Matt Hughes

Matt Hughes was the Illinois farm boy who ruled the UFC welterweight division for most of the early 2000s. A two-time NCAA All-American wrestler, he won the title from Carlos Newton in 2001, lost it to BJ Penn, then won it back and made seven defences across two reigns, beating Frank Trigg twice, Georges St-Pierre and Royce Gracie.

St-Pierre took the title from him in 2006, and he later coached The Ultimate Fighter against Matt Serra and beat Renzo Gracie before retiring in 2011. He entered the UFC Hall of Fame in 2010. CagePotato covered his blunt blog posts and his long feud with Serra.