MATT HUGHES COMPLETELY UNAPOLOGETIC ABOUT TUF 6 AND THINKS SERRA IS THE GUY WHO LOOKED LIKE THE HEEL
I went at Hughes pretty strongly. I repeatedly ask him how he felt about coming off as a jerk on TUF6. He apologizes for nothing. The guy is consistent.
“To be real honest, if people don’t like me that’s fine. I can live with that.”
“They’re on the show for a reason,” said Hughes.”They’re on because they don’t know what it takes to be a champion. Do a lot of people like the hard work ethic? No. It’s human nature to take the easy way out. Even I know that. I’m a nine-time world champion and I still need coaches pushing me.”
He also said his opinion of Matt Serra is worse after watching the show.
“I definitely know who he is now. I didn’t know he was such a bad guy,” said Hughes. “Is he somebody that you’re going to let your kids watch? I just think he’s a bad role model. I want my kids to look at me. Do what I do, say what I say. I don’t think Matt Serra can do that with his kids.”
I couldn’t tell if Hughes was blowing smoke about Serra and his injury. Hughes said flippantly that Serra may be out for a long time because of the severity of the injury. Is that the reason they came up with the “interim” title deal?
I give Hughes a lot of credit. He easily could’ve snapped on me but he handled criticism professionally.
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Mr. Sunshine 
December 7, 2007 at 9:04 am
Fantastic interview. I like how you get on Matt for seeming like a total douche and stating you opinion all without pissing him off. I get that the editing can change the way a guy comes off, but not THAT much.
December 7, 2007 at 3:51 pm
[…] Matt Hughes […]
December 7, 2007 at 7:13 pm
I thought you were a little hard on Hughes. The situation with Paul Georgieff is a case in point. A brief camera shot showing Hughes walking around after that fight doesn’t mean that he didn’t try to comfort Georgieff. You were picking at straws there. It seemed like you went out of your way to provoke Hughes and reinforce the “dick” stereotype.
The bottom line is that Serra badmouthed Hughes ever since the Serra/GSP fight, and Hughes showed considerable restraint in not responding to it. He really did “turn the other cheek”. Serra is a complete asshole and a punk for taking advantage of that fact. Then Serra turns around and gets hurt. It doesn’t really matter whether he’s that badly hurt or not. The fact that he talked that much crap, and then couldn’t train properly and keep himself together enough (to avoid injuring the back) to make it to UFC 79 makes Serra look like a complete farce. Everyone I know thinks the same way, and we’re not from a rural farm community.
December 7, 2007 at 7:26 pm
Wow, a comment from someone who is not a small town hick. To the sophisticate writer, Do you mean to tell the world that a high class coach has a right to berate his fighters when they lose “for making HIM look bad”; hurt his fighters before they fight ( Barera-hand, J-Rock -rib, Bowman-rib); slap them in the face for NOT showing enough emotion (most wrestlers want to appear to be stoic warriors and not cry-baby sissy boys). What a marvelous coach! All big city sophisticates should train with such an elitist coach with such depth and understanding!
December 8, 2007 at 12:51 pm
[…] Matt Hughes was a guest on Steve Cofield’s sports talk show in Las Vegas on Fox Sports Radio 1… the other day and discussed his experience on this past season of The Ultimate Fighter. […]
December 8, 2007 at 2:24 pm
[…] Steve Cofield (Audio): Matt Hughes interview […]
December 8, 2007 at 4:04 pm
[…] Steve Cofield recently interviewed Matt Hughes on his sports talk show in Las Vegas (Fox Sports Radio 1460). Click below to listen. […]
December 9, 2007 at 1:24 am
Hughes is such a douch-bag. Go back to your farm, you cocky, corn planting, tobacco harvesting, tractor driving red neck hillbilly!
December 9, 2007 at 3:56 am
Responding to Fred….
You thought I was too hard? Maybe so.
Bottomline, I think the show accomplished its goal. People are on one side or the other. I don’t think you have to a be hick to back Hughes. I never said that. I also stated multiple times during the interview that TV can create whatever it wants in terms of image. They made Ortiz look like a saint and Shamrock like a putz. Is that reality?
I’ve been around Matt at many of these events. Interviewed him plenty of times. The guy is consistent and has a style that he sticks too. You have to respect that.
I will say I’ve heard him rip and insult other fighters in the past just like Serra. Don’t forget he’s the guy who insulted many Canadians before the 2nd St. Pierre fight…saying Canadians don’t have a fighting spirit.
He can say what he wants. That’s fine. Maybe the way Hughes he does it is easier for you to digest versus the way Serra does it.
December 9, 2007 at 5:56 am
The way Tuf 6 was edited could be responsible for giving the wrong impression of either Hughes or Serra, but the body language of the two coaches didn’t lie. On the shots taken of Matt Hughes after one of his fighters lost, his face was always red, his fists were clenched when at his sides, or his arms tightly crossed and hugged to his chest, his jaw clenched. . .this spelled anger. The way he stated he should walk off the show and then did walk out and slam the door and the way he man handled his fighters (bloodying Dorian,s mouth and laughing as Dorian said “I love to taste my blood; it’s like kool-aid to me”) and the way he showed Barrera not to pick on his teammates by beating him senseless and hurting his hand were also cases of actions speaking volumes about his state of mind and, I believe , lack of Christian tolerance of those not like himself.
Serra on the other hand was relaxed with his fighters and went out of his way to try to understand where they were coming from (i.e. War Machineand later Matt Arroyo re his rib injury). Serra actually would have ended up better win wise if he had not listened to his team’s opinion and had put Mac against Tommy–I believe even Hughes mentioned this. But my point is that he not only listened, gave feedback, and let them make decisions that he could have overridden, he even went so far as comforting Hughes fighters after their loses when he certainly didn’t have to do so. Even though when Serra walked into the Hughes teams’ room after Saunders beat Barrera to tell Ben what a great fight it was, you could tell how tense Hughes’ guys were, but I didn’t see that they doubted Serra’s empathy or sincerety at all
These are all reasons on which I based my opinion .
December 9, 2007 at 5:59 am
What’s with the shot at Farmers. If you don’t like Hughes, fine, but don’t put down the people that feed YOU every day!!!
Matt has twice the character that people like you and your loud mouthed buddy Serra does. When Serra gets over his boo boo, Hughes is gonna show the world what a fraud he is.