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With yesterday’s news that UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Serra has had to withdraw from his December 29th title bout vs Matt Hughes, the UFC’s Welterweight title and rankings picture is in complete disarray. History has proven that matchmaking in prize fighting never pans out the way it should, what’s truly disturbing about this current scenario are the circumstances behind the parties involved.
First off, we will have to wait until next week to surmise the length of time Serra will miss due to the herniated discs he has suffered during a normal training session. If it’s only a few weeks, then all of the drama surrounding this scenario will be rectified by mid 2008. Based on historical reference regarding other athletes who have suffered the same type of injury, it may not surprise many people that Serra could be out for a minimum of 5-6 months. This will mean the UFC WW championship belt will not grace the octagon in over a year, since changing championship ownership in April of this year.
The second issue in this scenario is Matt Hughes. While the scheduled date of this bout is still about 5 weeks away, Hughes most likely has already commenced his preparation to challenge for the title and could still continue his training for another opponent. This is more than enough time for Hughes to mentally (and physically) prepare a strategy for another fighter. The question here is whether Hughes is willing to still fight on this UFC 79 card and if so, vs who? Looking at it from Hughes’ perspective, he runs the risk of losing, thus removing his name from the title picture. If he does accept to fight somebody else, the names being bandied about as potential opponents are Jon Fitch, Thiago Alves, Josh Koscheck and Diego Sanchez.
Due to personal obligations, Fitch has already stated he will not be in the country and thus will be unable to fight in December. Sanchez is looking to drop down to lightweight, so he is potentially out of the picture as well. Koscheck is coming off a loss but should welcome the opportunity to fight Hughes. A win over Hughes would quickly move him up the welterweight rankings wihile Alves, (who is coming off ‘Fight of the Night’ accolades vs Chris Lytle during last Satruday’s show) is a potential name who no doubt would take this fight in a heartbeat.
The other person in all of his is former UFC WW champion, Canadian Georges St.Pierre. After his last fight (a victory over Koschek) St.Pierre was promised that his next bout would be a title shot vs the winner of Matt Serra vs Matt Hughes. That fight would have taken place in March or April of 2008 and was scheduled to take place at the Bell Centre in St.Pierre’s hometown of Montreal, Quebec. Will he be willing to fight Hughes on December 29th and run the risk of losing his own shot at title redemption vs Matt Serra, the man who defeated him for the belt? There are those saying that Hughes vs GSP III should happen and to make it for an interm title. I don’t buy it and I don’t want to see it unless it’s for a real title.
The questions continue to swirl regarding this scenario and the next few days will be pivotal in mapping out the future of this jam packed division. Will Matt Hughes still fight on December 29th? Who will his opponent be? What is the severity of Matt Serra’s injury and how long will he be out for? Is Georges St.Pierre going to have to wait even longer than projected to get a shot at the title he lost last April? Stay tuned fight fans, it’s going to be an interesting week to say the least.
