Matt Hughes: A Fighting Life is a Tom Rowland Podcast conversation with the UFC Hall of Famer widely considered the most dominant welterweight in the sport's history, recorded not long after Hughes survived being struck by a train and fought his way back from a traumatic brain injury.
Press play above to watch the full conversation with Matt Hughes.
Matt Hughes is a UFC Hall of Famer and two-time Illinois state wrestling champion who went on to earn Division I All-American honors twice. He made his UFC debut in 1999 at UFC 22, won his first welterweight title in 2001 at UFC 34 over Carlos Newton, and went on to defend the title nine times, a run that made him, in Tom's words, the most dominant welterweight in UFC history.
Hughes was struck by a train and suffered a traumatic brain injury. In the episode he describes waking up in a hospital bed and not immediately recognizing his own wife, who had to show him her driver's license to prove who she was. The injury also affected his speech, which listeners can hear directly in the conversation.
Tom met Hughes briefly in passing at the SHOT Show in 2010. Years later, after seeing an Instagram post of Hughes recovering in a hospital bed following the train accident, Tom left a comment offering to celebrate his recovery with a fishing trip through Saltwater Experience. Hughes replied almost immediately that he was in, which started the conversation that led to this episode.
Yes. Hughes came down to Hawks Cay, Florida, where he fished with Tom and Captain Rich Tudor for a Saltwater Experience television episode before sitting down for this podcast conversation.
Hughes won his first UFC welterweight title in 2001 against Carlos Newton and defended it nine times during an era stacked with fighters like Rich Franklin, Chuck Liddell, Tim Sylvia, Randy Couture, and Tito Ortiz, a period Tom calls one of the most exciting stretches in the sport's history.
Matt Hughes has been my favorite fighter of all time since I was watching him compete in the early 2000s. I was a wrestler too, and I was drawn to his style, the way he carried himself, and the fact that he liked to hunt and fish just like I did, right down to walking out to Hank Williams Jr.'s Country Boy Can't Survive. When I saw that Instagram photo of him in a hospital bed after the train accident, I could not believe how far he had come by the time he walked into that arena on his own power to a standing ovation, and I knew I wanted to talk to him about all of it.
Hughes talks through what he remembers of waking up after being struck by a train, including the moment his own wife had to show him identification before he recognized her. He is honest about how the injury has affected his speech, and about the day he walked back into a UFC event under his own power while the crowd stood up for him. It is a heavy part of the conversation, and it is worth hearing directly in his own words rather than secondhand.
What started as a comment on Instagram turned into Hughes coming down to Hawks Cay to fish with Tom and Rich Tudor for a Saltwater Experience episode, and eventually into this podcast conversation. Hughes talks about what fishing and hunting have meant to him through his recovery, and Tom gets into what it was like getting to know one of his own heroes off camera. The full story is better in his own words.
I don't know anyone else who could survive being hit by a train the way Matt Hughes did and come back with the attitude, humor, and gratitude he has. Getting to spend time with him, both on the water and in this conversation, was one of the more meaningful things this podcast has given me.
Press play above to hear the whole conversation with Matt Hughes.
Matt Hughes, Tom Rowland, Rich Tudor, Carlos Newton, Rich Franklin, Chuck Liddell, Tim Sylvia, Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz
Matt Hughes is a UFC Hall of Famer, a two-time Illinois state wrestling champion, and a former UFC welterweight champion who defended his title nine times during one of the promotion's most competitive eras. He is an avid hunter and fisherman who has continued to compete in and enjoy the outdoors following his recovery from a traumatic brain injury.
EP 38/52 | Matt Hughes - A Fighting Life
[Matt Hughes]: This lady pushed my wheelchair, and I was like, who are you? And she gave me her phone so I could tap on it because I couldn't talk very well. She just, I said, who are you? She said, I'm your wife. And I said, I typed in, let me see your driver's license. So she showed me her driver's license. I was just happy I've made someone so beautiful. That's a true story.
[Tom Rowland]: Hey, everybody, I'm glad you're with us on the podcast today. Got a very special guest. I've wanted to have this gentleman on the podcast, and I wanted to have him on our fishing show as well for a long time. He was a two time Illinois state wrestling champion in 1991 and '92. He went on to earn Division One All-American honors two times. His first fight in the UFC octagon was in 1999 at UFC 22. He won his first UFC world welterweight title in 2001 at UFC 34 against Carlos Newton. This guy went on to become the most dominant welterweight in history, and he's my favorite fighter of all time. I watched every fight. I was drawn to his style. He was a wrestler. I was a wrestler. He made it known that he liked to hunt and fish. I like to hunt and fish. This was my guy. And all the way down to his walk-in song, which was Hank Williams Jr., Country Boy Can't Survive. And if you're a UFC fan you know immediately who I'm talking about, this is Matt Hughes.
Matt Hughes in the early 2000s was the welterweight champion along with a lineup of some really exciting and fun people to watch, Rich Franklin, Chuck Liddell, Tim Sylvia, Randy Couture was in that mix, Tito Ortiz was up in there, and there were some amazing fights and some really fun times for the UFC. Matt defended his title nine times and earned the title of most dominant welterweight in history. I met him for the first time in 2010 in passing at the SHOT Show, and then I just kind of followed what he was doing, and came across an Instagram post where I was very shocked to see Matt Hughes laying in a hospital bed. Did not look good at all, and looking further into it, he was struck by a train. Strange thing to happen, and I tried to get more details, there were not many details available, and it didn't seem like very long later, maybe five months later, I could be wrong on that timeline, but a short amount of time to come from the condition that I saw him in that hospital bed to walking into an event that the UFC was having, a big fight, where he walked on his own, all the way down, just like he was walking in as a fighter, and the crowd stood on their feet and honored him. And this recovery that he was having, it was very emotional, and I just put a little something on his Instagram, just a casual comment, said, hey champ, been a big fan for a long time, I think we should celebrate your recovery with a fishing trip with Saltwater Experience. And I didn't think anything of it, but almost immediately there was a reply back that said, fishing trip, I'm in. And that started my correspondence with Matt, and finally we got our schedules together, I've got him down to Hawks Cay, and we did a great television show together, and he also sat down with us on this podcast.
Matt, he was incredibly inspirational to me before, now he is even more inspirational as he has recovered from this very traumatic accident, and he's done it in a way that is really incredible. I mean, I don't know anybody that could survive a train accident other than someone like Matt Hughes, and he's come back with just an incredible attitude, a great sense of humor, and really just a sense of gratitude. I really enjoyed my time that I was able to spend with him and get to know him a little bit. He's a guy that loves to hunt and fish, he loves the outdoors, and it was a real pleasure. His health is very good, he gets around great, he drove himself all the way down to the Florida Keys. He can do anything. One thing that he seems to be having a little trouble with right now is his speech pattern. He underwent a brain injury in this train accident and it has affected his speech, so when you hear this, that's why.
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