One of the UFC’s all-time greats, Matt Hughes has suggested he could be on the verge of a comeback at the ripe old age of 43.
“If I could find an opponent that I could definitely beat, I would go again,” Hughes claimed in an interview on the ‘Undeniable With Joe Buck’ show. “I might even be talking to an organization about that.
“I’m not saying I am (for sure). The guy I’m talking about fighting may have been in this chair.”
It’s since been rumored that Hughes has had preliminary discussions about fighting for Bellator, with a rematch against Royce Gracie having been discussed.
In his heyday Hughes was one of the most dominant fighters ever seen in the UFC, winning the welterweight title twice and successfully defending it seven times on his way to becoming a hall-of-famer.
However, Hughes hasn’t fought since 2011 after age finally started to catch up with him, leading to back-to-back first-round knockout losses against BJ Penn and Josh Koscheck in the Octagon.
Five years earlier, Hughes had welcomed the original UFC hall-of-famer, Royce Gracie back to the organization for the first time since UFC 5 and handed him his first ever loss in the Octagon, a one-sided beating that ended inside of a round by TKO.
Given how dominant Hughes was in that fight, no-one has ever even thought to suggest a rematch between them, let along at this stage when both men are decades removed from their prime.
That hasn’t stopped Bellator in the past though as they’ve repeatedly cashed in on the name value of yesteryear’s stars in recent years, a strategy that has generally proven to be effective in terms of drawing ratings, though the quality of the fights has often left a lot to be desired.
