Watch: On this day in 2007, Georges St-Pierre and Matt Hughes competed in their iconic trilogy bout at UFC 79
It has been 14 years since Georges St-Pierre and Matt Hughes competed in their iconic trilogy bout at UFC 79 on December 29th, 2007, inside Las Vegas' Mandalay Bay Events Center.
St-Pierre defeated Hughes in the main event via armbar submission, at 4:54 in the second round to win the interim UFC welterweight championship.
'Rush' then went on to win the unification encounter against Matt Serra in a rematch at UFC 83. He won the April 2008 fight in the second round as well, this time via TKO.
Watch the finishing moments from the UFC 79 main event between Georges St-Pierre and Matt Hughes below:
#OnThisDay in 2007: Georges St-Pierre and Matt Hughes met for a historic third time in the Octagon!
📺 Watch more on @UFCFightPass now! https://t.co/lUHHQvha0y
St-Pierre and Hughes squared off for the first time at UFC 50 in October 2004. The latter won the contest via submission and claimed the vacant welterweight belt.
However, the Canadian superstar won the rematch at UFC 65 in November 2006 and snatched the 170-pound weight class championship. He lost the belt in his first title defense, as Serra beat him at UFC 69 in April 2007.
St-Pierre holds a 26-2 win-loss record in his professional mixed martial arts career, while Hughes and Serra are 45-9 and 11-7, respectively.
Georges St-Pierre last fought at UFC 217, while Matt Hughes' final bout came at UFC 135
After a four-year break, Georges St-Pierre moved up to 185lbs and challenged UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping at UFC 217 inside New York City's historic Madison Square Garden.
St-Pierre won the bout via submission in the third round and became the fourth fighter in UFC history to have held titles in multiple divisions. However, he vacated the belt after just a month due to 'Rush' suffering from ulcerative colitis.
🏆 UFC Welterweight champion.
🏆 UFC Middleweight champion.
👊 26 wins.
⭐️ A true pioneer of Mixed Martial Arts.
🇨🇦 Georges St Pierre has announced his retirement.
🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐 https://t.co/hpj83stD3Q
Georges St-Pierre officially announced his retirement from the sport on February 21st, 2019. 'Rush' was eventually inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame on September 24th, 2021.
His fellow HOF inductee Matt Hughes, on the other hand, last fought Josh Koscheck at UFC 135 on September 24th, 2011. He was knocked out in the final outing of his career.
Hughes hung up his gloves almost a year and a half later on January 24th, 2013. He was then named the UFC's Vice President of Athlete Development and Government Relations.