Issue 081
November 2011
60
The age of UFC light heavyweight Krzysztof Soszynski’s knees according to a doctor who performed a recent surgery on him.
5
There were five decisions in a row to begin UFC 133 in August. It started much like UFC 94 back in January of 2009. That event had an insane eight straight decisions before Lyoto Machida finally stopped Thiago Silva with strikes. At UFC 133 it was Alexander Gustafsson who ended the decision streak. He TKO’d Matt Hamill in round two.
7
The pro wrestler turned UFC star Soszynski has now gone under the knife seven times on his ailing knees. Soszynski is 26-11-1 overall and 6-2 in the UFC. With his hospital time it would seem the UFC’s recent implementation of accident insurance would be right up Soszynski’s alley, but he hasn’t used it yet.
13
Matt Hamill’s loss to Gustafsson came in his 13th fight with the UFC. It also marked the last time we’ll see Hamill in the Octagon. He announced his retirement afterward. Hamill was 9-4 during his UFC career and he inspired many.
130,000
Chris Lytle, who announced his retirement right before his main-event fight with Dan Hardy at UFC on Versus 5, claimed two ‘…of the Night’ bonuses for a total of $130,000 pocket money. The 36-year-old grabbed a $65,000 ‘Fight of the Night’ for the scrap he and Hardy put on, and the same again with ‘Submission of the Night’ for his third-round guillotine choke.
THE STRIKEFORCE CHALLENGER TRILOGY
There has been exactly one fight trilogy in the Strikeforce Challengers series. The culmination came at Strikeforce Challengers 17, the promotion’s first time to hold fights in Las Vegas, when Bobby Voelker stopped Roger Bowling with a knee. Bowling took it to Voelker for the first five minutes, but a knee turned the tide in round two and Voelker claimed the rubber match.
$50,000
The UFC’s accident insurance saved featherweight Cub Swanson $50,000 in medical expenses. Swanson took a knee to the dome while training at Greg Jackson’s, resulting in a seriously broken face. The injury occurred on June 2nd a day after the policy came into effect, making Swanson the first to take advantage of it.
10
Chris Lytle always came to fight, and this is apparent by his record-setting 10 ‘…of the Night’ bonuses: six fight bonuses, three submission bonuses, and one KO bonus. These came out to $515,000 over the course of a UFC career that began way back at UFC 28! With his victory over Hardy, Lytle evened his UFC record at 10-10. During his entire MMA and boxing career Lytle was never knocked out or submitted – although cuts twice accounted for doctor stoppages. Overall, Lytle finished his career with a 31-18-5 record.
The Highs and Lows of MATT HUGHES
One of the most dominant UFC welterweight champions of all time, Matt Hughes is a bona fide mixed martial arts legend. A product of Miletich Fighting Systems during his early and mid career, Hughes has racked up an astonishing 45-8 record in 13 years of competition. Along with being a double UFC 170lb champion he was the owner of jaw-dropping 13-fight and 18-fight win streaks at separate points in his career. A UFC Hall of Famer, Hughes’ accomplishments inside the cage have ensured fan and fighter respect for years to come.
January 1998
Matt makes his MMA debut in a Chicago high school gym, knocking out Erick Snyder with a slam in 15 seconds. He would use the same method for victory three times in future contests.
2000
After going undefeated for 18 fights, Hughes makes his third UFC appearance rematching Dennis Hallman at UFC 29 in Japan. Hallman becomes the first man to defeat Matt Hughes twice, tapping the wrestler with an armbar in 20 seconds to match his 18-second guillotine win in ‘98.
2001
Goes 7-1 outside the UFC and returns to fight welterweight champion Carlos Newton at UFC 34. Hughes knocks out Newton with a slam to become the new 170lb king – though there’s debate over whether Hughes was unconscious at the time due to a triangle choke.
January 2004
Hughes defends the belt five times before losing it to bitter rival BJ Penn via rear naked choke in the first round at UFC 46.
October 2004
After BJ Penn vacates his welterweight title to fight in Japan, Hughes faces a rising Georges St Pierre for the belt. Hughes secures his second reign when St Pierre taps to at armbar at 4:59 of the first.
2005
At UFC 52 a rocked Hughes fights off a rear naked choke from trash-talking challenger Frank Trigg. He replies with ground ‘n’ pound before snaring Trigg in a fight-ending rear naked choke of his own, retaining the title.
May 2006
Takes part in a featured bout with original UFC champion Royce Gracie at UFC 60. Contested at a catch-weight of 175lb, Hughes dominates the Brazilian, finishing him with strikes from back mount.
November 2006
Suffers the hands and feet of title challenger Georges St Pierre and is TKO’d by the French-Canadian in round two at UFC 65, moving his record to 41-5.
2007
Is matched up with Georges St Pierre when his shot at Matt Serra’s welterweight belt is derailed by a Serra injury. GSP wins the interim title with an armbar late in round two.
2008
Steps into a late-replacement main event at UFC 85 in London, England, against Thiago Alves. A flying knee and punches in the second round hand Hughes an upset TKO loss.
2009
The climax of the Matt Serra and Matt Hughes-coached TUF season six finally takes place after being delayed since December 2007, with Hughes emerging the victor from a debated judges’ verdict.
November 2010
At the hands of once-heated foe BJ Penn, Hughes suffers the fourth knockout loss of his career in only 21 seconds to move to 45-8.
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