Matthew Allen Hughes (born October 13, 1973) is a retired American mixed martial artist with a background in wrestling. He is a two-time UFC Welterweight Champion, UFC Hall of Fame inductee, and NJCAA Hall of Fame inductee. During his tenures in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Hughes put together two separate six-fight winning streaks, defeated all the available opposition in the welterweight division, and defended the belt a then-record seven times. Hughes was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in May 2010 during the UFC Fan Expo in conjunction with UFC 114.
During his reign, Hughes was widely considered the #1 pound-for-pound mixed martial artist in the world. Hughes was also regarded by many analysts and several media outlets as one of the greatest welterweight fighters of all time, as well as one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters in the sport's history.
A long-time member of Miletich Fighting Systems, Hughes left the Miletich camp in late 2007 to start Team Hughes. In 2008, Hughes published his autobiography, Made in America, which made the New York Times bestseller list. In 2011, Hughes became host of Outdoor Channel's Trophy Hunters TV. Hughes has no nickname; although because of his success against Gracie jiu-jitsu practitioners such as Royce Gracie, Renzo Gracie, Ricardo Almeida, and Matt Serra, people often refer to him as "the Gracie Killer" (same as Sakuraba's nickname). His mastery of submissions, and having submission wins over various black belt holders are the reasons why Joe Rogan thinks he deserved to get a black belt for BJJ. However Hughes never liked the idea, and considers himself primarily an amateur and submission wrestler.