Las Vegas, NV – With one second left in the last round, nearly two years ago, a young Canadian fighter named Georges "Rush" St. Pierre found himself locked in an armbar, losing a championship title fight to the now legendary Matt Hughes for the then vacant welterweight crown. Ever since that day, and because of the tremendous athleticism and skill displayed during that fight, UFC® fans all around the world have waited for these incredible athletes to face each other, once again, in the Octagon™. Today, the UFC announced that the time has come, and that the two fighters will square off again -- with the welterweight crown at stake -- at the Ultimate Fighting Championship organization’s UFC 63: HUGHES vs. ST. PIERRE taking place live from the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim Saturday, September 23, 2006.
"I hope he’s ready," said Hughes. "No one has been able to stop me yet, and I don’t see myself giving up my belt any time soon. I’m looking forward to a good fight, but at the end of the night I will still be the UFC Welterweight Champion."Hughes and St. Pierre last fought October 22, 2004 at UFC 50: THE WAR OF ‘04 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. At the time, St. Pierre had a perfect record. But Hughes ended up giving St. Pierre his first career loss, forcing him to tapout at the end of the first round. Since that day, Hughes has maintained the welterweight crown, and St. Pierre has aggressively fought to put himself back in line for the title, defeating former champion BJ Penn, Jason "Mayhem" Miller, Frank Trigg and Sean Sherk. Meanwhile, Matt Hughes defeated Frank Trigg, Joe Riggs, and most recently the legendary Royce Gracie, who was previously undefeated in the UFC.Matt Hughes (41-4) 5’9"/170 lbs., fighting out of Hillsboro, Ill., is considered by many to be the greatest welterweight champion in the history of the UFC. He started fighting in 1999, at UFC 22, and spent two years climbing his way up the division. Finally, at UFC 34 (11/02/01) he won the UFC Welterweight Championship by defeating Carlos Newton by KO. From there, he won five consecutive fights, holding the title for three years before losing it to BJ Penn at UFC 46 (1/31/04), succumbing to a rear naked choke at 4:39 of the first round. Matt regained the vacant welterweight crown at UFC 50 (10/22/04) by stopping Georges St. Pierre with an arm bar at 4:59 of the first round, and defended his title at UFC 52 (4/16/06) against Frank Trigg, winning by a rear naked choke. He fought Joe Riggs at UFC 56 (11/19/05) in a non-championship bout and submitted him by Kimura at 3:28 of the first round. Hughes then defeated Royce Gracie by TKO at UFC 60 (5/27/06).Georges "Rush" St. Pierre (12-1-0) 5’10"/170 lbs., fighting out of Montreal, is the Canadian Welterweight Mixed Martial Arts Champion. He is an excellent athlete who combines solid stand up skills with an impressive ground game. After scoring UFC wins over Karo Parisyan, Jay Hieron, Jason "Mayhem" Miller, Frank Trigg, Sean Sherk and BJ Penn, St. Pierre is hungry for another shot at world champion Matt Hughes and is ready to prove himself as being the top welterweight fighter in the world.
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