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November 25, 2007

Serra out, St. Pierre in for UFC 79

Who says news slows down during the holidays?

It certainly hasn't this Thanksgiving weekend for UFC. The promotion informed fans on UFC.com on Friday that Matt Serra had injured his back last week and would not be able to defend his welterweight title against Matt Hughes at UFC 79.

Just when I thought the mega-card had taken a mega-hit, UFC announced yesterday on its Web site that Georges St. Pierre will step in to fight Hughes for the interim title at UFC 79. The winner of that fight faces Serra sometime next year for the undisputed title.

While I'm not sure exactly what the interim title truly signifies, I do know that this will be a great fight. I was looking forward to Serra-Hughes, but St. Pierre-Hughes is pretty special, too. The fight pits the two previous champs in the weight class and represents the rubber match in their trilogy. With five weeks still remaining before the bout, the main question is: Will this be enough time for St. Pierre to train and get ready for the fight?

At the very least St. Pierre has the benefit of having fought Hughes twice before and Hughes himself will also have to rethink his game plan, since St. Pierre is a very different fighter from Serra.

If St. Pierre wins -- which sets up St. Pierre-Serra II -- I hope Serra and Hughes get an opportunity to fight each other sometime in 2008. The animosity that has been building up between the two deserves a decisive resolution inside the Octagon.

Along with the announced dream match between Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva as well as the introduction of Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou to UFC fans (in a bout against Lyoto Machida), the St. Pierre-Hughes match maintains the mega-status of the card. After a couple of harrowing days, fans can exhale, knowing the integrity of this card has not been affected by the recent developments.

Posted by at 10:54 AM | | Comments (7)
        

Comments

This is crap! It's good for the fans and all, cause they will still get a good fight... but GSP and Hughes both deserve a title fight instead of having to fight each other before moving onto "Sarah". If you ask me, Serra is getting such a lucky break.

I have been ritually watching tuf this season, enjoying serra's antics week to week. I am sure at mandalay, there would have been chaos in the stands, between the serra lovers and haters, the long island mma nuts and the midwest farm boys. it is a bit of a letdown, as i can't get as hyped up about the usa vs canada rivalry.

I was so eager to watch Serra and Hughes go at each other in the Octagon! I used to love Hughes so much, 'cause I've always thought of him as a great fighter, amazing wrestling skills and crazy conditioning and strenght. But after watching UFC Season 6, I realized that Hughes is a d!ck. He has no faith in his fighters, he has no desire of making them better, he doesn't support them, he can even stand looking at 'em once they've lost a fight; it seems to me like he's only interested in breaking their fighting spirit.

Serra on the other hand, everybody loves him! His team loves him, and even the fighters in Hughes team love him. That's what differentiates born leaders in my opinion.

I do feel however that it's not fair for George St. Pierre to be stuck with a fight that it's not a title shot; I really think he deserves it.

After hearing the news about Serra and then to hear that GSP will be entering the Octagon w/Hughes for another chance @ belt, I was beside myself!! There is not a doubt in my mind that St. Pierre is now ready 100% for this shot! He has been training all along, commited, determined and extremely focused. He learned what lesson he had to when loosing to Serra, (a fluke) and now he is more than ready to take the Welterweight Belt and wear it for a long, long time.. This will be a fight you won't want to miss!!!

This is dissapointing because of the animosity serra and hughes have against each other, but I personally don't think he's gonna beat GSP and that is going to put him back at the pack again. I hope he retires after this. I used to love the guy but he has become an arrogant dick. I think after this loss to GSP he's going to seriously consider getting the heck out of there, but I would like to see serra kick his ass to. That would be sweet. Hughes is simply not as a good of fighter as GSP and definitely not as quick and dynamic. I'm pumped.

I'm not exactly sure if Slavco and I were watching the same show or not, but I think if anyone acted like a "D!ck" on the show it was Serra!!!! Hughes might not like to lose (I agree) however he NEVER abandoned any of his team during a fight. He in fact coached Serra's guys with no problems whatsoever. Serra hung his guys out to dry, and whined like a little girl wanting sympathy for himself when it was his fighters who suffered. I don't think you can fault a fighter/coach (Hughes) for not being there to make friends. He was there to do a job, and he obviously did that well, considering his fighters were in the finale.

When it comes to UFC 79, I agree that although it's a disappointment that Serra isn't fighting, it should prove to be quite the fight. GO HUGHES!!!!!!! This is your stepping stone to kicking Serra's A$$ in the spring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Very nice post with the topic of ultimate fighting championship and of course I also do not think like news slows down during the holidays? I would like to say about to watch ufc online has ever been an entertainment.

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About the blogger
Kevin Richardson has been a fan of mixed martial arts competition ever since UFC 3, when 600-pound sumo wrestler Emmanuel Yarborough was beaten by Keith Hackney. Kevin will cover the world of MMA — in Baltimore, nationally and internationally. He plans to take readers into the locker rooms and MMA schools, where they'll hear from local fighters and trainers. If you have a news tip or suggestions for the blog, please e-mail him.

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