Matt Allen Hughes was born on 13 October 1973 in Hillsboro, Illinois USA, and is best known for his years as a mixed martial artist and UFC Welterweight Champion. He iss also the NJCAA and UFC Hall of Fame Inductee. He defended his belt seven times, beating his opponents in various competitions.
What’s the net worth of Matt Hughes? How rich is he? According to credible sources, Hughes is estimated to have a net worth of over $8 million, acquired during his years as a mixed martial artist, having won many fights and championships. During his time, he has been ranked globally as the number one pound-for pound mixed martial artist.
Matt Hughes Net Worth $8 Million
Matt Hughes had a deep passion in martial arts and playing football from his high school years. By the time he enrolled in Southwestern Illinois College, he had already won many wrestling fights in Hillsboro High School. He transferred to Lincoln College, Illinois, and then to Charleston’s Eastern Illinois University. After graduating, he continued practicing martial arts, earning eighth position in NCCA Division in 1996, beating Jeremy Horn and Ricardo Almeida, two of the best wrestlers at that time. However, after a string of wins he lost to Tito Ortiz and Jeff Monson. He still earned the ADC Submission Wrestling World Championship, and a base to his net worth.
Matt Hughes made his debut in martial arts on 1 January 1998, slamming his competitor to the ground in only 15 minutes. This was perhaps his signature move that he adopted in his major fights, most of which he won via submissions. He fought three fights at the Extreme Challenge 21, defeating well known martial artists such as Dave Menne and Victor Hunsaker, whom he beat via TKO. Dennis Hallman handed him his first defeat in his career by technical submission, but his net worth continued to grow.
On 24 September 1999, Matt Hughes participated in ‘UFC 22: There Can Be Only One Champion,’ his promotional debut, in which he defeated Valerie Ignatov after three rounds. He won his first title of ‘UFC World Welterweight’ on 2 November 2001, beating Carlos Newton. He was not ready to let go of his championship belt, and defended it at ‘UFC 36: World Collide,’ beating Hayato Sakurai. In his next defense, he fought and succeeded against huge names in the martial arts industry, including Gil Castilo, Sean Sherk, Frank Trigg, Jiu Jitsu, Renato Verissimo, Georges St-Pierre and Karo Parisyan. His net worth was improving.
Matt Hughes started coaching, participating alongside Rich Franklin in ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ the second Spike TV reality TV series. Unlike the previous season, this time the coaches did not fight after the show concluded, because Hughes and Franklin were champions in different divisions. Two years later, he was one of the guest coaches for Jens Pulver, his long-time friend, during the season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter 5.
Matt Hughes has had great success and accomplishments in his time as a marital artist. In 1999 and three other consecutive years (2003, 2004, 2005), he received the award of Fighter of the Year by Fight Matrix. In 2000, he was also offered Fight of the Decade Award by Yahoo! Sports.
In January 2008, Hughes released ‘Made in America: The Most Dominant Champion in UFC History,’ his autobiography that he co-wrote with Michael Malice. The book did well and debuted in 21st spot on the bestseller list in New York Times. He was inducted into UFC’s Hall of Fame in May 2010, which was one of the greatest achievements in his career.
In January 2013, he announced that he would retire from fighting, following which the Athlete Development and Government Relations made him the vice president. In July 2014, he became ‘Uncaged with Matt Hughes’ host, a show that airs on Sportsman Channel every Saturday. He is also the host of ‘Trophy Hunters TV,’ which airs three times every week on the Outdoor Channel. Both help his still rising net worth.
In his personal life, Matt Hughes is married to Audra Moore Hughes, and the couple has two daughters together, and a son each from a previous relationship. They live in Hillsboro, Oregon.
