Matt Hughes: I would love to come back, I didn’t want to retire in the first place

Back in September of 2011, former UFC welterweight champ and bona fide MMA legend Matt Hughes was knocked out by Josh Koscheck. Given that this marked Hughes’ second straight knockout loss – the other was dealt by our own BJ Penn – he retired shortly thereafter.

Apparently, however, retirement was never what Hughes wanted, and he’d like to return so that he’s able to retire on a win. He explained this feeling on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour:

“I would love to come back,” he said. “I didn’t want to retire in the first place. Dana thought it was the best thing for me, and so did my stinkin’ wife.”

“My wife said she didn’t want me to fight anymore, it just wasn’t as fun as when I was out kicking ass,” he continued. “She didn’t like the worry, and Dana kinda said the same thing, so that’s why I went retired. I would love to go out and fight again. You know what my problem is? I lost my last two fights. That’s the only thing I think about is those stinkin’ losses.”

Hughes then explained he’s received plenty of interest from prospective opponents, and that he’d like to fight on the same card as Chuck Liddell, who has also been hinting at a comeback over the last few weeks.

“Everybody that has fought a fight in the UFC has challenged me and told me to fight them,” he said. “What would be fun for me is fighting with one of my old buddies like Chuck Liddell, if he came out of retirement. I think it would be a blast if he and I were on the same card.” 

Would you be interested in seeing Matt Hughes fight again, or should the former champ stay retired?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 5/8/2017.