Matt Hughes talks his recent induction into the hall of fame. There is one statement that James Toney made about the UFC and MMA and the difference between the two sports and their hall of fame inductions.
To be inducted into the boxing hall of fame a fighter must have retired and be looked at from the perspective of what he has achieved throughout his entire career, while a UFC hall of famer can still be fighting at the time of their induction.
To someone like Matt Hughes or Randy Couture who may still be fighting (but are coming to the end of their run) have achieved so much as champions, fighters and ambassadors for the sport I think they are worthy of Hall of Fame status at the time of their induction.
Someone like Georges St Pierre who is a dominant champion and I believe is a more well rounded fighter than both Hughes and Couture (who are one trick pony’s in wrestling and ground n pound, where St Pierre has shown an evolution from striking to wrestling dominance) for him to be inducted at this time would be premature. We would have to see what happens after he loses his championship and see what he could do from there, although I believe he is ‘Hall of Fame quality’.
It is not only your performance in the cage as a fighter and champion but also your attitude that makes a ‘Hall of Famer’. I used to think Matt Hughes during his reign as champion was a pretty decent humble guy but at the time of the Matt Serra hype and fight, in the words of Serra himself “Matt Hughes is a dick!”. However, I cannot deny his contribution to the sport and his dominance as a champion. Even at this late stage of his career, finally achieving one of his goals of Ko’ing or Tko’ing someone while standing. And to be honest, I gave Renzo the standup striking advantage, though I think it came down to strength and conditioning which gave Hughes the victory in their fight.
Someone like Randy Couture also deserves Hall of Fame status for his longevity let alone his achievements. He also has a humble attitude and champion heart which I believe is necessary to be a hall of famer. Same with GSP.
Other champions like Anderson Silva who are dominant in their weight class but have at times shown an unwillingess to ‘fight’ and take risks can hurt no only their reputation and their Hall of Fame potential but it also hurts the sport itself.
Hughes is also asked about the media hype of the Hughes/Gracie rivalry. Having defeated Royce and Renzo the media loves to hype things up out of proportion but Hughes says there is no rivalry, and Almeida agrees in a recent interview,that this will be just another fight.
