Just announced, MMAOddsBreaker feature interviewer Frank Trigg’s classic UFC 52 bout with Matt Hughes will be inducted into the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Hall of Fame this July during the special UFC Fight Week celebration prior to UFC 189: Aldo vs McGregor. While Hughes already holds a position in the hall of fame, this is a new spot for his multiple-time foe. A former wrestler out of the University of Oklahoma, Trigg ended his mixed martial arts (MMA) career with a 21-9 overall record including the two heated scraps against Hughes for the UFC Welterweight Title. Their feud — and particularly the rematch — has gone down as one of the greatest in UFC history, and that UFC 52 encounter is perhaps the best MMA bout lasting less than a round. The Xtreme Couture product wasn’t able to achieve the ultimate prize and win UFC gold, but he was a key cog of the upper echelon of the UFC welterweight division for a solid three year span. Also joining the legendary bout (which will enter the ‘Fight Wing’ in the hall of fame) is one of the most important early figures in the UFC: the late Olympic gold medalist and UFC commentator Jeff Blatnick. Blatnick was one of the few early figures who brought legitimacy to a fledgling sport given his accomplishments in wrestling, and the role he played as an ambassador for MMA.
