Sport category: Fighters Breakdown Matt Hughes vs Joe Riggs
Date: 09-11-2005 15:12
When Karo Parisyan went down with an injury earlier this month, Joe “Diesel” Riggs got the call to take on UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes at UFC 56 – Full Force, which will be telecast live on pay-per-view from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Saturday, November 19th. Riggs didn’t hesitate to take the fight. Does he know something we don’t? Let’s breakdown Hughes vs Riggs…
Matt Hughes – UFC Welterweight Champion
Strengths –Hughes’ biggest strength is his strength. Freakishly strong, if Hughes gets a solid grip on you, you’ve got one of two options – hope for the best or, well, hope for the best. And usually, even hoping won’t get it done. Whether Hughes decides to slam you or just take you down to the mat and hold you there, all of a sudden your lofty game plans have now gone out the window. And once on the mat, Hughes’ strikes – whether they’re punches, elbows, or forearms - are devastating. Hughes is a well-conditioned machine, and when you run into him, you’re in a whole other world. Add in his world-class wrestling, and submission skills that have seen him tap out Frank Trigg (twice) and Georges St. Pierre, and Hughes - who has only lost once in the last four years and four times since his debut in 1998 – is undoubtedly one of the best fighters in the world, pound for pound.
Weaknesses – WhileHughes can definitely get you to tap out, he’s proven to be susceptible to lapses in concentration that have seen him get submitted twice by Dennis Hallman and once by BJ Penn. So basically, at this point in the welterweight champion’s career, it looks like the only one who can beat him is himself. And while the Illinois native can punch hard enough to gain respect, his preference is to keep the fight on the ground, leaving his traditional boxing game somewhat lacking.
Notable Win – TKO 4 Hayato “Mach” Sakurai (March 22, 2002) –Hughes has a laundry list of impressive wins over top flight opponents (Trigg and Carlos Newton twice each, Sean Sherk, St. Pierre), but I don’t think he was ever better than when he pounded out a four round stoppage win over Japan’s Sakurai at UFC 36. Sakurai, who was making his UFC debut, was expected by some to beat Hughes, and by others to at least give him some shaky moments, but neither scenario played out. Hughes put on a ground and pound clinic on “Mach”, and if there were any doubts about Hughes’ pedigree (remember, he came into the bout with only a 3-1 record, and many believed he got lucky when he beat Newton for the title), they were erased that night.
Notable Loss – LSub1 BJ Penn (January 31, 2004) – Penn lived up to his ‘Prodigy’ tag on this winter night in Las Vegas, stunning Hughes and the mixed martial arts world with a dominating first round win. It was the one loss on Hughes’ record that could undoubtedly be chalked up to just being beaten by the better fighter that night, as Penn was unstoppable wherever the fight traveled.
Keys to Victory – Defense wins championships; it also keeps them, so Hughes has to be mindful of Riggs’ heavy hands. Once inside Riggs’ optimum punching range, it becomes all gravy as Hughes will look to take Riggs down and pound him out. But because of Riggs’ speed, proper technique becomes all the more valuable when it comes to cutting down the angles and getting within grappling range.
Intangibles – Like Franklin, has the sudden spike (pardon the pun) in Hughes’ notoriety due to the success of the second season of The Ultimate Fighter reality show gone to his head and made Hughes less dedicated to the rigors of training? Is he taking Riggs, a late replacement due to an injury to Karo Parisyan, lightly? What happens if one of Riggs’ bombs land on the chin? Have years of dominance (with the one hiccup against Penn) made Hughes complacent?
Joe “Diesel” Riggs
Strengths – The “Diesel” nickname is appropriate, because when Riggs hits you, it feels like a truck ran you over. Dropping from 300 pounds to 170 and still carrying heavyweight power is a beautiful thing, and Riggs has the type of heavy hands that can change the complexion of a fight with one swing. Riggs will also enter the Octagon against Hughes with a solid ground and pound game, some submission skills and a significant height advantage of 6-0 to Hughes’ 5-9. This will allow Riggs – in a best-case scenario – to keep Hughes on the end of his punches and make him pay on any attempt by the champ to shoot in on him. Add in quick hands and a solid chin to the mix, and Riggs is a dangerous man.
Weaknesses – Riggs is strong, but in Hughes he may be facing the strongest man in the game. And once Hughes gets him down, it may be over. Riggs has been brought down by quality ground men Joe Doerksen and Ivan Salaverry – no shame there – but he has also hit the deck courtesy of fellow striker Chris Lytle in his most recent win at UFC 55. If his takedown defense is not 100% on point, it’s going to be a long night for the Arizona native. Plus, taking on Matt Hughes in your second fight at 170 pounds isn’t the optimal situation for any fighter. Sure, it’s admirable to see a guy step up and take a challenge like this, but is it the wisest course of action?
Notable Win – TKO 2 Chris Lytle (October 7, 2005) – Not much to gauge Riggs by at welterweight, so we have to just look at his lone UFC win at 170, where he was impressive in taking apart Lytle, who had never been stopped before in MMA. What was notable was not only Riggs’ success from the top, which left Lytle wobbly at the end of the opening round, but his ability to fight from his back in the second round, where he was dangerously effective with his elbows. If and when Hughes puts him on the mat, Riggs can take solace in the fact that he can still turn the fight around from the bottom.
Notable Loss – LSub1 Ivan Salaverry (April 16, 2005) – This loss to the always-slick Salaverry proved that when a veteran gets in the ring with an aggressive, young foe, it only takes a split second of lost focus to send the youngster to defeat. Riggs’ aggression proved to be his downfall against Salaverry, something he will have to avoid if he is to beat Hughes.
Keys to Victory – Riggs is only 23, Hughes is 32. Riggs has to make Hughes feel 42. The only way to do that is to come into the Octagon in optimum shape (something Billy Rush has got covered), and force Hughes to work. That means using his quick hands and feet, using the whole cage, and making Hughes pay every time he shoots. The odds are strongly against Riggs winning this one on the ground unless he can rock Hughes with a haymaker first and then jump in for the kill, so his takedown defense has to be perfect. Riggs also has to keep his cool and not get taken in by Hughes’ experience in championship fights. “Diesel” has 25 minutes to win the title; he doesn’t have to fire all his guns in the first five minutes.
Intangibles – Is a little under three weeks enough time to get ready for a title shot against one of the best fighters in the world? How will losing Jeremy Horn from his training team affect Riggs? Is his power truly for real at 170? Can he avoid Hughes’ takedowns? Can anyone?
Final Breakdown – Matt Hughes is as sure a bet as there is in this game – his record against the best in the UFC proves that. But Joe Riggs is a brash, young fighter who isn’t about to be taken in by stats or past history. He’s got the attitude that this is his time, and if he didn’t believe in himself, he wouldn’t have taken the fight. Now it just comes down to execution and fighting the perfect fight – for both men. If Hughes slacks up on his standup defense or gets reckless, he could be staring up at the lights. If Riggs gets too cocky, he’ll have Hughes raining elbows on him. They say who dares wins, but that’s only in Hollywood. In mixed martial arts, it’s who executes the best and keeps his focus the longest.
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