10 Things UFC Wants You To Forget About Matt Hughes
6. Family Life
Described extensively in his biography, Matt Hughes seems to glorify the unhealthy relationship he had with his family. Growing up in the labour-intensive setting of an Illinois cattle farm, Hughes father was a traditionalist who believed in harsh discipline indeed the mantra spare the rod, spoil the child is a phrase clearly inspired by his father which Matt still says to this day. However, the domineering father of the Hughes household would be made to suffer for the strict treatment of his sons as soon as they were bigger than him. In Matts biography he rather gleefully describes how after his father was callous enough to scold his brother, Mark, for riding a motorbike without a helmet. The Hughes brothers later assaulted their dad for his unforgiving attitude, putting a heavy beating on their old man. At one point they are even described as threatening their mother. It should come as no surprise that this toxic family would eventually split up. Though of course Matt cannot be blamed for being brought up in a broken home, the way in which he describes the attack of his tyrannical father is deeply unsettling. Now occupying a position of some authority in the UFC, the organisation would rather we didnt know about Matts troubled family life; even if it does hamper the sales of Made in America: The Most Dominant Champion in UFC History.
Hailing from South East London, Sam Heard is an aspiring writer and recent graduate from the University of Warwick. Sam's favourite things include energy drinks, late nights spent watching the UFC with his girlfriend and annihilating his friends at FIFA.
