Issue 072
February 2011
A country boy can survive – now you can too, with our guide to throwing your weight around like the UFC Hall of Famer.
SLAMS
Hughes made a name for himself with his trademark double leg. Adapting his wrestling for the cage, Hughes pioneered the now-standard tactic of bulling his man against the fence to beat his sprawl before executing the lift and slam.
In the gym
Work out with the slam bag, or if you don’t have one available reinforce the top of a standard punch bag with gaffer tape. Lift it, twist it, slam it to the mat and follow up with a quick succession of punches before picking up the bag again. Good as a stand-alone exercise; even better when you add lift and slam drills in to your pad-work sessions to recreate the demands of a real fight.
In action
You can see examples of the trademark Hughes slam in most of his fights, notably against Japanese veteran Hayato ‘Mach’ Sakurai when he shut out the normally exciting Japanese fighter with a series of big takedowns.
THE ‘HUGHES CROSS-BODY’
Sometimes referred to as the Hughes-Newton position (after Hughes punished Carlos Newton with this pin), the ‘crucifix’, or indeed Salavery (after Ivan Salavery), it was Matt Hughes that truly popularized this style of side control. In traditional cross-body pins the bottom man has both arms inhibiting the top man’s ability to punch and elbow effectively. The Hughes pin eliminates the near-side arm by trapping the forearm with the shin over the elbow joint.
In the gym
Work two different training modalities: ground ‘n’ pound wearing boxing gloves, with the emphasis on delivering and receiving powerful strikes on the floor, and ‘jits with hits’. Here the emphasis is on good positional grappling and submission finishes with the addition of lighter punches. This keeps the bottom man observing correct defense and trains the top man to use his strikes intelligently to further his position or aid his sub attacks. It’ll allow you to understand how to properly distribute your weight and maintain the Hughes cross-body.
In action
Hughes TKO’d BJ Penn at UFC 63, trapping him in this position, posting his head on the mat and dropping short right hands to his exposed face.
SUBMISSION DEFENSE
Hughes’ stubborn submission defense is the product of years of preparation, both physical and technical. After falling foul of submission expert Dennis Hallman early in his career, Hughes went on to become a submission expert himself, and fended off attacks from BJJ legends and prodigies alike.
In the gym
Start rolling with your head already in a triangle, or your arm already in an armbar. Gradually allow your training partners to lock the submission in deeper and deeper before you start. See how far you can go and still escape. This type of training is particularly important for those fighters who aren’t getting caught often by their regular training partners.
In action
Take a look back to UFC 63, where Hughes muscled out of BJ Penn’s triangle to go on and win the bout.
GROUND ‘N’ POUND
Hughes’ dominant positional game and aggressive style made him one of the best ground ‘n’ pounders in the sport.
In the gym
Use a grappling dummy or floor bag to work your strikes at full intensity. Adding cables will increase the fatigue and simulate the resistance of a defending opponent. Make sure to train without resistance too, so you don’t get into the habit of punching slow. Increase the difficulty by having your coach attempt to pull your hips off the bag as you work, forcing you to pin correctly and replicating the stress of an actual bout.
In action
Take a look back to Hughes’ second meeting with Frank Trigg from UFC 52. When the referee failed to intervene after Trigg fouled Hughes with a knee to the groin, Hughes was knocked down, mounted, then put in a choke. Hughes powered out of the hold, lifted Trigg and ran him across the cage. Hughes slammed him down, mounted easily and took revenge with heavy ground ‘n’ pound.
