2008 Woodie Awards
Hughes walks to victory and infamy at UFC 63
The Militech Fighting Systems Elite fighter proves to be just that
Danny Acosta
Issue date: 9/26/06 Section: Sports
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Juggernaut. At UFC 63, "The Prodigy" B.J. Penn found out what a human juggernaut looks like. A human juggernaut looks like UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes.
Penn learned the definition of unstoppable is when Hughes imprinted it across Penn's forehead with overwhelming leather.
The night started off with the UFC's only lightweight champion ever: "Little Evil" Jens Pulver. His opponent Joe Lauzon (a seven-to-one underdog) wore a shirt that read "Fear No Evil." Lauzon did not fear evil because when the bell rang, he may have become evil himself. In 48 seconds, Pulver's road to reclaim his title hit a serious road block in Lauzon's fists.
The next fight featured the undefeated Rashad Evans. Evans faced "The Punisher" Jason Lambert. A former NCAA Division I wrestler, Evans displayed superior wrestling, ending Lambert's eight-fight winning streak with a series of punches.
New Team Punishment recruit Melvin "The Young Assassin" Guillard delivered the first body punch knockout in UFC history against Gabe "Godzilla" Ruediger. A clean, furious punch to the body made two highlight reel knockouts in a row for Guillard.
Middleweight contenders Mike "Quick" Swick of San Jose, California's American Kickboxing Academy and Canadian David "The Crow" Loiseau traded blows for three rounds in the feature bout.
The fight was all strikes and the timid Crow did not do enough to steal Swick's decision victory. Swick hopes to wear UFC gold in his division like Matt Hughes.
Matt Hughes walked to the ring sans emotion as his "Only a Country Boy Can Survive" trumpeted throughout the sold-out Anaheim Pond.
Hughes has longed to avenge his only loss of the past five years-the loss of his title to Penn-for two years. However, the ring of the main event bell brought back the B.J. Penn that had a meteoric rise through the UFC.
Penn stuffed Hughes' bulldozing takedowns with his inhuman flexibility. He proved to have superior stand-up, despite Hughes looking extra comfortable and crisp on his feet. He took Hughes' back-reminiscent of how he secured the choke that shocked the world in 2002-before transitioning to an omaplatta and pulling a triangle-arm choke.
Penn learned the definition of unstoppable is when Hughes imprinted it across Penn's forehead with overwhelming leather.
The night started off with the UFC's only lightweight champion ever: "Little Evil" Jens Pulver. His opponent Joe Lauzon (a seven-to-one underdog) wore a shirt that read "Fear No Evil." Lauzon did not fear evil because when the bell rang, he may have become evil himself. In 48 seconds, Pulver's road to reclaim his title hit a serious road block in Lauzon's fists.
The next fight featured the undefeated Rashad Evans. Evans faced "The Punisher" Jason Lambert. A former NCAA Division I wrestler, Evans displayed superior wrestling, ending Lambert's eight-fight winning streak with a series of punches.
New Team Punishment recruit Melvin "The Young Assassin" Guillard delivered the first body punch knockout in UFC history against Gabe "Godzilla" Ruediger. A clean, furious punch to the body made two highlight reel knockouts in a row for Guillard.
Middleweight contenders Mike "Quick" Swick of San Jose, California's American Kickboxing Academy and Canadian David "The Crow" Loiseau traded blows for three rounds in the feature bout.
The fight was all strikes and the timid Crow did not do enough to steal Swick's decision victory. Swick hopes to wear UFC gold in his division like Matt Hughes.
Matt Hughes walked to the ring sans emotion as his "Only a Country Boy Can Survive" trumpeted throughout the sold-out Anaheim Pond.
Hughes has longed to avenge his only loss of the past five years-the loss of his title to Penn-for two years. However, the ring of the main event bell brought back the B.J. Penn that had a meteoric rise through the UFC.
Penn stuffed Hughes' bulldozing takedowns with his inhuman flexibility. He proved to have superior stand-up, despite Hughes looking extra comfortable and crisp on his feet. He took Hughes' back-reminiscent of how he secured the choke that shocked the world in 2002-before transitioning to an omaplatta and pulling a triangle-arm choke.