UFC Discussion

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is coming to Canada with current welterweight champion Georges St Pierre taking on former champion Matt Hughes in Montreal on April 7.

UFC president Dana White confirmed the UFC's Canadian debut in speaking to reporters Tuesday on the eve of the Ultimate Fight Night card Wednesday (8 p.m.) on a U.S. military base.

St. Pierre stripped Hughes of his 170-pound belt in dominant fashion Nov. 18 in Sacramento, scoring a second-round technical knockout to avenge a submission loss to the American in October 2004.

The 25-year-old from Montreal is set to make his first title defence in Las Vegas on Feb. 3 against Matt Serra, the winner of Season 4 of The Ultimate Fighter reality TV show.

Making the St. Pierre-Hughes rubber match in Montreal the UFC's first show in Canada is a no-brainer for the mixed martial arts circuit. St. Pierre will draw fans to the Bell Centre while Hughes is a ready-made villain, certain to help pump up the fight. 

The former champion did his bit to muddy Canada-U.S. relations prior to UFC 65: Bad Intentions in Sacramento when he sneered at Canada's foreign policies and questioned Canadians' hearts. St. Pierre also was upset at remarks Hughes reportedly made on a Los Angeles radio station about the French's lack of warrior spirit.

"How fun is that going to be," White said mischievously Tuesday of the Montreal fight. "How crazy do you that place going to be that night? How do you think it's going to be for Hughes when he walks in with 16,000 Canadians in there? They're going to kill him."
The anti-Hughes vibe will probably only serve as fuel to the former champion's fire. Hughes is a canny veteran fighter who has plenty to prove after being dismantled by St. Pierre.

Montreal, meanwhile, has already proved to be fertile ground for MMA via the TKO shows run by St. Pierre's manager Stephane Patry.
St. Pierre is already enjoying the perks of being a champion. The UFC gave him a Hummer for winning the title, no doubt a welcome but somewhat awkward gift for someone who had just splurged on a Nissan truck.

Next week, he and several other UFC big-name fighters are touring three U.S. three military sites.

"He's amazing. He's such a great champion for us," White said. "He's good-looking, he's in great shape, he's one of the nicest human beings you could ever meet. . . . Everybody loves Georges St Pierre."

White also hopes to have Canada host an Ultimate Fight Night televised card next year.


Source: Canada.com via MMAUniverse.com

Hughes has to forget about using his stand up it barely worked against Penn and sure did not work against the far superior St-Pierre, so in my eyes he has to go back to his routes of taking GSP down sap out his energy and G-n-P for the stoppage.

Hughes should have a rematch with Penn 1st. Its not fair that his next fight will be for the title again.

i agree, not just because they just recently fought but because its not good for matt.... why does the ufc bump off the next fighter in line to fight for the title for the former champion.... the fight wasnt even close for hughes to challenge gsp again.  matt should have a couple of fights before facing gsp again because if he loses back to back fights than it would just hurt his image in the publics eyes.  look at what happen to andre arlovski and ken shamrock when they fought the same opponent back to back. it only takes away from them. yeah there still great fighter, dont get me wrong but back to back loses makes anyone in any sport look bad. matt should have a couple of fights, build up his confidence and game for him and the fans, than fight gsp again. that will just make it that much bigger of a fight.

Hughes should have a rematch with Penn 1st. Its not fair that his next fight will be for the title again.

Penn came off a defeat to fight Hughes when they could have put Sanchez in there for the title but its what will sell tickets and i for 1 would much rather see GSP vs Hughes 3 then someone like sanchez or Riggs or Parizian for the title. So what if Matt Hughes loses again he will be retiring soon having back to back loses against Liddell did not dent his image 1 bit as everyone knows Liddell is the best in the world and if Hughes loses to GSP then we all know GSP is the best 170 pounder in the world.

To say Matt does not deserve a re-match is harsh after holding the belt and beating everyone for so long, i think the ufc owe it to him to give him a title shot as who else in the division is gonna give him a decent fight? bare GSP.

no doubt hughes deserves a shot, he was the champ for a long time defeating everyone in the welterweight division...  but i would like to see Hughes fight some one else (Sanchez) before the big Hughes vs GSP 3 fight...when GSP lost to Hughes he went on a rampage defeating every one else that wanted a shot at hughes. Hughes has nothing to prove but I think it would be better...