Hughs/Newton first fight

A post from the 'Upset' thread got me thinking about this fight again.

Does anyone else think that this fight should have been at the very least, a draw? I think Hughs just woke up quicker.

This outcome also changed the way things happened for years later.

a draw or nc woulda been fair. thank god the remATCH WAS DESCISIVE

It doesn't really matter. If it was a draw or a no contest, the thing to do would be to have a re-match. Which they did. And the rematch was decisive.

But Hughes was unconsious first.

And I agree that it's a good thing that the rematch was decisive.

This has been argued since the fight happened and is still 'controversial'.

Matt admitted he was out (you can hear it on the PPV). But that is the nature of fighting - referees make mistakes and the fighters deal with it.

Should he have been awarded the belt? I don't think so.

Did he pound the shit out of Newton in the rematch? YUP!

How do you know Hughes was unconscious first? I seriously doubt that. Newton didn't drop out of his arms. Hughes must still have been conscious when he started the slam.

Anyway, let's even say (for the sake of argument) that the ref had stepped in and said Newton won. In a fight that close, and that exciting, and with Newton stone cold KOed after "winning," there would STILL be a rematch. So the overall effect of the decision was zero for MMA history. Maybe it affected Newton's purse, but that's about it.

I think in the first fight we got to see a totally focused Carlos Newton who had trained everything perfectly.

In his subsequent fights he had either been training too much of one thing and not another or he was spreading himself out too much with non mma stuff.

I think Carlos is a great fighter with a heap of natural ability but he has to focus on it to do his best.

Here's hoping Carlos takes some time off to do other things and comes back with a vengeance.