DENVER – UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes (45-8 MMA, 18-6 UFC) admits he's not quite ready to walk away from the sport that's paid his bills for the past 13 years.
Unfortunately for him, Hughes knows his wife and kids have a different opinion on what should happen after a UFC 135 contest with Josh Koscheck (15-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC).
And while Hughes insists the result of Saturday pay-per-view co-headliner will not prove the determining factor in his choice, the former champ said that UFC president Dana White's recent offer of a job where Hughes could "stick around and get paid to do nothing" is pretty appealing.
"Maybe one of those Chuck Liddell jobs?" Hughes asked MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com) with a smile. "Who doesn't? You don't want a paycheck? It does appeal to me.
"There's a tight group of guys – Chuck, me, Forrest Griffin is probably in there, too, and there's a probably a couple of other guys – that have been good to the UFC. I think we're going to be fine. No matter what position I was in financially, the UFC is always going to make sure I've got food on the table and clothes on my kids' back."
But that doesn't mean Hughes is ready to take that position just yet. The love for competition, the drive to be the best, the camaraderie of his teamamtes and training partners – Hughes still finds joy in each and every aspect of MMA.
"My wife is telling me it's time to retire," Hughes said. "We'll see what happens. I don't want to. I still love – I'm the luckiest guy in the world. I walk in the gym twice a day. I'm around my buddies all the time, and we have so much fun. I still love to get in the octagon.
"I'm competing against one guy. I'm not a basketball team that's got four other teammates. It's me and the other guy. I make good money. I've got a good life at home. I'm pretty lucky, and I really don't want anything to change. I still love competing."
But Hughes admits a 21-second loss to B.J. Penn at this past November's UFC 123 event made him consider all possibilities. Hughes wants nothing more than to end his career on the strength of a win, and he only hopes the "sickness" he knows as a competitive drive doesn't lead him into hanging around too long.
"You look at the last two Hall of Famers that retired, Chuck and Randy (Couture) – and even Royce (Gracie) – they walked out with losses," Hughes said. "I really don't want to do that.
"In a perfect world, I go out on top with my hand raised, and I'm done. But the bad thing is that we're all competitors – me, Chuck and Randy. You get that win, and then you just want another one and another one. It's a sickness. We just want to compete."
Hughes' 18 UFC wins are an octagon record, and he successfully defended the UFC's welterweight title a total of seven times. The 37-year-old has defeated six current or former UFC champions, and he was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in May 2010.
In short, there is little – if anything – left to accomplish.
Hughes' UFC 135 bout is the final contest on his current contract, and he says he will only go bout-to-bout should he sign another deal. If he sticks around, it's big fights only, says Hughes, and he might be willing to entertain a catchweight fight at 165 pounds if the matchup is right.
But all that speculation could be for naught. Win or lose on Saturday, Hughes said he's going to home and talk things over with family and UFC brass before making a decision.
"I'll go back, I'll talk obviously with my wife, I'll talk with Dana and Lorenzo (Ferttita), and we'll figure it out," Hughes said. "No matter what happens – I say that, and you just never know – no matter what happens, I doubt you're going to hear anything directly after the fight when they've got the mic in front of my face.
"The UFC has been very generous with us. I don't need to take this fight, and I can retire and not work anymore. I'm not like that. I will always do something my whole life. But we don't need the money. My kids do miss dad when I'm gone. My five-year-old daughter cried every time that I leave. When I come back, she'll give me a hug until her arms fall asleep on her. [My wife] has got a point where she gets nervous, too. I don't blame her. If it was turned around, I'd be just like she was, wanting her to get out of a sport like this. The family, the fact that she gets nervous, I see it. She's right."
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