Hallman: Nothing to Gain from Third Hughes Bout

Dennis Hallman has submitted Matt Hughes twice in 37 seconds total. He doesn’t see the point in fighting him again.

“I really don’t have anything to gain from the Matt Hughes fight,” Hallman said Monday during a “Savage Dog Show” interview on the Sherdog Radio Network. “I beat him twice. What can I gain? If it’s financially appealing to me, then for sure. But just for another fight for him, it’s not really at the top of my list.”

Hughes rebounded from those losses early in his career to become one of the greatest welterweights in the sport. Meanwhile Hallman struggled in his biggest fights, though he’s now won two in a row in the UFC. He stopped Karo Parisyan on Saturday at UFC 123 a little while before B.J. Penn knocked out Hughes.

Another win over Hughes could propel Hallman in the welterweight mix, but he believes there are multiple routes that could take him where he wants to go.

“As far as putting myself up in the rankings, there’s other guys I could do that with,” Hallman said. “I don’t have to do it with Matt. I’ve already beat him.”

With that said, Hallman isn’t refusing the matchup. He’s willing if the interest is there and the offer is right.

“I don’t want to make [$25,000 to show and $25,000 to win] when someone’s making 2 million bucks and the guy’s beat him twice and I have nothing to gain from the fight,” Hallman said. “I want it to be appealing to me too.”

Despite his quick success against Hughes, Hallman called him a “super tough” opponent. He considers the former UFC welterweight champion more than capable despite dropping the rubber match against Penn on Saturday.

That win put Penn alongside Hallman and Georges St. Pierre as fighters who have beaten Hughes twice. Whether Hallman will get a shot at becoming the only man to beat Hughes three times remains to be seen.

“If the fans want to see it,” Hallman said, “then everybody will pay for it and it will happen.”

Listen to the full interview (beginning at 31:10) with Hallman, who also discussed how he rearranged Jeff Monson’s furniture on the roof of his house and the time Monson retaliated.