This Day in MMA History: June 7

It may be fading into the mists of memory as we move into the 2020s and beyond, but Matt Hughes was synonymous with the Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight division for so long that his claim to being the second greatest fighter in its history is bolstered by more than just sheer numbers. As a case in point, his brutal loss to Thiago Alves in the headliner of UFC 85 on June 7, 2008, was his 17th appearance in the Octagon, yet his first loss in a non-title fight.

With all that said, the main event that night in London’s O2 Arena was a thrashing. Alves—who missed the welterweight limit by three pounds—was visibly larger, yes, but the most evident gap between the two men was in quickness and explosion. Takedown attempts by Hughes, which came early and often, looked molasses-slow as the younger man shucked them off or simply bounced out of the way with ease. On the one occasion in the first round that Hughes was able to take Alves down cleanly, Alves escaped quickly and the former champion was forced to pull guard to get the action back to the floor. It was jarring to see a man whose hallmark had been powerhouse takedowns, reduced to pulling guard against a muay Thai specialist, and in some ways the sight felt more like a changing of the guard than Hughes' actual dethroning by Georges St. Pierre.

As soon as the second round began, "Pitbull" timed a level change by Hughes and met him with a huge standing knee strike. Bloodied and dazed, Hughes staggered backwards. Alves launched a flying knee that seemed to knock Hughes over more than knock him down, but nonetheless, the Brazilian pounced and finished him with a barrage of punches. Adding injury to insult, it became apparent in the immediate aftermath of the fight that Hughes had hurt his knee at some point in the final sequence.

From there, Alves’ star continued to rise, culminating in a title shot against St. Pierre in the blockbuster UFC 100. While Alves fell short in his attempt to unseat the divisional GOAT, he would remain a top-flight welterweight for several years, then try to reinvent himself as a lightweight, of all things.

For Hughes, while the loss marked the end of his era of title contention, it almost underscores a legacy that seems at risk of becoming underrated with the passage of time. If you consider that the Alves bout was a catchweight affair, he would not lose a non-title fight at welterweight until the second to last fight of his career, when he was starched by B.J. Penn in their rubber match. That is a remarkable thing to be able to say about a 21-fight run in the toughest division in the sport over that span of time.