Matt Hughes inducted into UFC Hall of Fame at 2010 Fan Expo (original) (raw)

It was surely just a matter of time.

Former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes (44-7) has officially joined Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, Mark Coleman, Ken Shamrock, Dan Severn, and Charles "Mask" Lewis in the UFC Hall of Fame.

"Country Breakfast" was inducted during the UFC 2010 Fan Expo on May 28.

In addition to multiple appearances on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), Hughes is perhaps best known for his run as 170-pound champion over the past decade, with memorable wars against Georges St. Pierre, Frank Trigg and BJ Penn.

From Hughes, courtesy of UFC.com:

"I just never thought about it, to be honest, so yeah, it came out of the blue.I really thought a lot about it the first couple of days after Dana told me, and I really didn't know what to think about it. I've always been the type of guy who thought that somebody who gets inducted into the Hall of Fame needs to be a retired individual. That's just my train of thought. But I'm very privileged and I thank the UFC. I took this up as just a hobby, something to occupy my time and to vent some aggressiveness and be competitive. I never thought that I would be in the position that I'm in today. Shaking hands, signing autographs, being a world title holder and being inducted into the Hall of Fame, this is beyond what I ever would have pictured my life being."

For the record Matt Hughes has:

• 44 pro wins
• 17 UFC wins (most all-time)
• 2 welterweight championship reigns
• 7 successful title defenses (most ever)
• 9 championship fight wins (tied with Randy Couture for most ever)
• 5 knockout wins in championship fights (tied with Couture and Chuck Liddell for most ever)
• 5 successful consecutive welterweight title defenses (1st all-time)
• 12 welterweight championship fights (1st all-time)
• 27 welterweight championship rounds fought (tied for 1st all-time with Georges St-Pierre)
• 3 submission wins in welterweight championship fights (1st all-time)
• 6 former or current UFC champions defeated by Hughes (St-Pierre, Serra, BJ Penn, Dave Menne, Sean Sherk, Carlos Newton)

Congratulations to Matt Hughes.