Matt Hughes: I'll Be Fighting Matt Serra After Thiago Alves

According to an article posted on MMA Madness (link below), Matt Hughes has confirmed rumors that he will be squaring off against Matt Serra after he takes on Thiago Alves in the main event of UFC 85.

Hughes and Serra were originally supposed to fight at UFC 79, but Serra had to withdraw from the event due to an injured back. Georges St. Pierre filled the spot of Matt Serra, and soundly thrashed the overmatched Hughes, submitting him near the end of the second round. St. Pierre earned the title of "interim Welterweight champion" with this victory, eventually capturing the "real" Welterweight title at UFC 83 by defeating Matt Serra.

There is some bad blood between Serra and Hughes. The two were opposing coaches on the Ultimate Fighter 6 and quickly developed a distaste for each other. Hughes didn't help the situation when he inferred that he would have been able to fight through the injury, as he had done it before.

Hughes said in his statement to MMA Madness that he would be fighting Matt Serra after the UFC 85 fight, regardless of the outcome of his match against Thiago Alves. According to Hughes, the UFC has signed off on the proposed Hughes/Serra match, and he expects that the match will take place at UFC 89 or 90.

He also went on to say that he needs to beat both Alves and Serra to earn another shot at Georges St. Pierre. Assuming that St. Pierre beats Jon Fitch at UFC 87, I would assume that he would face either Matt Serra or Matt Hughes as his next opponent. The idea of a "rubber" match between Serra and St. Pierre is more intriguing to me than yet another match-up between Hughes and St. Pierre. Hughes has been absolutely crushed by St. Pierre in their past two match-ups - do we really need to see #3? Hughes is getting older, and St. Pierre is getting better. If he can beat Alves and Serra (which would be impressive), then he definitely would have earned himself another shot at St. Pierre. That's a tall order though, and I'm not sure that MMA fans would be lining up to shell out money for St. Pierre - Hughes 4. I think that a Serra - St. Pierre "rubber" match in New Jersey or maybe even New York (if MMA is legalized there) would be much more tantalizing for the management of the UFC.

Source: MMA Madness

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