Issue 035

March 2008

Matt Hughes abandoned using his fists in the cage for a while and decided to employ his hands with the task of penning an autobiography, ‘Made in America’. Not one to hide his feelings, Hughes gives some interesting insights into what was going on in his head during his run as the most dominant force in the UFC welterweight division. Hughes spoke with us about his new literary endeavour, the sixth series of TUF, the negative feedback which has come his way, and who he will be fighting in the future.

What has the response to the book been like so far?

The response has been great, a lot of people have said they don’t buy books, they don’t read books, but they picked this book up and read it in one sitting. A lot of people have emailed my website and said they’ve picked the book up, they’re not Matt Hughes fans and not really UFC fans, but they loved the book. So it’s been a great response from everybody.

What’s it been like touring around promoting it? Any interesting experiences?

Everybody has been super respectful so it’s just been great. I’m used to travelling, so travelling around doesn’t really bother me. It’s been close to two weeks now so it’s starting to catch up with me. I’ll be glad to get home and see my family, get home and lead my life. 

What was the most interesting parts to write about?

The fun part was definitely thinking about the old times, what my brother and I use to do and the fun we had, and the stories about going to college and this and that. That was fun to reflect back upon, what I’ve done and where I’ve been, and the good times I’ve had. 

As far as the UFC is concerned, what is a memory that sticks in your mind above the rest?

Well, the part where I fought BJ the second time and at the end of the second round I prayed out there and that was a fond memory. Frank Trigg, the second fight, was also fun to recap, and Royce Gracie’s fight was fun to recap too. I try and get out a lot of “what am I thinking”, try and let the readers get in my head when it comes to preparing for fights, and actually talking through the fights.  

Who are you training partners going to be in your new gym, HIT Squad?

We brought my boxing coach in, Matt Pena, my wrestling coach, Marc Fiore, the guys off season 6 of The Ultimate Fighter; Robbie Lawler came in. We’ve got a superb grappling coach to be a straight submission coach, we’ve brought in a lot of great people to make this project a go, it’s not going to be just one guy teaching everything like you do at a lot of other gyms, we brought in a lot of coaches in because if we all travel for a fight, some guys need to stay home and run the gym. 

You initially said you didn’t want to go and coach on season 6, you preferred to stay back with your family at home. Was season 6 of TUF fun to do?

It was a fun season to do because I got to bring my own coaches in, so that’s what made it so fun. My family came the second half of the season so I had my kids there and my wife there the second half. 

Some people have been turned off by what has been shown of you on The Ultimate Fighter. Do you feel you were edited accurately?

I’m really not complaining. How I think they edited me is good I guess. One thing they didn’t show is we had a lot of good times, whether it was at the gym or the house or whatever, and they didn’t really show any of that. I had a lot of good times with my guys, but yeah, when I lost a few fights in row I was not happy with the guys. 

Do you still have a good relationship with you old team, Team Miletich? Were they okay with you leaving?

Yeah, Pat and I still text back and forth; he taught me so much of what I know. But everyone up there realises that this is something good for me – I had an opportunity to start my own gym, so I’m sure they all wish me the best up there. I’m sure I’ll still make it up there from time to time when I’m passing through or just want to see the guys. 

Are you still going to continue fighting?

Right now I’m going to not really take some time off, but take a break. I’ve got the gym starting February 9^th in Granite City, Illinois, the HIT Squad. That’s going to be a big thing, it’s 14,500 square feet of MMA training facility. And then I’ve got my clothing line “One More Round” that’s out, so I’m trying to promote that as much as I can. I’m worried about getting those two things really going well and then I’m going watch Georges St. Pierre and Matt Serra fight, and if Matt loses I will go in and fight him. That’s eight months down the road or something, so I’ve got some time to sit back and work on other things.