Hughes Vs. Serra: It Is Personal

MMA and UFC fans will be tuned in Saturday night for UFC 98. The main event in Las Vegas is Rashad Evans defending his UFC Light Heavy Weight title against Lyoto Machida. It's a battle of two undefeated fighters that most nights would be a good headliner. But the fight that's attracting the most attention, particularly on Long Island, is the throwdown between Matt Hughes and Matt Serra.

Seasoned MMA fans know that Serra and Hughes have had issues ever since they were coaches on the Ultimate Fighter three years ago. Serra's attitude ticked Hughes and many MMA fans off.

Here we are in 2009: Neither fighter has had a fight in at least the last 12 months. Hughes, once the dominant guy at 170 pounds, has lost three of his four fights. Many people, myself included, never really saw Serra as an awesome fighter. TUF jumpstarted the career of a guy
who hasn't had a three fight winning streak in 7 years. Injuries, Georges St. Pierre (he beat both guys) and the birth of Serra's daughter held up this match.

So who knows what the heck we'll see. Does Hughes have the ability, coming off both torn MCL and PCL tears in his last loss against Thiago Alves, to deal with Serra's BJJ skills. Can Serra handle Hughes supposed superior strength and ground and pound?

Let's face it: Without the animosity and Hughes' name and popularity, there wouldn't be a lot of juice for this fight. That said, these guys really do seem to dislike one another. But emotion in a fight only takes you so far. On paper, Hughes has the better ring generalship and ability to stay under control.

A few years ago, Hughes runs through Serra like Rosie O'Donnell through an Olive Garden All You Can Eat Buffet. Now, this is a close call. Both men are on the downside.of their careers. My pick: Hughes by TKO Round 2, to finish a great Hall of Fame Career. Serra can go back to teaching BJJ in East Meadow and Huntington, having wrung out every last drop of his 15 mionutes of fame.