Pretty not bad Hughes/Serra article

There has been a lot of talk about UFC 98... but not a lot of the Matt Hughes variety.

First there was talk the change of headliners (Mir/Lesnar to Evans/TBA)
Next came talk about who would get a shot at Evans (Lyoto or Rampage)
Then there was countless analysis of Evans and Lyoto's style
There was even talk of a UFC 98 curse (Houston Alexander, Frank Mir, Josh Koscheck, James Irvin, and Yushin Okami all pulled out of their fights due to injury)

But finally somebody wrote an educated (non biased) analysis of the Hughes/Serra fight.

A little taste:

Hughes may not be able to simply overpower Serra on the floor, and he'll likely have to tread lightly in where he positions himself in order to avoid Serra's jiu-jitsu. Serra hasn't been deemed some kind of explosive striker nor is he known for being any kind of finisher on his feet. Hughes doesn't have great strking either, but his takedown ability to counter the striker are well-known. In terms of styles, this could be a small chess match on the floor coupled with some aggressive striking on the feet to grab an edge.

Matt won't strike with him. he'll take Serra down and beat him like GSP did.

I keep saying it, man...Hughes should throw out his boxing coach right now and get a new one. Obviously this one's not doing much for him; I think he should've been improving at this point and time....

I've also said that Hughes should do the unexpected against all opponents; this means the same thing it meant against GSP for me. He should fake a takedown, and then start throwing combos. No one, especially Serra, will be expecting that. If Hughes can catch him with that kind of mix-up, Serra will get frustrated, and eventually he'll start trying to light Hughes up, in which case, Hughes then shoots in and THEN takes him down.

If Hughes started to learn how to throw combos and not just the usual jab that he tries, he's be a lot more sucessful. It's just a thought, though, and I know no one cares exactly for my opinion, especially Matt who's actually the one doing the fighting...but it's a thought that he should maybe consider, I think.

[F34R]

and he'll likely have to tread lightly in where he positions himself in order to avoid Serra's jiu-jitsu.

Yea... whatever. That's basically what they said when he fought Royce. We see how that worked out for the JJ master.

When was the last time Serra submitted someone?

When Serra first made his mark, his BJJ was relatively good. Now though, EVERYONE has good BJJ. Comparitively, Serra's isn't that good anymore.

[VCURamFan]

Originally Posted by F34R

Yea... whatever. That's basically what they said when he fought Royce. We see how that worked out for the JJ master.

sarah's jits is crap. His last sub in MMA was back in March of '02. Matt's pulled off 3 back-to-back-to-back subs sine then (GSP armbar/Trigg RNC/Riggs Kimura). Matt's got 4.5 times as many submission victories as sarah does. Matt also has a wide variety of sub victories (Guillotine x2, RNC x3, Kimura x3, Armbar x3, Arm Triangle x2, Strikes x5) than sarah (Armbar x2, Guillotine & Triangle).

I think Matt'll be just fine on the ground, thanks.

[F34R]

Originally Posted by VCURamFan

sarah's jits is crap. His last sub in MMA was back in March of '02. Matt's pulled off 3 back-to-back-to-back subs sine then (GSP armbar/Trigg RNC/Riggs Kimura). Matt's got 4.5 times as many submission victories as sarah does. Matt also has a wide variety of sub victories (Guillotine x2, RNC x3, Kimura x3, Armbar x3, Arm Triangle x2, Strikes x5) than sarah (Armbar x2, Guillotine & Triangle).

I think Matt'll be just fine on the ground, thanks.

Um, I'm not sure if you are attacking me, or agreeing with me. I'm basically saying that the last time he faced someone that was being touted as a better jits player than Matt, it didn't do that person any favors at all. I am fully aware of Matt's victories lol.

if matt decides to continue fighting after serra, he will get the shot at the GSP/Alves winner ..

Originally Posted by rearnakedchoke

if matt decides to continue fighting after serra, he will get the shot at the GSP/Alves winner ..

After 2 losses to GSP and losing 2 in a row, he's floating around #5 WW in the world, somewhere between Fitch and Koscheck, so I think a fight with one of them would be more appropriate, with the winner getting a title shot

I think Matt should smash Karo when his suspension is up.