Hughes wins, buries hatchet
An embrace and a few words whispered into one another’s ear.
That’s how the nearly two-year feud between Matt Hughes and Matt Serra was settled on Saturday night as the bell rang marking the conclusion of the co-main event of UFC 98 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
“To be honest, I can’t even remember what it was,” Hughes said of the conversation. “I think Matt said something like whatever the decision is, let’s squash this, and I think I just agreed.”
Moments later, Hughes was announced as the winner by unanimous decision in a welterweight bout that he controlled with his wrestling.
It wasn’t the case early in the fight.
Hughes was dropped by what looked like a headbutt when the fighters were in close. Serra then stalked him to the mat and around the cage in an effort to finish the future Hall of Famer.
“I wanted to keep my cool and try to finish him off, but he’s been hit a lot,” Serra said. “He’s got a good chin, and he hung in there.”
Hughes recovered late in the round and then settled in and relied on his wrestling skills to keep Serra on his back for much of the final two rounds.
While it wasn’t the explosive finish the fighters had hoped for, the conclusion apparently was enough for them to bury the hatchet.
“I’m a little upset right now, but I’m a positive person,” Serra said. “I take my hat off to him.”
The ending of the other half of the main event was much more spectacular.
Lyoto Machida left Rashad Evans sprawled out on his back against the cage after a vicious knockout to take the light heavyweight title.
Machida knocked Evans down late in the second round with a combination of punches and then continued to pepper the champion with blows as he tried to recover.
He never did.
Evans was able to get to his feet, but Machida threw several big punches before finally connecting with a left hook that sent Evans to the floor with his legs folded awkwardly beneath him.
It was an exciting ending to what started out as a slow fight.
The fighters circled each other for nearly the entire first round with both Machida and Evans hesitant to make the first move.
Machida finally mounted some offense late in the round and set up his second-round explosion.
His unorthodox style clearly confounded Evans. Even when the champion did try to strike, he found himself flailing at space that Machida already had vacated.
“Karate is back,” proclaimed Machida, one of the few mixed martial arts fighters who specializes in the discipline.
It was the first professional loss for Evans. Machida, still unbeaten as a pro, now takes over what has been the organization’s most prestigious, yet revolving, belt.
Evans became the third straight light heavyweight champion to lose his first defense.
Drew McFedries was equally explosive in knocking out Xavier Foupa-Pokam in 37 seconds after landing a variety of shots with his powerful right hand.
“I come in ready to throw down, and I’m ready to go, go, go,” an elated McFedries said.
After the victory, he jumped up on each side of the cage and implored the fans to cheer louder.
The crowd was happy to oblige after they had expressed great disappointment in the preceding fight.
Submission ace Dan Miller attempted chokes from his back in the first minute of each of three rounds in his fight with Chael Sonnen.
Each attempt failed, and Sonnen was able to spend the rest of the round dominating from top position. The result was a unanimous decision in Sonnen’s favor that left the crowd unimpressed.
The fighters were booed often in a bout that featured little standup action.
Such was not the case in another fight that went the distance.
Frank Edgar took a major step forward in his career by defeating former lightweight champion Sean Sherk in the first fight on the main card.
Edgar managed to keep the fight standing and proved to be far superior in that aspect, winning 30-27 on all three scorecards.
“My corner told me to beat Sean Sherk, I’d have to become a true mixed martial artist,” Edgar said. “I knew I had to step my game up.
“He’s a former lightweight champion.”
George Roop won the only decision on the preliminary card.
Yoshiyuki Yoshida, Tim Hague and Brock Larson each submitted their opponents in the first round.
Krzysztof Soszynski and Kyle Bradley each scored quick knockouts.
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509.
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