Jeff Hughes (fighter)

Jeff Hughes
Born	(1988-05-17) May 17, 1988 (age 35) Canton, Ohio, United States [1]
Other names	Light Out
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight	265 lb (120 kg; 18 st 13 lb)
Division	Heavyweight
Reach	77 in (196 cm) [1]
Fighting out of	Canton, Ohio, United States
Team	Evolve MMA and Victory Martial Arts[ citation needed ] Strong Style Fight Team (2017–present) [2]
Years active	2014–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total	15
Wins	10
By knockout	4
By submission	1
By decision	5
Losses	4
By knockout	1
By submission	1
By decision	2
No contests	1
Other information
Occupation	Truck driver[ citation needed ]
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Jeff Hughes (born May 17, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist. A professional since 2014, he has also fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Legacy Fighting Alliance, where he was a former heavyweight champion.

Background

Hughes was born and raised in Canton, Ohio. He played basketball and wrestled in high school. He then turned to MMA after he graduated from high school in his hometown of Canton, Ohio. ^[3]

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

After compiling an amateur record of 11-3 from 2007 until 2013, Hughes started his professional MMA career in 2014 and fought under numerous organizations, notably Legacy Fighting Alliance where he was the Heavyweight Champion twice. ^{[4] [5]} He amassed a record of 9-1 before competing in Dana White's Contender Series 14. ^[6]

Dana White's Contender Series

Hughes appeared in Dana White's Contender Series 14 web-series program on July 24, 2018, facing Josh Appelt. ^[7] He won the fight via first-round TKO. With this win, Hughes was awarded a contract with the UFC. ^[8]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Hughes made his UFC debut on March 9, 2019 at UFC Fight Night 146 against Daniel Spitz. ^[9] However, Spitz pulled out of the fight in February citing injury and he was replaced by Maurice Greene. ^[10] He lost the fight via a split decision. ^[11]

Hughes faced Todd Duffee on September 14, 2019 at UFC Fight Night 158. ^[12] The bout ended in the first round as a no contest due to an accidental eye poke that rendered Duffee unable to continue. ^[13]

Hughes faced Raphael Pessoa on October 26, 2019 at UFC Fight Night 162. ^[14] He lost the fight via unanimous decision. ^[15]

Hughes was expected to face promotional newcomer Carlos Felipe on March 14, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 170. ^[16] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was eventually postponed . ^[17]

Hughes faced Juan Espino on September 27, 2020 at UFC 253. ^[18] He lost the fight via submission in round one. ^[19]

On October 2, 2020 it was reported that Hughes was released by the UFC. ^[20]

Championships and accomplishments

• Legacy Fighting Alliance
  • Legacy Fighting Alliance Heavyweight Championship (Two times) vs. Richard Odoms and Maurice Greene ^{[4] [5]}

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown

15 matches	10 wins	4 losses
By knockout	4	1
By submission	1	1
By decision	5	2
No contests	1

Res.	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Loss	10–4 (1)	Juan Espino	Submission (scarf hold choke)	UFC 253	September 27, 2020	1	3:48	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Loss	10–3 (1)	Raphael Pessoa	Decision (unanimous)	UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Askren	October 26, 2019	3	5:00	Kallang, Singapore
NC	10–2 (1)	Todd Duffee	NC (accidental eye poke)	UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Gaethje	September 14, 2019	1	4:03	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada	Accidental eye poke rendered Duffee unable to continue.
Loss	10–2	Maurice Greene	Decision (split)	UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. dos Santos	March 9, 2019	3	5:00	Wichita, Kansas, United States
Win	10–1	Josh Appelt	TKO (punches)	Dana White's Contender Series 14	July 24, 2018	1	4:26	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	9–1	Maurice Greene	Decision (unanimous)	LFA 38	April 27, 2018	5	5:00	Minneapolis, United States	Defended the LFA Heavyweight Championship.
Win	8–1	Richard Odoms	Decision (unanimous)	LFA 26	November 3, 2017	5	5:00	Houston, Texas, United States	Won the LFA Heavyweight Championship.
Win	7–1	Ryan Pokryfky	Decision (unanimous)	Big Guns 24	June 10, 2017	3	5:00	Tallmadge, Ohio, United States
Loss	6–1	Dan Spohn	TKO (punches)	IT Fight Series 48	December 10, 2016	5	2:02	Columbus, Ohio, United States	For the vacant IT Fight Series Heavyweight Championship.
Win	6–0	John Hawk	Decision (unanimous)	Big Guns 18	March 19, 2016	3	5:00	Mansfield, Ohio, United States
Win	5–0	Jason Riley	KO (spinning back kick)	Caged Madness 40	January 16, 2016	1	4:59	Akron, Ohio, United States
Win	4–0	Curt Lemmon	Decision (unanimous)	Big Guns 16	August 22, 2015	3	5:00	Streetsboro, Ohio, United States
Win	3–0	Ed Abrasley	TKO (punches)	PA Cage Fight 21	May 30, 2015	1	1:59	Akron, Ohio, United States
Win	2–0	Leviticus Roberson	TKO (retirement)	RFO: Big Guns 15	March 21, 2015	1	5:00	Akron, Ohio, United States
Win	1–0	Devon Wilson	Submission (guillotine choke)	Rock N Rumble 8	October 4, 2014	1	3:52	Canton, Ohio, United States	Heavyweight debut.

^[6]

See also

• List of male mixed martial artists

References

1. "Jeff Hughes | UFC". www.ufc.com. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
2. John Hyon Ko (August 12, 2019). "Interview: Jeff Hughes (UFC Heavyweight)" (Podcast).
3. "LFA heavyweight champion Jeff "Lights Out" Hughes looks to pass one more test and earn a UFC contract on Contender Series". MyMMANews.com. 2018-07-16. Retrieved 2019-12-05.
4. "LFA 26 Results & Fight Highlights: Jeff Hughes Crowned Heavyweight Champion". MMAWeekly.com. 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
5. Sherdog.com. "Jeff Hughes Outpaces Maurice Greene to Retain Legacy Fighting Alliance Heavyweight Crown". Sherdog. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
6. Sherdog.com. "Jeff". Sherdog. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
7. Kontek, Riley. "Contender Series: Season 2, Episode 6 Preview and Predictions". Combat Press. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
8. "Dana White's Contender Series 14 results: Sodiq Yusuff, Jeff Hughes, Jim Crute win UFC deals". MMA Junkie. 2018-07-25. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
9. DNA, MMA (4 January 2019). "Daniel Spitz treft LFA Heavyweight Kampioen Jeff Hughes tijdens UFC Wichita" . Retrieved 2019-10-25.
10. DNA, MMA (16 February 2019). "Blessuregeval zorgt voor rematch tussen Jeff Hughes en Maurice Greene tijdens UFC Wichita" . Retrieved 2019-10-25.
11. Staff (2019-03-09). "UFC Wichita Preliminary Card Results and Recap". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
12. "Five fights official for UFC on ESPN+ 16, including return of Todd Duffee". MMA Junkie. 2019-06-26. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
13. Evanoff, Josh (2019-09-14). "UFC Vancouver Results: Todd Duffee vs. Jeff Hughes Ends In No-Contest". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
14. Sherdog.com. "Jeff Hughes vs. Raphael Pessoa Added to UFC Fight Night 162 Lineup". Sherdog. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
15. Harshman, Heath (2019-10-26). "UFC Singapore Results: Noticeably Improved Raphael Pessoa Earns Decision Against Jeff Hughes". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2019-10-26.
16. Marcelo Barone (2019-12-04). "Undefeated in MMA, Carlos Boi will face Jeff Hughes at UFC Brasilia in March". sportv.globo.com (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2019-12-04.
17. Nolan King and John Morgan (2020-03-15). "UFC postpones three events amid growing coronavirus outbreak". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
18. Tristen Critchfield (2020-09-08). "UFC 253 UPDATE: HEAVYWEIGHTS JUAN ESPINO, JEFF HUGHES TO CLASH IN ABU DHABI". Sherdog. Retrieved 2020-09-08.
19. Evanoff, Josh (2020-09-26). "UFC 253 Results: Juan Espino Submits Jeff Hughes". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
20. Martin, Damon (2020-10-02). "Mara Romero Borella, Iuri Alcantara, Jeff Hughes and Khadis Ibragimov released by UFC". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2020-10-03.

External links

• Jeff Hughes at UFC
• Professional MMA record for Jeff Hughes from Sherdog