UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes has caught his fans by surprise. He has revealed that he lost part of one finger.
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Hughes posted a photo on Instagram on May 6 that showed him in a hospital bed. He smiled for the camera while holding up his right hand. The photo revealed that he no longer had the tip of his middle finger. Instead, stitches covered the end of the stump.
The former fighter did not provide any more details about the partial amputation. He just only wrote, "Luckily, God's been real good to me. He left me nine more to work with."
Photo credit: Matt Hughes (instagram.com/matthughes9x/)
As expected, many people responded to the surprising post on Instagram. Former UFC fighter Michael Bisping just wrote, "Oh, (expletive)" while fighter Bryce Mitchell wrote, "Hope you heal fast champ. (Were) you workin a saw? keep goin brother you r a real inspiration."
A member of the Pioneer Wing of the Hall of Fame, Hughes achieved success during his career in mixed martial arts. He fought 54 times, 25 times in the UFC. He rose to prominence in the welterweight class while defeating some of the biggest names in the sport.
He took out Georges St-Pierre, BJ Penn, Royce Gracie, and Carlos Newton. He won the title in 2001 with a knockout of Newton. He successfully defended this title five times before ultimately losing it to BJ Penn at UFC 46. However, the title became vacant shortly after due to a contract dispute between Penn and the UFC.
Hughes took back the title at UFC 50 when he defeated GSP. He then successfully defended it two more times before losing the title to GSP at UFC 65 in 2006. Hughes tried to take back the title in 2007, but he lost again to GSP.
The veteran fighter entered the octagon a few more times after this loss to GSP, but then he ultimately retired in 2013. He actually walked away three years after being inducted into the Hall of Fame.
