Hughes is in the UFC
Norton MMA fighter wins contract with first-round TKO
LFA Heavyweight Champion Jeff Hughes lands a kick on Josh Appelt during his one-round bout that Hughes won in a TKO during the UFC’s Tuesday Night Contender Series. Screenshot from WWW.UFC.TV
Tuesday Night Contender Series host Dana White (left) poses with Norton’s Jeff Hughes. Hughes won a UFC contract with a one-round TKO during White’s event July 24. Submitted photo
LAS VEGAS – Norton’s own mixed martial arts champ is now in the bigtime.
Jeff Hughes had been the Legacy Fighting Alliance’s reigning heavyweight champion, winning the title in 2017 and defending it last spring.
Hughes’ long string of impressive victories, including two championships, earned him the attention of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Best known by its initials, UFC, this is the MMA big league. Hughes got an invitation to battle it out in the Tuesday Night Contender Series, hosted by Dana White. Fighters who impress the judges there win contracts to fight in the UFC.
“This was a big opportunity and I took it,” Hughes said.
Hughes was put on the heavyweight card for the July 24 event, up against Team Alpha Male fighter Josh Appelt. A commentator for the website Fansided wrote that Appelt tried to take the fight to the ground but Hughes used his range and kickboxing skills to keep it upright, where he had advantage. He scored a technical knockout in the first round, winning both the fight and a UFC contract.
“It was a lot different (from the LFA bouts),” Hughes said. “There were only about 100 people in the UFC gym and two matchmakers. It was pretty much a tryout.”
After all the fights, the contenders were gathered together and they announced who got contracts and who didn’t. Hughes’ stunning one-round victory earned him one.
After fighting as an amateur since he was 19, the 30-year-old Shellhart Road resident turned pro in 2015.
“One of the bigger promoters saw me fight and offered me a three-fight deal,” Hughes said last November.
He said he’d never heard of the promoter and looked him up before signing anything. Once he realized who he was dealing with, he quickly inked the deal.
The deal went well as the initial “three-fight deal” extended into a much longer string of victories with only one loss.
“I won my first six fights as a pro,” Hughes said then. “I lost one and then came back and won the last two.”
That last one at the time was the world heavyweight championship, which he just defended.
Hughes was born and raised in South Canton and moved to his girlfriend’s hometown of Norton about two years ago to be closer to the Medina gyms where he trained, Evolve MMA and Victory Martial Arts. He drives a delivery truck for ABC Supply Company for a living.
For young fighters wanting to get into the sport, he has a few words of advice.
“Make sure this is something you really want to get into,” he said.
MMA is not something to dabble in, he said. It requires total commitment.
“Find a good coach and listen to them,” Hughes said. “When I was younger I wanted to do my own thing and didn’t listen to my coaches. That didn’t work out too well.”
He figured in November he may defend his belt a few times but it wasn’t really up to him if he gets the call to the “big leagues” of the UFC. At the time, he was open to it.
Now it’s a reality.
“Now I keep training and wait for the UFC to give me an opponent,” Hughes said. “I’ll keep waiting until they find someone.”
The implications of his most recent victory are still sinking in.
“This definitely means I’m one of the best heavyweights in the world,” Hughes said.
Jeff Hughes had been the Legacy Fighting Alliance’s reigning heavyweight champion, winning the title in 2017 and defending it last spring.
Hughes’ long string of impressive victories, including two championships, earned him the attention of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Best known by its initials, UFC, this is the MMA big league. Hughes got an invitation to battle it out in the Tuesday Night Contender Series, hosted by Dana White. Fighters who impress the judges there win contracts to fight in the UFC.
“This was a big opportunity and I took it,” Hughes said.
Hughes was put on the heavyweight card for the July 24 event, up against Team Alpha Male fighter Josh Appelt. A commentator for the website Fansided wrote that Appelt tried to take the fight to the ground but Hughes used his range and kickboxing skills to keep it upright, where he had advantage. He scored a technical knockout in the first round, winning both the fight and a UFC contract.
“It was a lot different (from the LFA bouts),” Hughes said. “There were only about 100 people in the UFC gym and two matchmakers. It was pretty much a tryout.”
After all the fights, the contenders were gathered together and they announced who got contracts and who didn’t. Hughes’ stunning one-round victory earned him one.
After fighting as an amateur since he was 19, the 30-year-old Shellhart Road resident turned pro in 2015.
“One of the bigger promoters saw me fight and offered me a three-fight deal,” Hughes said last November.
He said he’d never heard of the promoter and looked him up before signing anything. Once he realized who he was dealing with, he quickly inked the deal.
The deal went well as the initial “three-fight deal” extended into a much longer string of victories with only one loss.
“I won my first six fights as a pro,” Hughes said then. “I lost one and then came back and won the last two.”
That last one at the time was the world heavyweight championship, which he just defended.
Hughes was born and raised in South Canton and moved to his girlfriend’s hometown of Norton about two years ago to be closer to the Medina gyms where he trained, Evolve MMA and Victory Martial Arts. He drives a delivery truck for ABC Supply Company for a living.
For young fighters wanting to get into the sport, he has a few words of advice.
“Make sure this is something you really want to get into,” he said.
MMA is not something to dabble in, he said. It requires total commitment.
“Find a good coach and listen to them,” Hughes said. “When I was younger I wanted to do my own thing and didn’t listen to my coaches. That didn’t work out too well.”
He figured in November he may defend his belt a few times but it wasn’t really up to him if he gets the call to the “big leagues” of the UFC. At the time, he was open to it.
Now it’s a reality.
“Now I keep training and wait for the UFC to give me an opponent,” Hughes said. “I’ll keep waiting until they find someone.”
The implications of his most recent victory are still sinking in.
“This definitely means I’m one of the best heavyweights in the world,” Hughes said.
