Hughes was dominated in two of his last three fights by George St.Pierre and Thiago Alves. Even though he got a unanimous decision win over Matt Serra, the fight was so close that it could have went the other way. In my opinion, Serra won that fight because most of Hughes strategy was to "lay and pray" on top of Serra.
Hughes has lost that edge that made him a top fighter and champion in his weight class. I'm not sure if his heart and desire are still in the sport of fighting or his skills have diminished as he is getting older. There are still many Hughes fans out there, but they are still hanging on to his accomplishments of the past. He was great when he was on top, but not anymore.
Hughes does not have the selling power he once had and realistically cannot headline any UFC show anymore. There really is not a big interest in seeing Hughes "lay and pray" for three rounds and squeak out a decision in the end. If Hughes faces anybody better than Serra in the future, the outcome will be total domination again for his opponents.
Hughes mentioned to Dana White that he is interested in hosting a hunting show on tv. Maybe it is time for Hughes to go out to pasture with the animals because his glory days are long behind him. He may be able to still compete, but definitely not on the level we as fans want to see him compete on. Who knows, maybe Hughes can get a transfusion from Randy Couture and pull off one of those great Couture vs. Noguiera fights and excite us fans one more time.
