Issue 012

April 2006

October 18, 1996

Matt Hume

Now retired from active competition and one of the senior officials for Japanese mega-promotion Pride, Hume was a highly respected fighter who had some mixed results in the early years of Pancrase. An intelligent, gifted competitor, Hume first retired from fighting in 1997. He came back with a win in December 2002 but then hung up the gloves for good with a career record of 5-5. Hume is also one of the sport’s most respected trainers- as the founder of AMC Pankration in Seattle, Hume has trained and managed the likes of Josh Barnett and Ivan Salaverry and even worked with Hyato Sakurai prior to Pride’s new years eve show.

Erik Paulson

Leglock guru Erik Paulson first appeared in Shooto in 1993. Paulson was one of the first Americans to find success in Japan and fought all over the world, retiring with a 10-4-1 record in April 2000. With wins over Kenji Kawaguchi and Masanori Suda and losses to Carlos Newton and Paul Jones, Paulson faced some of the best fighters of his era. These days he is well known for his instructional videos and seminars, as in his fighting career he was one of the most skilled submission fighters around.

The fight

Announced as “Light Heavyweight Shootwrestling Champion of the World” with a record of 8-1, Paulson was a little taller and heavier than Hume. Standing 5’10” and weighing a ripped 178 pounds, Hume drew ‘oohs’ and ‘aaahs’ from the crowd when his alleged professional record of 225-18 was announced. This probably included every playground scuffle Hume had as a kid but it sounded nice! 

Striker vs. grappler? 

From the outset it was clear Hume was the more refined striker. Swapping leg kicks it was clear Hume’s were heavier. They soon clinched and after a few knees and punches the pair treated the crowd to some beautiful, fast-paced submission wrestling. First Hume went for a guillotine, which Paulson defended, then a leg trip by Paulson sent them both to the ground and Hume stood to punch down at his opponent’s face. 

Paulson then spun on the mat looking for a leglock, quickly securing a lovely kneebar. Hume defended patiently and slid his leg out before a brief scramble landed him in side control. Paulson turned and rolled but Hume stayed on him.

Oddly, Hume missed a chance to punch at close range and his hesitation allowed Paulson to slip a leg into full guard. Again Hume stood up to punch and a perfectly timed ankle pick by Paulson brought him down. Paulson got on top and threw a few punches before going for a neck crank. With just over a minute to go, Hume went for an armbar but Paulson avoided it with ease before gaining a full mount. From there he landed a few girly slaps and some decent punches before Hume bucked, turned and wriggled free. He landed on top but Paulson reversed him again just before time ran out on an enthralling first round. 

The Oklahoma crowd probably didn’t understand half of what was going on here- this was one of the slickest displays of submission grappling seen in MMA to date, yet much of it would went unappreciated. The second round would change the crowd’s feelings about the fight though. 

Battle of the clinch

Hume landed a nice left hook early before securing a Muay Thai clinch and whipping in some hard knees and nasty leg kicks. Paulson fired back with knees of his own and even threw a fast left elbow that Hume narrowly avoided before retaliating with a solid overhand right to Paulson’s face. That was just the first minute! Soon Paulson was again showing off his fluid submission technique as he went for a guillotine- neatly switching arms he kept looking for the best position but Hume managed to pop his head loose to fire off some strikes.

Halfway through the round, they were both locked up in the Thai clinch but Hume used it more effectively, mixing knees with body punches. Once more Paulson went for a guillotine and as he wrenched back furiously, Hume’s knees even seemed to sag a little and he looked as if he was on the way out. Paulson tried to finish by tripping Hume but he somehow kept his balance and stopped the takedown. With Paulson switching arms to find the best possible choke, Hume displayed great submission defense and escaped once again.

With less than two minutes left, they were back clinching and striking, and despite both men being exhausted they had a terrific exchange. Paulson missed a haymaker but tagged Hume with a follow-up left-right combination, whereas Hume immediately rattled off a great series of punches, knees and a leg kick. Yet more knees, fists and elbows went flying in the last 30 seconds or so and the round ended with Paulson hitting a nice uppercut-hook combo.

A knee seals it- but why no rematch?   

Although clearly very tired, Paulson came out aggressively with a leg kick and a jab, and Hume fired back with a knee to the face. While not obvious at the time, that knee opened a deep gash in the middle of Paulson’s forehead. Blood poured out of the cut as the two men clinched, and when they were separated the doctor refused to allow Paulson to return to action. That gave a very relieved Hume the TKO victory at only 44 seconds into the final round. It was an unfortunate ending to a great fight that will be remembered for a long time. It’s just a shame they never had a rematch.