Matthew Allen Hughes (born October 13, 1973) is an American mixed martial artist, UFC Hall of Famer, and former two-time UFC Welterweight Champion. Hughes put together two separate six-fight winning streaks in the UFC, won the welterweight title on two occasions, defended the belt a record seven times, and holds the record for most wins in the UFC. He holds notable victories over such fighters as Dave Menne, Carlos Newton, Hayato Sakurai, Sean Sherk, Frank Trigg, Joe Riggs, Royce Gracie, B.J. Penn, Chris Lytle, Matt Serra, Renzo Gracie, Ricardo Almeida, and remains one of only two men to ever defeat Georges St-Pierre.
He has also had the 2nd most UFC fights with 24 (Tito Ortiz has 25) and most wins with 18. Hughes was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame on May 2010. A long-time member of Miletich Fighting Systems, Hughes left the Miletich camp in late 2007 to start Team Hughes. Team Hughes fights out of The H.I.T. Squad (Hughes Intensive Training), a Granite City, Illinois gym, which he co-owns with Robbie Lawler, Matt Pena and Marc Fiore.
Hughes was born in Hillsboro, Illinois. Hughes has two siblings, a sister and his twin brother Mark. During their high school days they both played football and wrestled.
Hughes went to college at Southwestern Illinois College, a two-year college located in Belleville, Illinois before transferring to Lincoln College, in Lincoln, Illinois and then on to Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois. His freshman and sophomore years, he made the NJCAA All-American Team, and his final two years he was listed on the NCAA Division I All-American Teams.
Hughes is a born again Christian and regularly posts Bible verses on his website. Hughes and his wife Audra have two daughters together and they each have a son from a previous relationship. The couple’s second daughter was born on January 2, 2010. He published his autobiography, Made in America: The Most Dominant Champion in UFC History.
