCAddict on Nov 23, 2007 12:44 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
looks like i’ll be watching Fedor play ping pong that night
by chris on Nov 23, 2007 1:03 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
ragnarr
Nov 23rd, 2007 at 12:26 pm Quote this comment
Pull Stevenson/Penn forward to December, then have Matt/Matt fight at UFC80
Very nice point but I dont think you can convince Matt Hughes who is a farm boy and proud American and also a true typical jerk off from Long Island in Matt Serra to fly to ass fuk England to fight for a title. In all seriousness, it would be extremely tough on Dana’s part.
A real fighter would go any distance for a good fight, especially for the title. If they were to refuse on grounds that they don’t want to go to England for a week, then Dana should release that to the press, so both of them are forever deemed pussies in the eyes of us fans, that ought to change their mind.
by ragnarr on Nov 23, 2007 1:07 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
I say Dana White VS Tito Ortiz, the boxing match we were supposed to see on spike!
by Griffinfan05 on Nov 23, 2007 1:27 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Worst news of the year hands down
I was afraid of this. Validation was too good of a card to actually happen. “If something is too good to be true, it probably is”. Must be nice to hold a title for 8 months and now longer (and not defend it). It must have happened last night, Hey Serra how many pounds was that turkey you picked up and tore up your back?
Does anyone have any idea of the main event for UFC 81 2/2/08, the day before the Super Bowl? I purposely arranged a vacation week to guarantee that whole weekend off so I could throw two parties!!!
by DirtbagHtr on Nov 23, 2007 1:32 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
F*ck Serra the pussy…I hate Matt Hughes but I hope the farmboy smashes Serra.
How is he a pussy? Are you some mutant like Wolverine from X-Men? Your logic escapes me.
by Deyo on Nov 23, 2007 1:34 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
bunch of injury prone champs (except for hughes)
by Jim on Nov 23, 2007 1:42 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
I agree, there should be an interim title, but at about 5 weeks away, it’s hard to believe that GSP would have enough time to prepare.
The Champ has an injury, you can’t have an interim Champ because the Champ is hurt! When Rich Franklin was the King of the Middleweights and had a broken hand, they didn’t have an interim title holder, they let the guy heal and recover. Now, they shelf the fight for a later date and GSP either waits or fights someone else in the mean time and takes the chance of losing and if he loses misses his chance at another title shot because he just dropped in the rankings!
by Ray on Nov 23, 2007 1:57 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
GSP v Hughes for the iterim sounds good. Rush needs to fight someone otherwise he would have to wait forever to face the winner of serra v hughes, and to be out that long might make him rusty. I dont think he would wanna fight someone else and risk losing his shot at the title.
you cant just hand out interm titles to everyone especially off an injury.
by jjdnb on Nov 23, 2007 1:57 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Sooo … the only title up is the MW w/ A. Silva on top. Yeeeaaa …
by bostonmmajunkie on Nov 23, 2007 2:04 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
That fight will probably happpen superbowl weekend now.
Silva I can say is not an injury prone champ. He fought with two bad knees. They need to do something about the titles this is bad. I think that waiting for the end of TUF was a bad idea. I think that TUF should never determine when a title bout should happen.
Looks like M-1 might take some of the UFC’s New Year’s Eve PPV money.
by Mr. Jitters on Nov 23, 2007 2:05 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
I’m really not all that sad about this. i think hughes stands a good chance of beating serra when and if they fight, and honestly, i don’t think hughes deserves the title, even if he beats serra. it just seems like there are too many guys better than hughes at this point and that hughes got the shot simply because of the TUF coaching match-up and the greater UFC match planning that’s now started backfiring. hughes has been a great fighter, don’t get me wrong, but the sport has evolved well past his skill level in many regards. an don’t even get me started on serra’s shot at GSP.
Buh. TUF annoys me. The UFC has become a profit machine, with everything else being too secondary.
by Clayton on Nov 23, 2007 2:10 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
man they have got to get a couple of big names on this card again silva henderson is too early why not joe daddy vs bj penn now for the interim or even stick chieck congo vs big tim on for the fun of it shit there has to be something im sick of watching so many can oponents fight hopefuls and have two good fights a night this is a kick in the nuts dana is building a few names up like jon fitch, josh koscheck and roger huerta. this is bull why is melvin guillard fighting rich cleminti and why is manvel fighting nate mohr get the fuckers to fight each other and drop the cans down to the wec to work their way up. ufc 78 had better undercards than some of the main cards. what is white thinking
by heat on Nov 23, 2007 2:11 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Title fights are a bi-yearly event in the UFC these days.
by Aaron_W on Nov 23, 2007 2:12 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Hairybuddha heard that apparently Serra fell out of the chair at his gynecologist’s office putting his legs in the stirrups.
by Hairybuddha on Nov 23, 2007 2:20 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
You cant blame Dana for putting the fight off, he knew that after TUF we would all be amped to watch the fight. You cant predict these things. And you have to understand that talking about the champions all getting hurt, this is a full contact sport and you have to play the odds that someone is going to get banged up. And the champs go against the best in the business.
by Cody on Nov 23, 2007 2:25 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
ragnarr
Nov 23rd, 2007 at 1:07 pm Quote this comment
ragnarr
Nov 23rd, 2007 at 12:26 pm Quote this comment
Pull Stevenson/Penn forward to December, then have Matt/Matt fight at UFC80
Very nice point but I dont think you can convince Matt Hughes who is a farm boy and proud American and also a true typical jerk off from Long Island in Matt Serra to fly to ass fuk England to fight for a title. In all seriousness, it would be extremely tough on Dana’s part.
A real fighter would go any distance for a good fight, especially for the title. If they were to refuse on grounds that they don’t want to go to England for a week, then Dana should release that to the press, so both of them are forever deemed pussies in the eyes of us fans, that ought to change their mind.
THAT TO IS A GOOD POINT. WHEN YOU ARE ASKED TO FIGHT YOU SHOULD FIGHT. BUTTTT AS WE ALL KNOW EVERY OCTOBER FIGHT CARD BLOWS WHALE C0CK. WHY ? BECAUSE EVERYONE WANTS TO BE ON THE DECEMBER CARD WHICH IS USUALLY IN VEGAS.
THE LAST 2 YEARS OCTOBER CARDS HAVE BEEN IN OHIO. I MEAN WHERE IS THE AFTER PARTY FOR THAT ONE ? RICH FRANKLIN’S BACKYARD WITH A LARGE OUTDOOR TENT ?
by Kevin Kelly on Nov 23, 2007 2:51 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Serra needs to fight or leave!
Hughes wins. DQ
by T. Draper on Nov 23, 2007 3:03 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
F*ck Serra the pussy…I hate Matt Hughes but I hope the farmboy smashes Serra.
F*ck u, i like serra. No Offense.
by jack on Nov 23, 2007 3:07 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
well it looks like it will be 2 crappy PPVs in a row now! what fight r they going 2 get now? it doesn’t really matter. they r not going 2 beat hughes vs serra. and i was looking forward 2 seeing serra get waxed and the silva – liddel fight i really don’t care much 4 now because they’re former champs. i wanted 2 see it when they were both champs but now i really don’t care. it will more then likely got all 3 rounds. i think there is to much hype 4 this fight and it will b boring as hell
by jim on Nov 23, 2007 3:09 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
I would like to see GSP face Hughes for the interim belt at Ufc 81, but I think its gonna be Couture vs Big nog or silva vs big nog. But I doubt it will happen, it might kill the Hughes vs Serra if GSP wins ( I believe he will.) 79 needs another big fight, I like Arlovski vs cro cop, but will cro cop be ready?
by Big Ox on Nov 23, 2007 3:14 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
I agree, there should be an interim title, but at about 5 weeks away, it’s hard to believe that GSP would have enough time to prepare.
Disagree..when Serra was given the title shot..GSP postponed the fight due to an injury which recall there wasnt a intrem title match in between the Serra vs GSP fight..we all just waited..Im with everyone when it comes to seeing these titles defended more often(except for the mm weight belt) ..Serra could of fought b4 the tuf show..but didnt cuz dana wanted to build up the hughes vs serra match with the tuf show.
by PhilQNY on Nov 23, 2007 3:16 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
I would also like to see Forrest Griffin vs Jardine 2, the winner gets a title shot. I dont think Forrest should get a shot without winning this fight, They have both won two of thier last 3 fights, but Jardine beat Griffin, yeah, Forrest beat Shogun but Jardine beat Liddell. Let them fight at 79 if Griffin is healthy.
by Big Ox on Nov 23, 2007 3:20 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
fitch sucks. he’s a boring fighter. who cares more about the win then a good fight. i think he might b gay or something. cause he sure likes 2 lay on top of guys when he is in a fight
by jim on Nov 23, 2007 3:28 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
DAMN… Now GSP Has To Wait Even Longer. Mabye If Dana Would Of Got The Fight Over With Long Ago Instead Of Makin These Guys Coaches On The Show. They’ve Both Already Had Their 15 minutes On TUF Anyways.
by Sour Diesel on Nov 23, 2007 3:41 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Pull Stevenson/Penn forward to December, then have Matt/Matt fight at UFC80
YES THAT IS A GREAT IDEA.
by Sour Diesel on Nov 23, 2007 3:43 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Also, depending on how fast Serra heals, this fight could be on the Penn/Stevenson card or on UFC 81 in February. They could call it “UFC, About Effing Time”
LOL! Amen to that.
by Khemtawe on Nov 23, 2007 4:06 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
I can’t be the only one thinking what a fucking joke this is. I don’t mean to direct any disrespect at Serra for the injury, but I think he should have had to defend the belt months ago. The UFC needs to get a better handle on ranking contenders or something, because I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect a champion to defend his belt a couple times a year. They seem to be more concerned with setting up matches they can hype than giving title shots and rematches to the most deserving fighters.
by Scott on Nov 23, 2007 4:15 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Matt hughes vs sanchez, for what? I would have liked to see it 6-8 months ago, but not now. Diego is not ready for Hughes. I take back the suggestion for Arlovski vs cro cop, it should be Arlovski vs Cheick Kongo, ufc 79.
by Big Ox on Nov 23, 2007 4:21 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
I think UFC 80 is too soon for Serra, he neds to be 100% for Hughes. A herniated disk needs longer than that to heal, I am asuming.
by Big Ox on Nov 23, 2007 4:23 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Pull Stevenson/Penn forward to December, then have Matt/Matt fight at UFC80
That’s not a bad idea. Plus, if you are going to have a weaker card, put it at a European event like UFC 80 and give it to us for free on Spike. Worst case scenario is that the UFC has a few extra weeks to find a headliner and they could get AA in there by then, anyway.
by Sacto on Nov 23, 2007 4:28 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
That’s not a bad idea. Plus, if you are going to have a weaker card, put it at a European event like UFC 80 and give it to us for free on Spike. Worst case scenario is that the UFC has a few extra weeks to find a headliner and they could get AA in there by then, anyway.
When I said weaker, I was assuming Serra would not be ready in January.
by Sacto on Nov 23, 2007 4:29 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Arlovski vs Cro Cop would be a decent replacement. I think it is feasible because both fighters would be eager to take it even with the short notice.
Sad to say it but it is unlikely the UFC will work hard to put together a solid replacement fight. They will still have a sold out venue even with out the title fight. The PPV purchases might suffer; however, they will certainly make more PPV dollars than the Evans/Bisping card.
by Khemtawe on Nov 23, 2007 4:45 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Bad timing, I feel bad for Serra now, because this was his chance to prove him beating GSP was not a fluke.
by Yoububg on Nov 23, 2007 4:59 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Hughes is training right now and will be in fight shape. That is 50% of the equation right there. Now all you have to do is find someone who wants to step up and take Hughes on with 5 weeks training (given the amount of guys who bash him it shouldn’t be that hard). It is enough time to run a decent camp if the guy is in shape. Lets face it, you really only need to concentrate on your sprawl and ground game. Just about any one out there will automatically have better stand up then Hughes.
I like Hughes vs GSP, or Hughes vs KOS, or Fitch. All of those make the card stronger.
For those who want to argue about that Hughes only deserves a title shot or nothing at this point, lets remember that he had a weak opponent after getting KTFO by GSP, in Chris Lytle. Proving that he is actually the no.1 contender at this point should not be too much to ask.
by 2DUM2TAP on Nov 23, 2007 5:18 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Hughes is training right now and will be in fight shape. That is 50% of the equation right there. Now all you have to do is find someone who wants to step up and take Hughes on with 5 weeks training (given the amount of guys who bash him it shouldn’t be that hard). It is enough time to run a decent camp if the guy is in shape. Lets face it, you really only need to concentrate on your sprawl and ground game. Just about any one out there will automatically have better stand up then Hughes.
I like Hughes vs GSP, or Hughes vs KOS, or Fitch. All of those make the card stronger.
For those who want to argue about that Hughes only deserves a title shot or nothing at this point, lets remember that he had a weak opponent after getting KTFO by GSP, in Chris Lytle. Proving that he is actually the no.1 contender at this point should not be too much to ask.
i think your right it would be nice if hughes would fight someone else, i a, sure theres fighters that would love the opertunity but i don’t see hughes agreeing to this and why would he to much for him to risk.
by roy on Nov 23, 2007 5:30 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
You cant blame Dana for putting the fight off, he knew that after TUF we would all be amped to watch the fight. You cant predict these things. And you have to understand that talking about the champions all getting hurt, this is a full contact sport and you have to play the odds that someone is going to get banged up. And the champs go against the best in the business.
No champion should waste his time on TUF. What more publicity do u freaking need? Its a title fight! nuff said.
Serra has had the belt since like april 26th or something like that, and his 1st title defense was gonna be in DEcember… what a joke. the TUF show should not get in the way of title fights, and it clearly has. Some of you fans are nutts. like its an easy solution, Oh just make GSP fight Fitch on a months notcie….r u guys retarded. 2 of the next people in line for the title are gonna fight on short notice, when loosing a fights puts you like 4 or 5 more wins away from another title shot. Get a clue Fitch will not be fighting GSP, as a matter of fact Fitch and GSP wont fight until GSP is champion vs. Fitch the challenger in a 5 round war! I’ll bet anything on my last statement.!
by john on Nov 23, 2007 5:31 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
If I was GSP I’d be very concerned about inactivity. How about Hughes vs. Kos?
by Muscle Dolphin on Nov 23, 2007 5:33 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Arlovski vs Cro Cop would be a decent replacement. I think it is feasible because both fighters would be eager to take it even with the short notice.
Sad to say it but it is unlikely the UFC will work hard to put together a solid replacement fight. They will still have a sold out venue even with out the title fight. The PPV purchases might suffer; however, they will certainly make more PPV dollars than the Evans/Bisping card.
it would be nice to have a stacked card for the end of the year,but i don’t see them trying to replace the main event with anything solid either, they will blame the short notice witch is a factor but could be done.
by roy on Nov 23, 2007 5:34 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
look this is no regular fight they need to replace a main event, alot of people paid money with no refund coming back. lets face it the card sucks, they should have kept the penn match in dec they need to move it to dec move the noguierra vs slyvia match to jan and get a different main event for feb. alot of the fans are blue collar workers like myself, i paid to see two great fights not one, they better have a main event replacement in mind. either hughes vs someone or arlovski vs kongo or cro cop. or even bring tito in vs shogun or someone. all i am saying is this is what u get for delaying matches, moving matches like the penn bout, the fact that these jokers are only defending their titles once a year is a joke silva is the man fights three times this year he is a fighter, everyone else just gets way to much time off. hell even grab forrest or jardine. either do that or make this a 10 fight card instead of 9
by bryant on Nov 23, 2007 5:37 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Hughes is training right now and will be in fight shape. That is 50% of the equation right there. Now all you have to do is find someone who wants to step up and take Hughes on with 5 weeks training (given the amount of guys who bash him it shouldn’t be that hard). It is enough time to run a decent camp if the guy is in shape. Lets face it, you really only need to concentrate on your sprawl and ground game. Just about any one out there will automatically have better stand up then Hughes.
I like Hughes vs GSP, or Hughes vs KOS, or Fitch. All of those make the card stronger.
For those who want to argue about that Hughes only deserves a title shot or nothing at this point, lets remember that he had a weak opponent after getting KTFO by GSP, in Chris Lytle. Proving that he is actually the no.1 contender at this point should not be too much to ask.
Not to defend Hughes but to say all “you really only need to concentrate on your sprawl and ground game” is a bit of a strech. If it were that easy, someone would of beat him before GSP. Plus, it would be stupid for Hughes to fight anyone else…if he looses he gives up a title shot.
Furthermore, if he were to loose, that would mess everything up even further. its a difficult situation, but you just can take away the title from Serra and have a interim champ, that is not fair and makes no sence….this is not the same thing as what happened to Frank Mir. And you cant make GSP and Hughes fighter either. If either of them lose..that f’s the whole thing up, because in reality both of them are no. 1 contenders at the same time. Maybe they have to do it WWE style have a fatal 3 way where Serra, Hughes and GSP are locked in the cage at the same time and who ever walks out is champ….LOL.
I would hate to be Dana right now.
by Deyo on Nov 23, 2007 5:39 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Things keep getting worse for the UFC. I wish I wouldn’t have blown so much money to fly to Vegas for this event. $1000 ticket holders should get half of their mony back since we will only get half the excitement.
by Djs3467 on Nov 23, 2007 5:58 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Absolute GARBAGE!!!!
I can’t believe this…This is turning into another Sherk Lightweight bullshit ordeal. Sherk sat in the dark when he was injured. We have already heard Serra run his mouth for soo long and now he’s benched…GSP better take a tune up fight that doesn’t mean shit. Matt Hughes is even in worse shape
by Jordan on Nov 23, 2007 6:02 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Give Serra a shot to take the swelling out and feed him pain killers. This is a fight and these are fighters. No one is 100%.
by Djs3467 on Nov 23, 2007 6:14 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
well this sucks, but you cant blame serra or dana. no matter what the ufc should replace this fight with another high caliber fight or make that undercard golden.
“Pull Stevenson/Penn forward to December, then have Matt/Matt fight at UFC80”
i totally second that. wasnt bj scheduled to fight earlier anyways? and also stevenson is getting a gift in a title shot. plus it’ll make the interm belt matter for an extra month.
“If Randy Couture wants to put on his hero cape again, this would be the perfect time to come back and give UFC fans something to cheer about”
this is a great idea too. but ony if his arm is ready? and hes not too out of shape. it would be a great way for him to earn back estranged fans.
lets get hamill, terrell, and/or arlovski on the card too.
if randys not coming back lets see arlovski vs big nog. bignog should have to win one more fight before a title shot against randy or tim anyways. it may not be a good style matchup for arlovski, but we cant all be as choosy as fedor.
by COR on Nov 23, 2007 6:19 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Despite Serra-Hughes being scrapped, Liddel-Silva,
Machida-Sokoudjou, thats enough for me.
by jsoph on Nov 23, 2007 6:24 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Sighhhhhhhhhhh, has anybody heard any realistic knews of a replacement yet? I suppose the Penn/Stevenson fight is the most logical, a decently big fight, at least the interim title is still involved, and it’s only a couple weeks earlier. So nobody has to take a fight on short ass notice, a title is in there somehow, and as far as big names go, Penn is a fine replacement for Hughes.
by The Anomaly on Nov 23, 2007 6:25 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
“Despite Serra-Hughes being scrapped, Liddel-Silva,
Machida-Sokoudjou, thats enough for me.”
?? are you paid by the ufc??
seriously, we should get a great card after 78. that card sucked. ive never felt like i wasted money on ufc until that card. c’mon dana make it happen.
by COR on Nov 23, 2007 6:36 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
its Dana’s fault…. bad fight management.. Serra Hughes should have happened 3 months ago and we should be onto GSP/Hughes 3…. Dana wake up!
by Wil on Nov 23, 2007 6:42 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Man oh man. surely they can come up with something, theres so much talent in the WW division and most of em could give Hughesus a run for his money. Man i aint doin no xmas shoppin till i hear somethin’s goods gona happen to replace that fight.
by WayofTheWarrior on Nov 23, 2007 6:49 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
I’m not entirely sure on this but I think Mirko is out of commission until January some time due to his nose surgery. He won’t get clearance to fight in December, especially in America to the best of my knowledge. That rules out the AA CC fight many of wanted to see. Can anyone clarify this?
by RobH86 on Nov 23, 2007 7:19 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Things keep getting worse for the UFC. I wish I wouldn’t have blown so much money to fly to Vegas for this event. $1000 ticket holders should get half of their mony back since we will only get half the excitement.
i second that u have no clue what hell i went through to go to this fight
by bryant on Nov 23, 2007 7:23 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Yes, once again, what card was worse, UFC 78 or UFC 72 ?
Well I think Serra is a b*tch and once again he’s gonna get to hold onto that belt just a little bit longer, first it was for the show, now because of an injury, this is complete bullsh*t.
Hell he isn’t even in the top 8 WW in the world, him holding the belt is ridiculous.
Sooo now when is the next fight for ANY belt gonna be, mid08 ?
AND WORST of all, this means GSP is going to have a longer wait.
by J.Cameron on Nov 23, 2007 7:26 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
they are not going to replace the fight the card will be the same minus the hughes/serra fight another very poor card
by jimmy on Nov 23, 2007 7:34 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Put Fitch vs GSP? atleast we would have a fight waiting for the winner of serra/hughes after they fight. Karo will have to wait with his hand broken!
That makes the most sense GSP VS FITCH for the # 2 WW contender after hughes.
by dia Mette on Nov 23, 2007 7:57 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Give Serra a shot to take the swelling out and feed him pain killers. This is a fight and these are fighters. No one is 100%.
Oh yeah that would be pretty. You have to be able to move your limbs to fight.
by Yoububg on Nov 23, 2007 7:58 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Despite Serra-Hughes being scrapped, Liddel-Silva,
Machida-Sokoudjou, thats enough for me.
I agree, this is a very good UFC card, but the thing is, the new years card should be BETTER than very good, and it was, until this happened, still a let down, but still a good card.
by The Anomaly on Nov 23, 2007 7:59 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Serra is a punk anyway,a guy that talks the crap he does wont earn any respect,he beat one good fighter and we all know that was a fluke!GSPwillrock his punk a$$ the next time.
by big swerve on Nov 23, 2007 8:07 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
its guna be either lesner fighting or bj vs stevenson wow and cant wait to see manny back
by Kerop on Nov 23, 2007 8:22 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
I would want to see AA vs cro cop,but for what? Cro cop has lost his last two fights, AA won his last two. AA against Kongo would make more sense, and the winner would be in line for the title. Plus I think it would be a war.
by Big Ox on Nov 23, 2007 8:24 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
If Randy Couture wants to put on his hero cape again, this would be the perfect time to come back and give UFC fans something to cheer about.
EXACTLY WHAT I WAS THINKING!!! LOL
by THORAZINE on Nov 23, 2007 9:24 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
…and people say Fedor ducks fights.
If Matt Serra does NOT have surgery for this injury, then Matt Serra’s injury is merely an excuse to avoid the fight.
Who was Serra’s last opponent? GSP…and that was how long ago? Exactly.
Serra is a guy who wants to relish the lime light, extend his 15 minutes of fame, until he inevitably loses the belt to any number of competitors in the 170 lbs division.
Matt Serra sucks and got lucky or GSP got paid a lot of money to throw the fight. The former is the only reasonble inference that can be drawn based on the information available.
UFC and any UFC fundamentalist lacks credibility. (See any Dana White statement.)
It does suck that I won’t get a chance to see Matt Serra gets dominated, lose the belt, and gets sent back to Long Islan
by The Truth on Nov 23, 2007 9:33 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Hairybuddha heard that apparently Serra fell out of the chair at his gynecologist’s office putting his legs in the stirrups.
nice
by JRandolph on Nov 23, 2007 9:40 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
I would want to see AA vs cro cop,but for what? Cro cop has lost his last two fights, AA won his last two. AA against Kongo would make more sense, and the winner would be in line for the title. Plus I think it would be a war.
Good point, Arlovski vs Kongo would make a more meaningful fight. If the winner of this bout was guaranteed a title shot that may be enough incentive to make it happen.
Assuming Couture does not come back and defend the title against Nogueira, Nogueira can fight Sylvia in early 08. The winner of this match fights the winner of Arlovski vs Kongo for the belt.
by Khemtawe on Nov 23, 2007 9:57 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Well, I gotta say that this is what can happen when you have the champ wait 8 months for a fight. Injuries happen yes, but since the UFC had everyone wait for so long it just seems that much worse.
Lets see now:
HW title in limbo
WW title in limbo
LW title in limbo
This is not a good time for the UFC.
Yes , that’s alot of limbos!
by Gord on Nov 23, 2007 10:53 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
The most logical thing to do is move GG vs Werdum to 79. They are both already training and they will only lose a couple of weeks in the gym. This gives the UFC enough time to add another big fight to 80.
by Gord on Nov 23, 2007 11:26 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
The most logical thing to do is move GG vs Werdum to 79. They are both already training and they will only lose a couple of weeks in the gym. This gives the UFC enough time to add another big fight to 80.
I like the sounds of that. THen maybe Arlovski vs Kongo at 80,
by Big Ox on Nov 24, 2007 12:09 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
I think the winner of silva vs Liddell should get Rampage when he heals, then Griffin vs Jardine 2, the winner of that is next in line. Especially if Silva wins, he already has two wins over the champ.
by Big Ox on Nov 24, 2007 12:38 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
I want to see gsp fight hughes for the interm title and when serra heals have him fight for the title, the only way I see them saving the ufc 79 card. Personally I was really looking forward to hughes fighting serra and if this fight happens gsp will most likely beat hughes and fight serra again which is still pretty good. I think hughes vs gsp would be a much better fight than serra vs hughes, serra’s not top 10 and it would be a very one sided fight, I think the hughes vs gsp 3 will be much better than there last fight with hughes going back to what got him to the top in the first place.
by nathan on Nov 24, 2007 12:39 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
looks like i’ll be watching Fedor play ping pong that night
I’d love to see a Rocky 4 Ivan Drago training montage of Fedor training for this match while playing pong. Russian technology, LOL. Eh, it’s a hat on a hat.
by Gene on Nov 24, 2007 12:57 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
I have an idea,let’s say that hughes already beat serra and after the silva-liddell fight the ufc should anounce him as the new WW champion.anyways serra is a pussy and the worst champion in history
by bullfighter 3 on Nov 24, 2007 8:19 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Yes,for sure worst ufc news of the year and it’s for the very last fight of the year, unbelievable.
I was hoping gsp would slide in and fight Hughes and then the winner fight serra so it doesn’t seem like another belt in the ufc is at a standstill.
Also if and likely when st pierre would beat hughes on the 29th, Georges could still get his title shot set up in Montreal.
But none of this will happen st pierre likely wont fight until march or april the guy fights twice a year tops.
So all in all my overall excitement for dec 29 has halted in disbelief. and because of the serra-hughes fight being canned the liddell-silva fights will take my personal backlash as being nowhere near as exciting and not even close to matching the original mainevent.
I think Chuck is in big trouble.
by Jesse Canadian MMA on Nov 24, 2007 8:20 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Good point, Arlovski vs Kongo would make a more meaningful fight. If the winner of this bout was guaranteed a title shot that may be enough incentive to make it happen.
Assuming Couture does not come back and defend the title against Nogueira, Nogueira can fight Sylvia in early 08. The winner of this match fights the winner of Arlovski vs Kongo for the belt.
I agree as well. Put Cro Cop against Vera.
by Pat on Nov 24, 2007 10:08 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
I want to see gsp fight hughes for the interm title and when serra heals have him fight for the title, the only way I see them saving the ufc 79 card.
I dunno, how many interim titles are we gonna have? Too many belts and it starts looking like boxing. Ugh.
by Pat on Nov 24, 2007 10:10 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
I was hoping gsp would slide in and fight Hughes and then the winner fight serra so it doesn’t seem like another belt in the ufc is at a standstill.
I would be very surprised if Hughes will put his title shot on the line against GSP.
by Pat on Nov 24, 2007 10:11 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
I think the winner of silva vs Liddell should get Rampage when he heals, then Griffin vs Jardine 2, the winner of that is next in line. Especially if Silva wins, he already has two wins over the champ.
what? liddell gets two losses in a row and then a win and he gets a title shot?? ha. oh, never mind. i thought you were serious
by Sparxx on Nov 24, 2007 10:14 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Unbelievable, I have never seen so many complainers following one sport. At first, everybody seemed to be looking forward to this card for IceMan vs. AxeMurderer since everybody seems to think Hughes will walk right through Serra. But now since the grass is always greener… this fight card sucks since Hughes doesn’t get to smash Serra while he’s injured. According to half the jokers on here, Serra should fight on his back, with a herniated disk in his vagina, and try to pull off submissions on Hughes, while Hughes tries to crucify him. I seem to be one of the only ones who feel this will be a good fight, when and if it happens. I do feel for the guys who already bought tickets to the fight. Now you better just hope IceMan or AxeMurderer don’t get injured b4 the fight. As for the rest of us, I don’t mind reading venting, but I hate reading whining (yes, there is a difference), so if you hate the card here’s an idea… DON’T WATCH IT. Dana may not be the most likeable guy and now I know why, he probably reads too many blogs.
by UFCAddict on Nov 24, 2007 10:39 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
do a switch
jardine vs machida since machida wants the fight and
thierry fight griffin or hamill or tito
by bryant on Nov 24, 2007 11:12 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
I think what most of you are forgetting is the key to the UFC is promotion. The whole reason Serra and Hughes were coaches is because it hyped this fight so that the appeal of it more than doubled.
You can’t blame any athlete for getting hurt during training, that’s part of being a pro athlete. Especially since these guys are fighters, they could break a hand doing something as simple as hitting the heavy bag, or tear a knee just sparring. I’ve seen both happen more than once.
The UFC is in a tough spot, I suspect this will cost them millions in lost revenue, and I’m sure Hughes and Serra aren’t happy either, because it will cost them both big money.
It will take at least another week to get any other fighters lined up for this card with all the contracts and legal stuff they need to work out. Four weeks to train for a fight is a short period. Consider this, Randy became the man at HW again because he used some great game plans to beat 2 people most didn’t give him a chance to beat. Think he could have done that with just 4 weeks of training. I don’t.
It just is a crappy situation for everyone (the UFC, the fighters and the fans). But this does just add to all the controversy with the UFC lately, which in a way isn’t a bad thing. It gives us fans something to talk and debate about.
by jiminy on Nov 24, 2007 12:12 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
I have an idea,let’s say that hughes already beat serra and after the silva-liddell fight the ufc should anounce him as the new WW champion.anyways serra is a pussy and the worst champion in history
Right, Serra is the worst champ in history. Come on man, give the guy some credit where credit is due, he beat the hell out of GSP. It take’s a real pussy to beat up GSP huh? It may or may of not been a fluke, but Serra is anything but a pussy. I do think Hughes will crush him though.
by Big Ox on Nov 24, 2007 2:13 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
what? liddell gets two losses in a row and then a win and he gets a title shot?? ha. oh, never mind. i thought you were serious
Liddell and Silva have lost there last two fights, yes. But a win here for either one is huge. Forrest is the next in line i guess, yeah, he beat shogun which is huge, but what has he done before that? Look at what he did in 06, lost to Ortiz, beat Bonner, lost to Jardine. Then beats who? Hector Ramarez. Jardine beat Griffin, Lost to Houston, then beats Liddell. Nobody in this division really deserves a title shot. I just think what I said originally makes the most sense.
by Big Ox on Nov 24, 2007 2:24 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
I have an idea,let’s say that hughes already beat serra and after the silva-liddell fight the ufc should anounce him as the new WW champion.anyways serra is a pussy and the worst champion in history
I say your idea sucks..what the heck are you talking about?
by deyo on Nov 24, 2007 2:32 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Right, Serra is the worst champ in history. Come on man, give the guy some credit where credit is due, he beat the hell out of GSP. It take’s a real pussy to beat up GSP huh? It may or may of not been a fluke, but Serra is anything but a pussy. I do think Hughes will crush him though.
I agree. At the very least, Serra had the balls to stand toe-to-toe w/ GSP. Most guys would have just tried to catch GSP from the outside (the most recent being Kos), but Serra went inside his range and threw bombs.
by Pat on Nov 24, 2007 2:54 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
fitch sucks. he’s a boring fighter. who cares more about the win then a good fight. i think he might b gay or something. cause he sure likes 2 lay on top of guys when he is in a fight
What Jon Fitch are you watching…He dominates his opponents from every position and has not had a boring fight yet. You are probably one of those people who have only seen Fitch vs. Diego which was probably Fitch’s most boring fight.
by Droopking on Nov 24, 2007 3:18 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
fitch sucks. he’s a boring fighter. who cares more about the win then a good fight. i think he might b gay or something. cause he sure likes 2 lay on top of guys when he is in a fight
And fighting is about winning, it is important to put on a good fight, but when you are in title contention, the win is the most important thing.
by Droopking on Nov 24, 2007 3:19 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
No champion should waste his time on TUF. What more publicity do u freaking need? Its a title fight! nuff said.
Serra has had the belt since like april 26th or something like that, and his 1st title defense was gonna be in DEcember… what a joke. the TUF show should not get in the way of title fights, and it clearly has. Some of you fans are nutts. like its an easy solution, Oh just make GSP fight Fitch on a months notcie….r u guys retarded. 2 of the next people in line for the title are gonna fight on short notice, when loosing a fights puts you like 4 or 5 more wins away from another title shot. Get a clue Fitch will not be fighting GSP, as a matter of fact Fitch and GSP wont fight until GSP is champion vs. Fitch the challenger in a 5 round war! I’ll bet anything on my last statement.!
I agree 100%, couldn’t have said it better myself
by Droopking on Nov 24, 2007 3:24 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
That makes the most sense GSP VS FITCH for the # 2 WW contender after hughes.
GSP already has been told he will get to fight for the title next. Why would he fight again if it was not for the belt?
Thant does not make any sense.
by Jo on Nov 24, 2007 3:39 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Then again, how often does Dana deliver on his word?
by Jo on Nov 24, 2007 3:39 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
GSP already has been told he will get to fight for the title next. Why would he fight again if it was not for the belt?
Thant does not make any sense.
Well taking too much time off can cause ring rust. Brandon Vera didn’t look sharp after he returned. I know Randy did well after his time off, but he was burned out. Guys like GSP and Vera are in their prime and need to be fighting regularly to keep sharp.
by Pat on Nov 24, 2007 3:48 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Let tito ortiz get his last fight out of the way…..so he can get back on track to his title shot again.I know there is alot of haters,but love him or hate him he draws great crowds to see him fight……GO TITO!!
by big swerve on Nov 24, 2007 5:37 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
I doubt Hughesus is gona fight any1. If fighting is 50% mental then, 50% of Hughesus’s arsenal just flew out the window, cause no1s gona giv him any respect. Thats whats probably kept him going, along with his mind games & take downs cause his stand up is about as good as Houston Alexander’s ground game. I hope sum1 tears Hughesus a new 1
by WayofTheWarrior on Nov 24, 2007 6:37 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
November 24th, 2007
I’m going to fight Georges St. Pierre on December 29th. 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 just be the title fight; but I don’t know if that is going to happen right now. I will keep you all posted.
-Matt
EDIT: This WILL BE for the interim title, so it will be a 5-round fight. -Matt
this is funny its exactly what I thought they would do.
by nathan on Nov 24, 2007 8:42 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
all i can say is… pretty convenient aye? don’t get me wrong, i love serra’s style, the long island NY ‘if they dont like me, fuck em’ attitude (and i give him props and total respect for sticking up for Royce Gracie and sticking it to Mark Lamon) but c’mon, he’s been talkin’ it up all through TUF6 “i cant wait to fight that guy” and a few weeks out from what he wants he’s injured all of a sudden?
lets be honest, serra’s style does not match up well with hughes… and i guess serra knows it and knows that theres no way in hell he’s gonna keep that belt and i guess he just wants to keep it that lil’ bit longer…
who can blame him hey?
by bobby.rush® on Nov 25, 2007 7:51 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Hughes can fight GSP, but he will get his ass kicked again. If Hughes does get beat agin he is done as far as title expectations. GSP will get the rematch, which should have been the first defense all along. But the the Dana/Matt Hughes relationship take 1st place to whats right, or GSP would have had the rematch he deserved.
Serra’s title is secure and can not be put up in and interim title fight like somebody suggested. If the UFC even hints at some bulls**t alternate titling because of injury they will surrender any sense of legitimacy they have. Its the UFC that schedules title fights, not the fighters. The long wait for a title defense is solely in the UFC’s corner, not Hughes/Serra.
Sherk’s title is at risk because of steroids, Randy quit because he was jerked around. Lets see how the UFC handles this.
by tootall2 on Nov 25, 2007 1:14 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
all i can say is… pretty convenient aye? don’t get me wrong, i love serra’s style, the long island NY ‘if they dont like me, fuck em’ attitude (and i give him props and total respect for sticking up for Royce Gracie and sticking it to Mark Lamon) but c’mon, he’s been talkin’ it up all through TUF6 “i cant wait to fight that guy” and a few weeks out from what he wants he’s injured all of a sudden?
lets be honest, serra’s style does not match up well with hughes… and i guess serra knows it and knows that theres no way in hell he’s gonna keep that belt and i guess he just wants to keep it that lil’ bit longer…
who can blame him hey?
If you think Serra is didging the fight you are all wet dude. I know people that were were there and his injury is very real. Having had a herniated disk I can tell you it is seriously painful and slow to recover from. If Serra had his way I think he would have fought Hughes in the parking lot at UFC HQ if he could have. I doubt Hughes would have beat him, and GSP will kick his ass again too.
by tootall2 on Nov 25, 2007 1:19 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Serra is the best and he would have beat highes hands down. Serra is the man can’t anybody say different.
by broncos12405 on Nov 25, 2007 3:40 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
all i can say is… pretty convenient aye? don’t get me wrong, i love serra’s style, the long island NY ‘if they dont like me, fuck em’ attitude (and i give him props and total respect for sticking up for Royce Gracie and sticking it to Mark Lamon) but c’mon, he’s been talkin’ it up all through TUF6 “i cant wait to fight that guy” and a few weeks out from what he wants he’s injured all of a sudden?
lets be honest, serra’s style does not match up well with hughes… and i guess serra knows it and knows that theres no way in hell he’s gonna keep that belt and i guess he just wants to keep it that lil’ bit longer…
who can blame him hey?
I dont agree at all, thats bs man- fighters fight, they like fighting tough guys – its not in their nature to make a pussy move like that – sry dude but your plain and simply wrong !
by moro on Nov 26, 2007 5:26 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Liddell and Silva have lost there last two fights, yes. But a win here for either one is huge. Forrest is the next in line i guess, yeah, he beat shogun which is huge, but what has he done before that? Look at what he did in 06, lost to Ortiz, beat Bonner, lost to Jardine. Then beats who? Hector Ramarez. Jardine beat Griffin, Lost to Houston, then beats Liddell. Nobody in this division really deserves a title shot. I just think what I said originally makes the most sense.
What about Thiago Silva for the upcoming LHW title shot? He’s undefeated, and just recently dominated a previously seemingly-dominant fighter, Houston Alexander. Sure, it would be pretty soon considering how many fights he’s had in the UFC, but I think hes better than most people realize, and anyway, like is stated above, the alternative is…..?
by aeroguibn on Dec 5, 2007 1:49 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
the UFC is turning into the ultimate Hype league they talk up the crappiest fights that just don’t deliver. Whats next Dana White and Joe Rogan spoon’n in the middle of the ring
by Darrell Davies on Dec 8, 2007 11:34 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Man…I think serra is scared to get his butt whipped. He probably don’t even have an injury. Either way the day will come for him to get a beating by hughes. Him beating gsp was a fluck. He talks about hughes being an ego maniac. No I think he’s the ego maniac. He’s a jerk off
by botgames on Dec 16, 2007 1:57 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

by 













