This Month’s MMA Birthdays: Matt Hughes Turns 41

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He was the dominant welterweight of his time and remains one of the most successful fighters ever to grace the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s famed Octagon. Matt Hughes will celebrate his 41st birthday on Oct. 13.

Hughes twice captured the UFC welterweight title, first with his win over Carlos Newton at UFC 34 in November 2001 and again with his victory over Georges St. Pierre at UFC 50 in October 2004. A Pat Miletich protégé, he ranks second on the UFC’s all-time list in career wins (18) and appearances (25). Hughes secured 35 of his 45 professional victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission and never lost a decision in his 54-fight career. He made his final appearance at UFC 135 in September 2011, succumbing to first-round punches from Josh Koscheck.

A Hillsboro, Ill., native, Hughes retired on Jan. 24, 2013, and was named the UFC’s vice president of athlete development and government relations. He was the eighth man inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.

Those in MMA celebrating a birthday during the month of October:

OCT. 1

Helio Gracie (1913-2009)
Devin Cole (38)
Jerrod Sanders (34)
Luke Zachrich (33)

OCT. 2

David Heath (38)
Takayo Hashi (37)
Ed Herman (34)

OCT. 3

Thiago Alves (31)
Dave Herman (30)
Seok Mo Kim (28)

OCT. 4

Milton Vieira (36)
Josh Burkman (34)
Liam McGeary (32)
Alexis Davis (30)
Ralek Gracie (29)
Andrew Bard (27)
Erik Koch (26)
Michinori Tanaka (24)

OCT. 5

Hiromitsu Kanehara (44)
Rich Franklin (40)
Matt Hamill (38)

OCT. 6

Brett Martinez (28)
Sean Soriano (25)

OCT. 7

Akihiro Gono (40)
Kyacey Uscola (33)
Chris Mickle (31)
Yuta Sasaki (25)

OCT. 8

Siala-Mou Siliga (44)
Ryo Chonan (38)
Francisco Rivera (33)
Will Brooks (28)

OCT. 9

Gene LeBell (82)
Josh Diekmann (38)
Luis Palomino (34)
Jorge Santiago (34)
Blagoi Ivanov (28)

OCT. 10

Brandon Vera (37)
Douglas Evans (34)
Terry Martin (34)
Doo-Won Seo (33)
Carla Esparza (27)
Jordan Mein (25)

OCT. 11

Francis Carmont (33)
Desmond Green (25)

OCT. 12

Fred Ettish (59)
“Big” John McCarthy (52)
Wes Sims (35)
Jason High (33)
Dan Spohn (30)
Ronnie Mann (28)
Kyoji Horiguchi (24)

OCT. 13

Matt Hughes (41)
Bryan Baker (29)
John Albert (28)
Raymond Pina (24)

OCT. 14

Jim Alers (28)
Josh Grispi (26)

OCT. 15

Jacob Draves (32)
Vaughan Lee (32)
Codie Shuffield (26)

OCT. 16

Kazuyuki Fujita (44)
Frankie Edgar (33)
Maximo Blanco (31)

OCT. 17

Joey Villasenor (39)
Rex Richards (34)
Ben Rothwell (33)
Buddy Roberts (32)
Luke Rockhold (30)
Charles Oliveira (25)
Amran Aliyev (24)
Adrian Hadribeaj (24)

OCT. 19

Yukiko Seki (44)
Terry Etim (29)
Drew Dober (26)
Sabah Homasi (26)

OCT. 20

John Fraser (37)

OCT. 21

Clint Godfrey (32)
Shawn Jordan (30)

OCT. 22

Ajlin Ahmic (30)
Kosuke Suzuki (30)
Rin Nakai (28)
Alex White (26)

OCT. 23

Jeremy May (28)

OCT. 24

Orlando Wiet (49)
David Mitchell (35)
James McSweeney (34)
Mark Bocek (33)
Jesse Forbes (30)
Alexander Volkov (26)
Kelvin Gastelum (23)

OCT. 25

Eric Davila (38)
Keith Wisniewski (33)

OCT. 26

Seth Baczynski (33)
Rafael dos Anjos (30)

OCT. 27

Semmy Schilt (41)
Sherron Leggett (36)
Misaki Takimoto (34)

OCT. 28

Bobby Hoffman (48)
L.C. Davis (34)

OCT. 29

Will Kerr (32)
Antonio Braga Neto (27)
Matthew Lozano (26)

OCT. 30

Hong Man Choi (34)
Katsunori Kikuno (33)
Ed West (31)

OCT. 31

Keith Jardine (39)
Joe Warren (38)
Yoshiro Maeda (33)
Dan Cramer (29)