Although MMA is a fairly new sport, especially when compared to most other popular mainstream sports, it has had more than a fair share of memorable events. One of my favorites would be the 2004 UFC Welterweight Title fight between then champ Matt Hughes and BJ Penn.
This one is unforgettable for several reasons. At the time, Matt Hughes was 35-3, hadn’t lost in three years ,and was the most dominant welterweight in MMA history. BJ Penn was “The Prodigy,” an incredibly gifted 24 year old jiu jitsu and boxing expert moving up to welterweight for the first time. Most people scoffed at Penn moving up to face Hughes. After all, he couldn’t get it together and win the title in his natural lightweight class. Now he was going to face an unbeatable powerhouse wrestler with endless cardio and relentless takedowns?
The prefight hype was fascinating. Hughes seemed offended that Penn would even consider a fight with him, especially after he had lost to Hughes’ friend and training partner Jens Pulver two years before. He also mocked Penn for training from his Hawaii home, while Hughes trained in the heartland of America during the winter. On the flipside, Penn seemed royally pissed that Hughes considered himself to be so much better than him. He felt Hughes was being needlessly condescending and that where and how he trained didn’t matter. At UFC 46, he would show Hughes and all the naysayers that Hughes wasn’t unstoppable.
Their fight took place on January 31, 2004. Most people expected Hughes to grind and wear Penn down, like he had to so many other opponents in the past. Instead, everyone was treated to the best BJ Penn anyone had ever seen. He showed what has since become a hallmark of his game and made him so difficult to beat for so many years: a legendary takedown defense. Normally when a fighter shoots and grabs a single leg, it is very difficult for the fighter defending the takedown to keep his balance and stay up. Penn was blessed with some of the greatest balance and flexibility the sport has ever seen and managed to stay up on one leg until he could break the attempt. With Hughes’ takedown game nullified, he was forced to rely on one of his weakest points: boxing. Penn easily won the stand-up and midway through the first round, dropped Hughes. While on his back, Hughes ate a hard punch to the face that stunned him. From there, Penn showed the submission skills he would become known for and locked in a rear naked choke that forced Hughes to submit with 21 seconds left in the round.
The upset happened. BJ Penn got his first taste of UFC gold, at a weight class no one would have expected to boot. He also got a taste of Matt Hughes, as the emotional Penn gave the dazed former champion a kiss on the face as soon as the fight was stopped. The championship win and celebration is one of the more memorable in UFC history and fans were excited to see what would happen next in a division that had previously been lorded over by Hughes for the better part of three years.
Unfortunately, we will never really know. Due to a contract dispute, Penn left the UFC after this fight and didn’t return until 2006. Hughes ended up winning the title back in October 2004 and held the UFC Welterweight Title for another two years. The two would tangle again after Penn’s return in what would be Hughes’ last successful title defense. In the UFC 63 rematch, Penn
pummeled Hughes for two rounds before gassing out and getting submitted in the third round. With the score tied at one each, they faced off for the final time in November 2010 at UFC 123. In this fight, Penn put the final stamp on their rivalry, blasting Hughes and knocking him out in 21 seconds.
While both men have had legendary careers with several accolades, the first match between Hughes and Penn is one of the most notable. It’s the most surprising and memorable loss in Matt Hughes’ career, coming at the peak of his run. For Penn it is his career defining win and showed what he is capable of when motivated or feels the odds are stacked against him. In terms of significance to the sport and the quality of this fight, Hughes-Penn I is something that all MMA fans should see at least once.
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