UFC 117 Preview: The Main Card

Matt Hughes vs. Ricardo Almeida

The generational clash in MMA is a narrative that went dormant with the universal acceptance of cross-training. However, some of the original “modern mixed martial artists” are still hanging around the sport. Few are as visible as former two-time UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes.

Being a face of the UFC and being a contender in the UFC are two very different things, though, and Hughes’ bout with Almeida is the final referendum on which category he falls into. If his bout with Renzo Gracie at UFC 112 was any indication, Hughes is simply nowhere near the fighter he once was.

It was flat-out jarring to see Hughes fail on every one of his takedown attempts against Gracie and then resort to slow-motion leg kicks for an uninspired win. A sight made all the more jarring by the fact that Gracie hadn’t fought in three years and was clearly unprepared to rejoin the fistic fray. Given Hughes’ struggles with what should have been an easy opponent, it makes his chances against a legitimate welterweight seem bleak at best.

Almeida poses a great many problems for Hughes, the most obvious of which being his vaunted Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills. A legitimate world-class submission wrestler, Almeida has a decent shot and just enough transitional skills to consistently gain top control -- a nightmare scenario for Hughes, who has never been much off his back. Although Hughes was once nearly impossible to take down, the new reality is that he got real old real fast in the time between his fights with Matt Serra and Renzo Gracie.

The possibility of any stand-up exchanges taking place is mitigated by Almeida’s constant onslaught of takedown attempts. Even if Hughes can stuff a few of those shots, he is far too flat-footed and immobile to consistently avoid leg attacks. Whatever stand-up does take place will be at Almeida’s discretion, and it won’t favor Hughes anyway, as he simply isn’t the same kind of athlete he used to be.

Truthfully, there really isn’t much to break down about this fight. Almeida is a quality welterweight contender and, regardless of whether or not the UFC realizes it, an all-too predictable first-round submission loss awaits Hughes. Here’s hoping a graceful exit from the sport he helped build isn’t too far behind it.