(Courtesy of UFC)

Matt Hughes won his first UFC welterweight championship in one of the most controversial title fight finishes in UFC history. Hughes took the belt from Carlos Newton in a bout filled with slams and takedowns, but it was a finish shrouded in the cloud of controversy that signaled UFC gold changing hands.

Hughes took Newton to the canvas several times in the UFC 34 co-main event bout on Nov. 2, 2001, in Las Vegas. As the second round got underway, Hughes again put Newton on his back, but this time, Newton threw his legs up around Hughes’ neck, attempting a triangle choke.

Not one to give in, Hughes used his tremendous strength to lift Newton up off the canvas and carried him over to the Octagon fencing. Hughes stood there for a few moments, Newton with his back to the fence and Hughes holding him up in the air. 

A short time later, the two went crashing to the canvas. It was immediately clear that Newton was out cold, unconscious on the Octagon floor. Looking at the replay, however, Hughes also appeared bleary eyed and unaware.

When the dust settled, it was ruled that Hughes had won the bout via knockout, as it took some time for Newton to wake up from the slam. Did Hughes pass out from the triangle choke, thus dropping Newton to the canvas because he was already out? Or did Hughes get dazed as he slammed Newton down to claim the UFC welterweight title? 

TRENDING Country Boy Can Survive: The Story of Matt Hughes’ Fight for Survival (video)

Regardless of how the situation unfolded, Hughes was the fighter to walk out of the Octagon with gold around his waist, avenging coach and teammate Pat Miletich’s loss to Newton at UFC 31. Much of the controversy was erased when Hughes finished Newton in a flurry of ground and pound in their rematch at UFC 38 on July 13, 2002, in London.

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/matt-hughes-vs-carlos-newton-ufc-34-full-fight-video

(Courtesy of UFC)

The UFC celebrated its 25-year anniversary with a series of poignant short documentaries, collectively titled 25 Years in Short. Perhaps none of the movies were more cutting and moving than the story of UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes and his struggle to survive a horrific accident.

Hughes was involved in a tragic accident in June of 2017 when the pickup he was driving was hit by a train. Though he teetered on the edge of death, Hughes somehow won the biggest fight of his life, and has slowly been working on his recovery.

“Country Boy Can Survive: The Story of Matt Hughes’ Fight for Survival” is the raw, emotional recounting of the struggle of Hughes and his family from the time that Hughes was still fighting until the accident and then his recovery. 

Hughes has appeared at a few UFC events and functions since the accident and the filming of the documentary. He still struggles to move and talk as he did prior to the accident, but it has still been a miraculous comeback from the brink of death, merely to survive. It very much mirrored many of the more memorable fights in his career, particularly his momentum shifts against Carlos Newton and Frank Trigg. 

The documentary is a good reflection of Hughes’ deep-seeded ability to never quit. He constantly had to fight throughout his career, as he did after the accident. It took his ability to never quit to help him survive the true life-and-death struggle of the accident.

TRENDING Watch Matt Hughes land the ultimate slam on Carlos Newton at UFC 34 (full fight video)

Unfortunately, Hughes’ story doesn’t yet have the fairy-tail ending that was hoped for in the documentary. Less than two years after the accident, Hughes’ relationship with his wife devolved and he eventually filed for divorce in February of 2019.

Hughes finished his career with an overall MMA record of 45-9 and still has many UFC records to his credit. He has twice been inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, once into the Pioneer Wing and a second time for his epic second fight with Frank Trigg at UFC 52.

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/country-boy-can-survive-the-story-of-matt-hughes-fight-for-survival-video

UFC middleweight contender Yoel Romero received a massive financial award in a lawsuit he filed against a supplement company following a failed drug test back in 2015.

Romero filed the lawsuit against Gold Star Performance, a New Jersey based company and according to his manager Abraham Kawa the courts awarded him $27.45 million in damages on Tuesday after taking a supplement that was tainted with a banned substance.

The lawsuit was uncontested by the supplement company, who failed to answer to the court or make an appearance to defend themselves.

According to Romero’s manager, the 42-year old former Olympic silver medalist was awarded approximately $3 million in lost wages, $3 million in reputable harm and another $3 million for emotional damage. The penalties were then tripled as part of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, which brought the total settlement to more than $27 million in damages.

“We feel justified,” Kawa said in a statement on Tuesday following the hearing. “Yoel, even if no money is made, would’ve been happy with a ruling that exonerates him. The award was icing no the cake.”

He looked me in the eyes and said “ Ibra! I don’t do nothing! “ I told him I’d fight with him all the way through. Today we won and we won big, sure $27.45mil is a lot of money and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t. That was not what we expected going into this thing but as I told @yoelromeromma after, God is always good and always on time! So we stopped and he got himself a watch before we headed back home #frm

A post shared by Abe Kawa (@abrahamkawa) on May 28, 2019 at 3:23pm PDT

Romero and his team filed the lawsuit after he received a six month suspension from USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) after failing a drug test in 2015 for the banned substance Iburtamoren.

USADA ultimately handed down a reduced sentence after it was discovered that Romero was a victim of a tainted supplement that contained the banned substance but was not listed on the product’s ingredient’s label.

While the massive award was handed down on Tuesday it remains to be seen just how much of that $27.45 million settlement will actually end up in Romero’s bank account.

The crippling financial verdict could force Gold Star Performance to file for bankruptcy, which means Romero could end up receiving some kind of money in the settlement but it remains unclear if he’ll actually get the full $27.45 million in damages.

According to Kawa, Romero wanted to clear his name more than anything else and prove that he never knowingly cheated and the results of the lawsuit helped to prove his case in court.

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/yoel-romero-awarded-more-than-27-million-in-damages-in-lawsuit-filed-against-supplement-company

Though details on UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber’s return to the Octagon are still scarce, Faber did confirm over the weekend that he is returning and has added the name of his comeback opponent. Faber told UFC veteran and commentator Dan Hardy that he would be facing Ricky Simon in his comeback fight.

Faber posted on social media mid-March, teasing that he was interested in a UFC return bout to help keep him feeling young. The post sounded somewhat serious, but it was unclear if he truly intended to return to fighting following a two-and-a-half-year retirement that included induction into the UFC Hall of Fame.

Turns out, Faber was serious and has already inked a deal for his UFC return bout. “I just accepted a fight yesterday, I don’t know if that’s supposed to be put out yet,” Faber told Hardy over the weekend, while in England for a grappling bout with Nicky Ryan, which he lost.

Faber hasn’t confirmed the date or location – although it is highly likely that he’ll return at UFC on ESPN+ 13 on July 13 in his hometown of Sacramento, Calif. – and was initially hesitant to unveil his opponent in an initial video interview with Hardy. In a subsequent video posted by Hardy, Faber revealed that he would be facing Simon and detailed his initial thoughts for a return opponent and how that led to Simon.

“I was gonna fight Kron (Gracie) and Kron said no, as the main event at 145. Then I was pitching Cub (Swanson). (Matchmaker Sean Shelby) said no because (Swanson) is on a four-fight losing streak and didn’t do anything for the division,” Faber recounted.

“Then they said Ricky Simon wants it. So I said alright. There’s so many guys out in the division. I took some time off, started a family, which is one of the reasons why I stopped. I felt like I needed to slow down in order to progress.”

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Though Simon isn’t one of the men battling for a title shot just yet, he has been impressive in his three UFC starts in the bantamweight division. He holds victories over the likes of Merab Dvalishvili, Montel Jackson, and Rani Yahya. A win over the likes of Faber would certainly make his case for inclusion in the UFC bantamweight rankings. 

With Faber having been out of mixed martial arts competition for two and a half years, Simon should prove to be a good barometer for him to determine where his skill level is at and whether or not he wants to commit to making another run at a UFC championship.

Urijah Faber reveals UFC comeback opponent to Dan Hardy

(Courtesy of Full Reptile)

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/urijah-faber-unveils-ufc-comeback-opponent

Jessica Andrade is so proud of her UFC strawweight championship belt that she didn’t want to distract from its shine with anything, not even clothes.

Andrade posted a picture of herself, apparently fully nude, with nothing but the UFC championship belt draped over her shoulder and carefully placed. The caption accompanying the photo translates to “just a basic picture for a Monday.”

Andrade captured the UFC starwweight title on May 11 at UFC 237 in Rio de Janeiro. Though Rose Namajunas was looking good early in the fight, looking to defend the belt, Andrade scooped her up and slammed her to the canvas in the second round, knocking her out at the 2:58 mark. The bout earned her the Performance of the Night and Fight of the Night.

The victory was Andrade’s fourth consecutive win. Her lone defeat in her last eight bouts was to former women’s strawweight queen Joanna Jedrzejczyk. 

Andrade’s first title defense has yet to be scheduled. Jedrzejczyk has lost three of her last four fights, so she might not get the quick trip to the front of the line despite her past victory over Andrade. The new champ has, however, said that she would entertain an immediate rematch with Namajunas, who has yet to decide whether or not she will continue fighting.

Uma fotinha bem básica para segunda! ? . . . . #agoraétudomeu #campeã #love #corpoperfeito #prvt #prvtgirls #top #cinturão #ufc #ufc234 #luta #mma #wmma

A post shared by Jessica Andrade “Bate Estaca” (@jessicammapro) on May 27, 2019 at 10:10am PDT

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/ufc-champ-jessica-andrade-posts-nude-photo-wearing-nothing-but-championship-belt