Awesome fighter, not the nicest guy!
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It's true! The other revues tell of Matt Hughes the "Bully" and yes he is, but if you read the book you'll see that he had a strange backwater upbringing. Where he's from it's probably normal.
There are talks of gaps between scenes in his life whereby one minute he likes someone and the next he doesn't. This is also true, but I don't think that there are gaps, I think that's just how he is. He doesn't seem to think enough to cover a few pages. His thoughts are over in little more than a line.
It's still a good read and gives a bit of a peek into the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It's worth buying, to know a little of the background of the fighter you are watching.
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Bullys make good fighters
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I have been a Matt Hughes fan since the Brawl at the (Royal Albert) Hall, I saw him fight, reverse and finally ground and pound Carlos Newton into submission.
I found some of this book interesting, all the parts about fighting were really well done, the part that did not come across as all well was Matt Hughes the person. He does come across as a bully at best at worst an ego manic that he has been accused of recently. Then again the UFC does not stand for the Ultimate Friends Championship; Matt is in his prime when he is talking about fighting, and his many victories. Unquestionably Matt is going to be remembered as one of the greatest welterweight fighter of all time, not for his sense of humour. I got a really mean spirited vibe from his sense of humour. All credit to Matt he did not lie or try and make himself look like something he is not.
It was interesting to get into Matt's head especially the second BJ Penn fight, from the books version Matt started the fight with a healthy respect for Penn's abilities, but the way he describes the fight it's self matt seemed to think he was dominating the fight from start to finish, if you actually watch the fight, it looked the other way around, which Matt admitted in the post fight interview "I knew I lost the first 2 rounds so I knew I have to win the next 3".
The one thing about this book is Matt's honestly, his attitude is this is what I think and this is what I am going to do I really don't care how that sounds like to anybody else and as you will find that gets him into trouble and on the bad side of more then one person, he wrote the book the same way. This allows the reader to make their own judgement of Matt Hughes good or bad guy. All in all top fighter.
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UFC hero tells his story
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Matt Hughes, as the cover blurb states, may be the "most dominant champion in UFC history" but he sure isn't the nicest guy in the world. I'm not certain that this matters a great deal.
His autobiography is however exciting, truthful and well-structured, thanks mainly to the hard work of his co-author, the wonderfully-named Michael Malice. I like the honesty of his account and the humour too. Perhaps the funniest thing is the photo of Matt Hughes sat in front of a manual typewriter, claiming to be "spending another long night completing the manuscript" of his book. In truth Hughes wouldn't know a manuscript if one bit him on the nose.
It's this lack of self-knowledge which gives the book its strange tone. Hughes, thanks to the Herculean efforts of his friends and twin brother finds God on a Mexican hill-top. As a lapsed Christian myself, I found this quite moving. But Hughes then identifies himself as someone who is always trying to help others, despite there being no instances of him helping anyone outside his own close circle of family and training buddies in the whole book.
Also, despite his bad behaviour (including deserting his son from a casual relationship) he criticises MMA legend Randy Couture several times for getting a divorce, even though he barely knows the guy.
On the positive side, his UFC fights and the atmosphere of Pat Miletich's training room are well described. He's also without vanity, telling the gob-smacked assistant on a photo shoot (quite truthfully) that he gets his clothes from a Salvation Army charity shop. Above all, I like his unapologetic attitude towards his profession, "Fighting solves everything," he says and he talks of "that switch within us that gets turned on and can only be turned off by violence". Thankfully with a little help from his wife (and God perhaps) Hughes is just about able to contain his demons and he should be applauded for sharing his life, warts and all, so openly in this surprising and often laugh-out-loud funny book.
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Get Chuck Liddell's book instead
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Have to agree with Steve Roach's review of this book. Hughes gives us a history of his life which leaves the reader feeling that he is just a nasty piece of work. He comes across as an arrogant bully, and not at all a likeable person. I would also agree that large chunks appear to be missing and he does not explain a lot of things that leave the reader wondering.
He may have told the truth about his life in the book, but i doubt it will make him any fans. Before reading this i respected him as a great fighter and champion, but now i'll be cheering for the other guy (whoever it may be).
The book's an easy read, nothing too complicated, and i read it in a few hours, but there were no great revelations.
I would recommend Chuck Liddell's book over this, as it is a better read and also includes more details on the UFC in general, and other fighters.
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GOOD READ, TRUTH TOLD
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DIS-AGREE WITH THE REVIEW BELOW. IF U WRITE YOUR OWN BOOK ABOUT YOUR LIFE AND THE STUFF THAT HAS HAPPENED. THEN YOU WOULD WANT 2 READ THE TRUTH. IF YOU WOULD WANT 2 READ A BOOK, WHICH IS LIES JUST TO KEEP PEOPLE HAPPY. THEN WHY WOULD YOU WANT 2 READ IT???? I THINK IT GIVES A GOOD IN-SIGHT INTO THE EARLY UFC DAYS. A GOOD BUY IF YOU ARE A UFC/MMA FAN
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