Will Matt Hughes make his way back to fighting? Photo from UFC website
Georges St. Pierre’s return to the UFC seems to have ignited another former champion’s desire to fight.
READ: Georges St. Pierre books UFC comeback fight vs. champ Bisping
Retired UFC legend Matt Hughes is seriously mulling over a comeback fight, MMAFighting reported.
The 43-year-old former welterweight champion, who last fought in 2011 in a KO loss against Josh Koscheck, is already “in talks” to fight again.
“If I could find an opponent that I could definitely beat, I would go again,” Hughes revealed in the upcoming episode of AT&T Audience Network’s “Undeniable with Joe Buck,” as relayed by the MMA news outlet.
During his heyday in the promotion in the early 2000s, Hughes was a pillar of strength, outclassing opponents with his dominant wrestling and prolific ground game, en route to capturing the Welterweight title in two separate occasions.
After back-to-back knockout losses against BJ Penn and Koscheck, he hung up his gloves in 2013 and took an executive position as the UFC’s vice president of athlete and government relations.
However, he was let go by the company last year, as part of the mass layoffs following its sale to WME|IMG.
“The UFC has been great to me,” Hughes said in a separate report. “Times change, and I understand the decision that was made. I will move on. My family and I are fine.”
Due to his deteriorating relationship with the new owners, Hughes is highly unlikely to return to the UFC if his comeback materializes. Hughes is reportedly in preliminary talks with Bellator MMA, but no announcements have been made by the promotion. Khristian Ibarrola /ra