Their trilogy marked a moment in time in which one all-time great passed the torch to another.
As their exploits continue to drift into the rearview mirror, a by-the-numbers look at the unforgettable St. Pierre-Hughes rivalry:
1,163: Days between the first and third St. Pierre-Hughes meetings. Hughes put away “Rush” with a first-round armbar at UFC 50 in October 2004 before losing their two subsequent encounters, succumbing to second-round blows from St. Pierre at UFC 65 in November 2006 and bowing to a second-round armbar from the Canadian at UFC 79 in December 2007.
1,150,000: Pay-per-view buys for the two events headlined by St. Pierre-Hughes. UFC 65 drew 500,000 buys, while UFC 79 earned 650,000. Their first encounter at UFC 50 played third fiddle to Tito Ortiz-Patrick Cote and Rich Franklin-Jorge Rivera.
14,666: Fans to witness the second installment of the St. Pierre-Hughes rivalry in the UFC 65 main event at ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California. It was the highest attendance figure of the trilogy and resulted in a $2,138,020 gate.
1,278: Seconds of fight time in the St. Pierre-Hughes series. They faced one another inside the Octagon for a total of 21:18—the equivalent of a little more than four rounds.
186: Combined total strikes landed by St. Pierre and Hughes in their trilogy. More than half of those (107) were landed in their second encounter.
7: Submission attempts between St. Pierre and Hughes in their three bouts, two of which ended with tapouts.
60: Significant strikes by which St. Pierre outlanded Hughes in their rivalry. The Canadian connected with 79 such strikes while absorbing only 19 in return.
5: Takedowns completed by St. Pierre at Hughes’ expense, and he did so with a takedown accuracy rate of 100%. Hughes, by comparison, converted only two of his 13 attempts (15%).
2: Knockdowns credited to St. Pierre in the series. The second led to a stoppage at UFC 65, where “Rush” buried Hughes with a head kick and follow-up punches to capture the undisputed welterweight crown for the first time.
.778: Cumulative winning percentage between the two men following the completion of their trilogy. St. Pierre compiled a remarkable 11-1 record and established himself as arguably the greatest fighter of all-time, with wins over Matt Serra, Jon Fitch, B.J. Penn, Thiago Alves, Josh Koscheck, Dan Hardy, Jake Shields, Carlos Condit, Nick Diaz, Johny Hendricks and Michael Bisping. Hughes, meanwhile, went 3-3, with victories over Serra, Renzo Gracie and Ricardo Almeida.