Matt Hughes inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame

Former UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes is now officially a UFC Hall of Fame inductee, after the announcement at the UFC Fan Expo on May 28th. The thirty-six year old veteran holds an extraordinary Mixed Martial Arts record of 44 victories and only 7 losses, holding a record of most wins in the UFC (17). Hughes will square off against the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Ace Ricardo Almeida at UFC 117, looking for the third consecutive victory after beind knocked out by Thiago Alves at UFC 85: Bedlam.

Speaking to the UFC.com, Hughes shared his feelings about the Hall of Fame induction: "I just never thought about it, to be honest, so yeah, it came out of the blue. I really thought a lot about it the first couple of days after Dana told me, and I really didn't know what to think about it. I've always been the type of guy who thought that somebody who gets inducted into the Hall of Fame needs to be a retired individual.

That's just my train of thought. But I'm very privileged and I thank the UFC. I took this up as just a hobby, something to occupy my time and to vent some aggressiveness and be competitive. I never thought that I would be in the position that I'm in today. Shaking hands, signing autographs, being a world title holder and being inducted into the Hall of Fame, this is beyond what I ever would have pictured my life being."

Matt Hughes joins the Mixed Martial Arts legends Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, Mark Coleman, Ken Shamrock, Dan Severn, and Charles "Mask" Lewis in the prestigious UFC Hall of Fame.

Hughes' career milestones (mmamania.com):

• 44 pro wins
• 17 UFC wins (most all-time)
• 2 welterweight championship reigns
• 7 successful title defenses (most ever)
• 9 championship fight wins (tied with Randy Couture for most ever)
• 5 knockout wins in championship fights (tied with Couture and Chuck Liddell for most ever)
• 5 successful consecutive welterweight title defenses (1st all-time)
• 12 welterweight championship fights (1st all-time)
• 27 welterweight championship rounds fought (tied for 1st all-time with Georges St-Pierre)
• 3 submission wins in welterweight championship fights (1st all-time)
• 6 former or current UFC champions defeated by Hughes (St-Pierre, Serra, BJ Penn, Dave Menne, Sean Sherk, Carlos Newton)