Matt’s TUF6 Journal - Episode 12
December 6th, 2007
 In this week’s show Matt Arroyo had to drop out of his fight with Mac Danzig because of a rib injury. I did know about it, Dana called me about it and told me that I was probably not going to get one of my guys in and Serra’s team was going to fill the void. So, I was very surprised that they filled the spot with John, just because Mac had already beaten John so handily. However, one thing we did find out from Dana later on was that the doctor found nothing wrong with Arroyo’s rib. When Dana told us, he was ticked. So I don’t know were Matt Arroyo came up with the cracked rib thing; but the doctors couldn’t find anything wrong with him. My idea is that he didn’t want to fight Mac and that was his way out and you can tell from his interviews that he didn’t want to fight Mac. To be honest, I think Matt Serra could have done a better job trying to get Matt Arroyo to fight. Tommy’s fight went just like I thought it would. The game plan was not to go in looking for take downs for George, the plan was just to go in there and rough him up. Tommy would wear him down and then try to finish the fight. And we knew that Tommy had knock out power and to be honest I wasn’t that impressed with George from his quarterfinal fight. -Matt |
December 6th, 2007 at 12:46 am
[...] Hughes posted an update on his personal site today regarding the fact that Matt Arroyo dropped out of his semi-final match [...]
December 6th, 2007 at 12:55 am
Matt,
I was so excited watching the episode tonight!!! To see both of your guys making it to the finals is nothing I can even put into words. I wish both of them the best of luck, but I am a small town girl from Wisconsin so I am rooting for Tommy. What you said is so true, it’s not who finishes first, but who makes it to the end is what counts. GOD BLESS and GOOD LUCK!!!
Kelly
December 6th, 2007 at 1:47 am
i didnt see the episode, im guessing tommy ko’ed george and what happened with mac?
December 6th, 2007 at 2:06 am
Hey Matt, good show and good blog. I understand what you mean about Mac fighting John again. I think Mac had a legitimate gripe about fighting him again, but he came into the fight with a good game plan. I really don’t think there were any other choices besides John though. Serra’s other fighters clearly didn’t want the fight, and I’ve always respected Dana for rewarding the toughest guys and those most willing to take advantage of their opportunities. I can’t believe Matt Arroyo faked his injury. I did have suspicions that it wasn’t as serious as he was making it out to be. My best friend is an Army Ranger and he cracked a couple ribs at Airborne school and definitely wouldn’t have been able to be sparring and rolling like they showed Arroyo doing. My guess is that he bought himself a ticket straight outta the UFC. I thought Matt Serra was being a little ridiculous when he blamed George’s loss on the eye poke. The way they showed it on TV, it looked like George took a very small portion of his 5 minutes to recover. If his eye was a big enough problem that it could cost him the fight, he should’ve taken the time he needed to recover. Congrats on winning the show! I think it became clear after the first round of fights that great coaching persevered over bad luck.
December 6th, 2007 at 3:07 am
Congratulations are in order, the best team won in the end. I’m looking forward to the TUF finals, and I’m hoping that Tommy is able to take Mac down, not because I dislike either of them, but because I think that such a humbling experience would do Mac a lot of good.
Again congrats, and I can’t wait until your fight with St. Pierre. I told my wife that all I wanted for Christmas was for you to win the belt back.
December 6th, 2007 at 3:56 am
i’ve never understood people not wanting to fight a particular person, which is why i’m guessing arroyo dropped out. if your going in there versus someone who you think is better, what’s the worst case scenario? you’ll get a little dinged up, and maybe lose. no biggie. but you could also at LEAST try, do your best, and possibly win. anyone can beat anyone on any given day. but you’ll never know where you stand if you don’t try.
anyone know what the latest word is on the new gym? like membership costs or anything?
December 6th, 2007 at 4:04 am
Matt having your two guys in the finals truly makes up for the lopsided preliminaries. It totally made watching this season worth it. I know its not your fault but this season was the worst by far. I understand why you were so ticked about fighters not following game plans and such, it was like half of them were shell shocked in the octagon! Not good for the show. I am so pleases Tommy and Mac are in the finale! Even though as a whole this season kinda sucked, I have never looked forward so much to a finale! I like both the fighters but I will be rootin for Tommy. I also saw that he was training with you. Are you training him or is he helping you train? or is it both?
December 6th, 2007 at 8:40 am
Matt. Congrats. The bottom line is that you have two team Hughes fighters in the final. Serra is a bad fighter and a bad coach. I hope that one day you get a chance to teach him a lesson in the Octagon. Until then, I will pray for you to win against GSP. The UFC needs you as a champion, and you are certainly a great role model. All the best.
December 6th, 2007 at 9:04 am
WOW me and my husband were soooo excited about last nights shoe.. I am so glad that its 2 team Hughes guys in the end…. Thats really all that matters…. TOMMY is amazing and he looked the best he has ever looked last night… I really think that him and Mac are really good fighters and we’ll end up seeing both of them in the UFC….
December 6th, 2007 at 11:38 am
Great job on sweeping the finals with your team!!!
I’m sure that Matt Arroyo was afraid to fight Mac and was looking for ANY EXCUSE not to fight him just like that FRAUD of a “so-called” champion matt serra used his herniated disc not to fight the REAL champion MATT HUGHES…………
Nice Finish to a completely uphill battle that you and your team had on your hands!………
Just as us Believers/Christians will come out Victorious over death, hell, and satan in the end through OUR LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST!………
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December 6th, 2007 at 11:46 am
congrats first of allfor having 2 of your team in the finals, i dob’t know who i’m pulling for but it should be a good fight. i was watching an interview on the ufc.com web site on george, and georgesaid he didn’t know he had five minutes to recover from the eye poke. that just goes to show he doesn’t know much about the ufc and their rules, you get five minutes to recover from unintentional injuries, plus matt serra was telling him to take his time he has 5 minutes, i’m sure the eyepoke changed the game plan but that is how it goes. i notice george was backing away from tommy the whole fight and that shows george really didn’t want tommy to get his hands on him.
tommy is a big strong boy and down here in alabama, the part i’m from we call people like tommy, corn fed, and that is in now way disrespctful, just means he is a tough strong boy.bestof luck to both tommy and mac saturday night.
george fagan
December 6th, 2007 at 12:15 pm
When I saw the episode in which you said “I did not come on this show to loose”, I knew it was on!!!!!! GREAT JOB!!!!!!
December 6th, 2007 at 12:49 pm
TAKE THAT SERRA……
I agree with mrogers. Great fights. GREAT KNOCK OUT!!!!!!!
HEY MATT or NATE R,
I KNOW I’VE ASKED BEFORE BUT WILL YOU BE SIGNING OR TAKING PICS AT THE WEIGH-INS WITH YOUR FANS ???
December 6th, 2007 at 1:02 pm
My husbandand I went nuts when Tommy ko’ed George. I am so glad that you have two guys in the finals. I’m probably gonna cheer Tommy on because I was raised a farm girl. However, I wish both guys the best of luck! Something about the three fighters on Serra’s team that I question was the fact that after they lost their fights and within a few days they gained 20 lbs. (Not that that’s not hard to do) It seems that they weren’t very disciplined. Don’t they remain in the house to train in case something like this happens? People get hurt, that’s way they called War Machine back, right? It just seems like they blew their chances at a $100,000 contract. Kudos to John for being ready. That showed a lot of class!
December 6th, 2007 at 1:51 pm
Man, what an episode. My wife and I were very excited to see Tommy knock out George. Seemed like Tommy was involved in all the best fights of the season, hopefully saving the best one for Saturday. An all Team Hughes Finals sounds great. No matter what happens, Team Hughes pulls off the victory in the end. I know that George and Serra were saying that the eye poke was the reason for the knockout, but i remember watching you fight when you were poked in the eye and kicked in the groin but somehow you pulled of the victory. I guess it all depends on who you are inside. Arroyo’s rib injury was quite questionable. I think he got a bruise and found an excuse to back out of the fight with Mac. It also seems like Serra is more concerned about being friends with his guys than he is with trying to be a coach and a professional. Hope your training for GSP goes smoothly. When you get the belt back, you can show Serra what a real champion looks like. God Bless.
December 6th, 2007 at 2:25 pm
Well, well, well…what can I say? Mac winning was great, and certainly predictable. Mac is great, very solid fighter. But Tommy knocking out George was a SHOCKER! He didnt just beat him, he BEAT him senseless. Good job to Team Hughes!!
One question, though…is if just me or did Tommy look much more bulky and muscualr than he did on previous episodes?
Next stop on the Hughes Express is GSPville!!
December 6th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
It was obvious from the get go the George was intimidated by Tommy’s strength. He talked a good game and I was hoping to see a better fight out of him.
December 6th, 2007 at 3:21 pm
George didn’t seem like the same person we have seen in his other bouts. It was good to see Tommy put that Aussie in his place though. He hit him so hard his eyes rolled back into his head. Saturdays match up should be great. I hope to see Tommy’s raw strength over-power Mac.
December 6th, 2007 at 4:32 pm
Went exactly as I thought it would go. mac defeated joh in the exact same way as last time, it kinda felt like they were just handing mac the finale fight opportunity when jon was picked, Tommy overpowers George. Everyone was all talking about how George could win the show, but he never really impressed me cuz the he fought two of the worst guys on the show and Tommy’s fought two really tough guys that gave him everything they had. Congrats on having the two finals guys on your team matt, last night’s episode put me in a really good mood. I hope to see Tommy take the title, even though both are most likely gonna get contracts eventually. Good luck and thanks for a great show!
December 6th, 2007 at 6:03 pm
Hi Matt,
I was really glad to see tommy do so well standing.I think if he stays healthy,works on his overall speed,and continues to have great coaching,he will go a long way in the sport.
Stay healthy and win the title back,you have a lot of fans here in Va.who will be pulling for you.
mike
December 6th, 2007 at 7:24 pm
[...] Hughes claims that Team Serra’s Matt Arroyo faked his season ending rib injury. In his latest blog entry, Hughes suggests that Arroyo made up the injury in order to avoid fighting Team Hughes’ Mac [...]
December 6th, 2007 at 9:10 pm
Anyone know why Blake is the only one not fighting Saturday?
December 6th, 2007 at 9:11 pm
who are you going to train and corner …. mac or tommy?
December 6th, 2007 at 10:24 pm
Congrats, Matt on a great second half to TUF this season. Though it was a tough road to hoe, I’m sure it was worth it now that you have two guys in the finals.
I’m also sure it’s going to be tough to have to coach against one of your guys. But, I certainly can’t see you making the same choice as Serra and not cornering either of them. We’re speculating that you’ll be cornering Tommy–a fellow Midwesterner and farmer.
Finally, looking forward to the GSP fight. It’ll be a tougher fight than the one originally scheduled, I’m sure. Best to you.
Merry Christmas, Matt.
December 7th, 2007 at 12:11 am
I’m really disapointed with this season of TUF.
First of all: whats wrong with John Kolosci??
He chocked twice. (both in the figurative and physical way)
And second: None of theses guys fought like professionals in the entire season.
They all look like they don’t know what the heck they are doing as soon as they enter the ring.
They all look great in training but look like they never trained once in their lifetime once you hear that bell ring.
None of them could last more then 20 seconds in front of someone like GSP or Hughes or BJ Penn, Gomi…
Only Mac fight like a pro.
Congrats Mr. Hughes for winning the season and finally shutting that “big mouth, one lucky punch mediocre fighter” Serra.
December 7th, 2007 at 12:31 am
Great job Matt, you got your 2 guys in. I really hope Tommy wins the contract… he hast true heart…. Mac has been posting a blog is a california newspaper about every episode, he is so disrespctful…. he said he diddnt care whos team he was on because in reality he would never train with either coach… mac has a God complex…. he is the most experinced, and people were questioning why he was on the show if he has all this experience…. well obvousily he failed because he holds no title and the ufc has never noticed him.
I pray Tommy gives mac a big right fist of humbel pie and knock his ass out.
WAR TOMMY!
December 7th, 2007 at 12:31 am
Arroyo got the opportunity of a lifetime and looked for away out because he didn’t want to fight Mac? Why would you even come on the show? No one should have to try to talk Arroyo into fighting. If he doesn’t want to fight, i personally don’t want to see him fight. This series clearly showed how people who have their ‘act’ together succeed. Each fighter in the final four came there to work hard, stay focused, and have fun fighting instead of having fun by screwing around.
December 7th, 2007 at 4:46 am
>>>just like that FRAUD of a “so-called” champion matt serra used his herniated disc not to fight the REAL champion MATT HUGHES…………
December 7th, 2007 at 10:24 am
hey george you said tommy hasn’t ended a fight and you ended both of yours, well guess what, tommy has ended a fight now and it was a fight with you, and if i’m not mistaken got $5000.00 for doing it. you were so arrogant saying you couldn’t think of anyone in this season was even close to being in your class, when you wake up, think again.
george fagan
December 7th, 2007 at 11:59 am
I’m a little bit confused about how Mac has superior experience to everyone else in the house. I’ve seen Tommy fight in WEC, where he showed that same knock-out power that he showed us on TUF this season. Has Mac been in any other fighting organizations/promotions?
Tommy is going to be a great fighter…especially under the guidance of someone like you, Matt. I’m sure Mac will be good too, but I’m always a little skeptical of a guy who is constantly claiming to be the best, rather than just letting his actions speak in the octagon.
Props to John for being willing to stick his neck out, so to speak. He’s got a great attitude, and I really hope to see more of him in the UFC.
Good luck against GSP, Matt. Keeping you in prayer…
Toby
BibleStudyPodcasts.Org
December 7th, 2007 at 1:26 pm
I wondered about how badly Matt was hurt when they didn’t show him at the doctor’s office. In every episode, every season so far, when a fighter had to go to the doctor for whatever reason, the cameras were right there with them.
Can’t wait to see Tommy beat Mac tomorrow night.
December 7th, 2007 at 3:35 pm
how do people know who is and isn’t fighting this weekend, but as far as blake not fighting, my guess would be because he is rehab from his knee surgery he had after tuf was finished and before the finsle, now that is just my guess.
george fagan
December 7th, 2007 at 4:57 pm
George,you can go to the UFC website and look under schedule and it has the whole card.
mike
December 7th, 2007 at 7:47 pm
Hey Matt,
I used to hang out with you at LC and wanted to wish you all the best in your upcoming fight with GSP. You were a high class guy then and I’m not surprised at all your success in life. I heard your name mentioned on ESPN and have now become a huge MMA/Team Hughes fan.
December 7th, 2007 at 10:28 pm
good luck withyour fight with gsp.
just on a side hey serra none of your fighters made the finals. ouch, just goes to show that whe the going gets tough the tough get going, again ouch.
george fagan
December 8th, 2007 at 8:51 am
Looks like a great ending to the show. I guess Matt Serra really did make history, didn’t he? The first time that one fighter walks out on the show, and the first time that one fighter gives up on a fight! It really looks like you picked the best team despite the result from some of the early fights. I’m sure that they all benefited from your training and your perspective on life.
I didn’t know much about you before the show. I saw the fight when Serra beat GSP and they announced the coaches for the series; I remember Serra saying that he couldn’t wait because you were not a nice guy and he wanted to show you off. Well, not only that did not happen, but everything in the show just confirmed the contrary to Serra’s statements… it was made very clear who the nice guy was and who was the jackass. You showed yourself as a leader, as a gentleman, as a man of principles. I have become a huge fan and I can’t wait to see you fight. God Bless.
December 15th, 2007 at 9:42 pm
well the shows i saw was pretty clear matt h. did pick the best team and if his fighters would have listened to they’re coach and stuck to the fight plans they might have lost 1 or 2 fights why do you think mr. hughes got so upset?as far as serra he is a cocky over confident lacking talent mouth why do you think he had a all of a sudden injury so he didnt have to face mr. hughes he learned from his fighters bad tactics… and i agree with others on Mac if he was so far ahead of the other fighters and so dang good why was he on the show to start with? he is cocky and over confident in his ability also. he will have a rough time in the UFC with that attitude he wont be fighting inexperienced fighters there trust me.. and Tommy my hats off to that young man he has the heart of a true UFC fighter and the brawn to back it up with good training he will be a major force in the UFC. John the hoosier boy will also do well with good training he stepped up to the plate when the rest wanted to run from Mac and stuff theyre faces and tear up a extremely nice house like children. all in all i thought it was a decent TUF maybe Dana will take a more indepth screening the next times when picking fighters for a show that represents the UFC and its fighters and future. in the long haul id say probably 5 to 6 of all of the fighters are true UFC material which is what the purpose of the shows are for finding new prospects to a growing company toodles to Dana and his coaches all have been good except for a few serra i think lagged on the coaching end but its par for the course for him. good luck with your upcoming fight Mr. Hughes GSP will go down and out like you said you havent forgot what got you where you are just fine tune your tools and apply them.