Hughes-Serra: Bring the WD-40, There May Be Some Ring Rust Here

Hughes-Serra is a battle that has been brewing for over a year and a half. This could be the biggest grudge match in UFC history.

Hughes and Serra have all the hatred needed to promote a big fight, but the concern for me isn’t the anger, it’s the time between fights for both of them.

It will be a year since either of the two have fought, and they are both coming off of big losses. Matt Hughes lost by TKO to Thiago Alves, defeated at the one minute mark of the second round. In this fight he suffered a torn MCL and partially torn PCL.

Matt Serra’s last fight was a devastating loss to George St. Pierre. He lost in the second round and was unable to generate any kind of offense in the first or second round.

In the fight, George St Pierre took Serra down and pummeled him, showing that Matt Serra’s ground game may not be as good as we thought.

With both fighters coming off of huge losses and having a year between their last fights, you have to be concerned about the physical condition of both fighters. Conditioning is always a concern for fighters, even the ones who fight every few months. Imagine how hard it will for these two taking a year off.

What about ring rust? Taking so much time away from fighting will generate some technique rust. This may not have so much of an impact on Hughes, after all Hughes is one fight shy of 50 for his career.

Serra on the other hand, hadn’t really gotten back into a groove before his loss to St. Pierre. As a champion he only had one fight, and it was a loss.

The concern for Hughes would have to be how his injuries have healed. Any athlete who suffers a torn MCL, or any other knee injury for that matter, wonders how it will hold up in true competition. Hughes is 35-years-old and after 49 fights, the torn MCL may be a sign that the years are catching up to him.

Regardless of the condition of the two fighters, I think (hope) that these guys put on a good show. When two guys dislike each other like these two, you have got that potential for a slug-fest.

I’m putting my money on Hughes, since Serra hasn’t proven himself to me yet, but hopefully there will be no ring rust for either of the two fighters.