I’ve just found out the cab and bed are off to paint. The rear suspension is complete from Pro-Comp. The Dana 60 is back and the front suspension is going on. When the cab gets back from paint, they’ll start reassembly. -matt
The fights were interesting, had two different people want to bet me 20 bucks on two different fights. I made 40 bucks on the night. I also had someone bet me a dollar on the Rameau Sokoudjou vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura fight. At the end of the first round, it didn’t look like Nakamura was going to make it to the end. I took the bet. The person who bet me, his exact words were, “He won’t make it out of the first round.” I took the bet, the horn blew for the end of the first round, both fighters went to their corner, then Nakamura said he couldn’t continue. A lot like the end of the Sherk vs. BJ fight. So, my question to you is, did I win the bet or did the other guy win the bet? I say he made it out of the first round, let me know.
This weekend was great, got to see a lot of family and friends that I don’t get to catch up with much. Mark set some jugs out this weekend to catch some fish and also set a turtle trap out. We caught 8 big catfish and 4 turtles. Sunday we had a nice card game, for about an hour the game was played by flashlight because we lost some power during the rain. I’m the type of guy that can sit next to a campfire and socialize with my friends all day long. Monday we also hit the zip line and had a lot of fun. We’re trying to be able to do some kind of a flip off of it and haven’t figured out how yet.
These are some fish we caught at the Hughes Farm, on the left is a bass, on the right is a bluegill:
Some photos from the zip line:
This week I go to New Jersey for Robbie’s fight. I come back and then leave just about directly for my fight. So, I’ll be busy the next couple of weeks with my fight coming up.
Had a buddy email me and I found it very interesting. This is the entire email, I deleted nothing:
Matt,
I read your article on MMA Junkie today and it gave me the urge to email you. I hope all is going well with you and your family and that your training is on schedule. I am sure you have a a lot people telling you all kinds of things, but I couldn’t resist the temptation to throw in my 2 cents as well. Anyway, I feel like attitude plays an important role in the outcome of any endeavor. There is a famous quote by Henry Ford that illustrates my point. Here is what Ford said:
“Whether you think you can or can’t, you’re right.”
For example, if you think something is not possible or out of your reach, you’re probably not going to commit much energy and resources to accomplishing that goal…Old habits die slowly because they are driven by an outdated mindset… In order to replace old habits through a change in your mindset, there are three steps you should follow:
1. First, begin by specifically identifying the results you want.
2. Then create and develop actions that will accomplish those results.
3. Lastly, examine your beliefs about those actions to determine if they are holding you back…So if you want to achieve your goals, create a mindset made of beliefs that support the truth you want in your future.
I don’t know why I am telling you this. You are one of the most confident people I have ever met. Your attitude, confidence and mental toughness are all a big part of why you have been so successful. I just wanted to remind you that you have every
reason to be confident in your next fight. If you go into the fight believing you will win, you will do so. I am not a trainer or a coach, but if I were, my advice would be to stay aggressive, apply pressure and take control of the fight.
Good luck Matt. I will be rooting you on from NYC.
Jake
This weekend we’ve got a couple of good fights coming up: Tito vs. Machida and Sherk vs. Penn. Been asked a lot about the fight between Sherk and Penn. I really like Sean I hope he goes out there and does well as we’re a lot alike; but I think BJ will have the upper hand in the fight. For sure he will be the better striker and he’s got good takedown defense and he’s got a lot of submission knowledge on the ground. Sean’s got some quick takedowns, very strong where he’s hard to submit, I don’t know that he’s ever been submitted, and one thing Sean will definitely have in his favor is the cardio. So if it ends in the first for second round, I think BJ would be the victor. If it ends after that, I think Sean will outlast him. If it goes to a decision then I think Sean wins.
Training’s going great getting some really good workouts in. Just got done with all my medicals for the fight.
Last Sunday, my brother-in-law has his graduation party out at the farm. I was in charge of the three pork butts (roasts), and six racks of ribs. I was also in charge of water fun. So I came up with the idea of a zip line. It’s 1000 feet of 5/16″ cable running across the pond. From the starting point it’s about 200-220 feet until you hit water so there is a handle to hold onto and you can also put a seat on it to sit, if you don’t think you can hold onto it the whole way. You start about 25 feet off the ground and when you jump off the zip line, you’re about 20 feet from the water (the water’s about 20-25 feet deep). So here’s some pictures from that:
Looking forward to this weekend as I get to spend some time with my friends at the NRA Show in Louisville, Kentucky. My brother and I are heading down there tomorrow. I’ll be signing posters at the DPMS booth for the last two hours of the show tomorrow evening.
On Saturday, I’ll be signing this poster at the Knight Rifles booth from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM:
First I want to apologize for not getting the blog up as quick as I wanted. Been working out three times a day and trying to help my brother plant corn this week. We’ve got all the anhydrous on and only about 130 acres of corn in the ground. So now we just have to wait for it to dry up.
Been training down at the gym, that’s going great. Robbie’s getting ready for a fight. Jeremy Horn is also there and brought three of his own guys with him to train for his upcoming UFC fight. So I’ve been somewhat burning the candle at both ends and also trying to spend time with the family.
Round 5 has released their action figures and I think they turned out really good. We got a couple hundred of them in and we’re going to sell them from the store.
Here are some photos of the figure: Click here to visit the store.
Also, last Thursday we had International out at the gym for their customer appreciation day. Had a great time and here are some photos from that:
I took the fight with Thiago because I liked the match-up. Obviously, I have to worry about his stand up skills, but on the ground I think I’ll be okay. What I don’t like is the fact that it’s such short notice and that I’ll be across the pond. I’d rather fight in Vegas or in the Midwest, but it will be good to meet some of my fans from England.
This weekend, we will be going to some fights in Effingham, IL. I’ll have two guys fighting there from the gym. For information on the fights, go to www.mercenary-promotions.com. We will be selling HIT Squad and Team Hughes gear. Robbie, Marc Fiore, Matt Pena and myself will all be there.
I’ve started three-a-days (which means I’m doing three practices a day), I’ve got to get in good shape. I’ve been working with Matt Pena on a stand up strategy. It feels good to get back in the gym and work on things. We at the gym just have such a good time being around each other.
Finally, I ran across this the other day and thought it was pretty interesting:
FIREARMS REFRESHER COURSE
“Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not.” ~ Thomas Jefferson (This is why Ted Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton want gun control so badly! )
1. An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.
2. A gun in the hand is better than a cop on the phone.
3. Colt: The original point and click interface.
4. Gun control is not about guns; it’s about control.
5. If guns are outlawed, can we use swords?
6. If guns cause crime, then pencils cause misspelled words.
7. Free men do not ask permission to bear arms.
8. If you don’t know your rights, you don’t have any.
9. Those who trade liberty for security have neither.
10. The United States Constitution (c)1791. All Rights Reserved
11. What part of “shall not be infringed” do you not understand?
12. The Second Amendment is in place in case the politicians ignore the others.
13. 64,999,987 firearms owners killed no one yesterday.
14. Guns only have two enemies; rust and politicians.
15. Know guns, know peace, know safety. No guns, no peace, no safety.
16. You don’t shoot to kill; you shoot to stay alive.
17. 911: Government sponsored Dial-a-Prayer.
18. Assault is a behavior, not a device.
19. Criminals love gun control; it makes their jobs safer.
20. If guns cause crime, then matches cause arson.
21. Only a government that is afraid of its citizens tries to control them.
22. You have only the rights you are willing to fight for.
23. Enforce the gun control laws we ALREADY have; don’t make more.
24. When you remove the people’s right to bear arms, you create slaves.
25. The American Revolution would never have happened with gun control.
“Calling an illegal alien an “undocumented immigrant” is like calling a drug dealer an “unlicensed pharmacist ”
IF YOU DON’T STAND BEHIND OUR TROOPS, PLEASE, FEEL FREE TO STAND IN FRONT OF THEM !!!
June 7th, in England, I fight Thiago Alves. The fight is confirmed, it will be the main event for the card. Dana just called me with the news. Chuck got hurt and couldn’t fight, so he needed a replacement and called me and I said yes. More news as I get it. No matter what happens in this fight, I’ve got Serra next. -matt
They’ve done some work on the website, 2 Brothers Custom Trucks, they’ve made the pictures easier to download. So it should be a little more user friendly.
They’re working on the bed right now, they had to do a lot of work to the whole truck to make it fit on the ‘06 frame. Right now they’re also putting in the ‘06 pedals for the brake, the gas, and the emergency brake and also finding a place to put the push button 4-wheel drive in the ‘56 cab. Getting done with a lot of it, also doing some tedious work under the hood. They came up with an idea on the wooden bed, they want to cut a piece of steel with a design on it, set it on the bed and then burn the wood through the piece of steel. That way the design would come out on the wood. I’ve thought of a Chevy Bowtie or something like the One More Round logo or Army of The One. I would like to open it up to suggestions in the forums. Check the truck out here and then tell me what you think.
Here’s the video I promised you all yesterday. Here I’m teaching some basic classes at the gym and my webmaster came up with this video just to give you an idea of what goes on in the Amateur/Basic MMA class at the HIT Squad. -matt
