MMA’s Greats of the States | Illinois: Matt Hughes

Mixed martial artists come from every corner of the globe, bearing a variety of styles. Sometimes, fighters are products of their environment, favoring disciplines prevalent in the country or state from which they hail. Various regions of the United States are considered factories for great fighters, though that certainly is not the case with each state. In this weekly Sherdog.com series, the spotlight will shine on the best mixed martial artist of all-time from each of the 50 states. Fighters do not necessarily need to be born in a given state to represent it; they simply need to be associated with it. For example, reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight titleholder Robbie Lawler may have been born in San Diego, but few would recognize him as a Californian.

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Matt Hughes remains one of the greatest fighters to ever compete in MMA, and when he was in his physical prime, he was as close to unstoppable as anyone in the sport’s history. Of fighters who have emerged from the state of Illinois, none stand taller than Hughes.

Hughes was a dominating wrestler during his glory days, and he was the face of the Miletich Fighting Systems camp when it held sway over the mixed martial arts world. A two-time NCAA All-American at Eastern Illinois University, Hughes made a successful transition to MMA, quickly tearing through the ranks of Extreme Challenge and other regional shows. Hughes bounced between the Ultimate Fighting Championship and other lesser-known promotions before settling permanently with the Las Vegas-based UFC.

The Hillsboro, Illinois, native rose to the top of the sport at UFC 34, where he captured the welterweight championship by countering a Carlos Newton triangle choke with a slam that knocked the Canadian unconscious. Hughes defended the title five times before relinquishing it to a B.J. Penn rear-naked choke at UFC 46, the defeat halting his 13-fight winning streak. He later reclaimed the championship with an armbar submission on Georges St. Pierre, making two title defenses before falling to GSP in their November 2006 rematch.

Hughes retired from competition in 2011 after back-to-back knockout losses to Penn and Josh Koscheck. He had been inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame a year earlier, wins over St. Pierre, Penn, Renzo Gracie, Royce Gracie, Hayato Sakurai, Chris Lytle, Akihiro Gono, Frank Trigg, Ricardo Almeida, Sean Sherk and Matt Serra highlighting his stellar resume.

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