UFC 135: What happened when Matt Hughes stepped into the Octagon for the final time?
Denver, Colorado played host to UFC legend, Matt Hughes's final ever MMA fight on September 24, 2011.
He took on Josh Koscheck; effectively a younger, faster and stronger version of himself. With that being said, it was fairly obvious who would win the co-headliner.
However, it was Hughes who actually started the more aggressive and won the striking battle initially before he succumbed to a big uppercut and right hook that had him severely wobbled. As Hughes stumbled to the canvas, Koscheck followed him down with hammerfists and ended the legend's career with a single second left of the first round, knocking him unconscious.
Hughes didn't announce his retirement immediately after the fight but hinted as such.
The headline clash at UFC 135 saw Jon Jones defend his Light-Heavyweight title versus former champion, Quinton Jackson in a hugely impressive dismantling of an MMA legend. Jones bested Jackson on the ground and standing and picked the former champion apart before he locked in the rear naked choke for the victory via submission. What a performance from Jones.
The veteran Mark Hunt beat Ben Rothwell in a sloppy bout memorable only for both men's astonishing lack of cardiovascular conditioning. Rothwell was the far superior fighter in round one scoring takedowns and controlling Hunt on the canvas but his gas tank emptied at an alarming rate and although Hunt fought in slow motion, he was able to deliver enough clubbing blows to bloody up Rothwell and do enough to earn the Unanimous Decision win.
Travis Browne defeated Rob Broughton in a fight not that dissimilar from the Hunt/Rothwell one in that both men struggled with their cardio and despite Browne being the far superior fighter, he simply did not have enough left in the tank to finish Broughton off. Therefore he had to wait to be awarded the win via Decision.
Nate Diaz returned to Lightweight and bested Takanori Gomi in a terrific performance. Diaz owned Gomi standing up and when the fight went to the ground, he completely owned his opponent with his superior jiu-jitsu skills. Quite possibly the finest display of Diaz's career. He earned the win via armbar submission.
That was UFC 135, which was a big hit on pay per view as the event pulled in an impressive 520,000 buys.