Jeff Hughes (born May 17, 1988) is an American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

. A professional since 2014, he has also fought in the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

and

Legacy Fighting Alliance The Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Houston, Texas. It was created as a result of the Legacy Fighting Championship and Resurrection Fighting Alliance merg ...

, where he was a former heavyweight champion.

Background

Hughes was born and raised in

Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in Stark County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, eighth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 70,872 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Canton–Massillo ...

. He played basketball and wrestled in high school. He then turned to MMA after he graduated from

Canton South High School Canton South High School is a public high school in Canton Township, Stark County, Ohio, United States. The school, typically enrolling around 800 students in the 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grades, is the only high school in the Canton Local S ...

in his hometown of

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

where he was the Heavyweight Champion twice. He amassed a record of 9-1 before competing in Dana White's Contender Series 14.

Dana White's Contender Series

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

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Hughes made his UFC debut on March 9, 2019 at

UFC Fight Night 146 ''UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. dos Santos'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 146'' or ''UFC on ESPN+ 4'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on March 9, 2019 at Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, ...

against

Daniel Spitz Daniel Spitz (born July 31, 1990) is a retired American mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 2013 until 2019, he competed for King of the Cage and the Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC. Background Spitz was born in Spokane, W ...

. However, Spitz pulled out of the fight in February citing injury and he was replaced by Maurice Greene. He lost the fight via a split decision. Hughes faced

Todd Duffee Todd Duffee (born December 6, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division of Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW). He trains predominantly with the Combat Sports Academy and the American Kickboxing Academy in Cal ...

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

Raphael Pessoa Raphael Pessoa (born March 9, 1989) is a Brazilian mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight (MMA), Heavyweight division. He also formerly competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Ultimate Fighting Championshi ...

on October 26, 2019 at

UFC Fight Night 162 ''UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Askren'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 162'' or '' UFC on ESPN+ 20'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 26, 2019 at the Singapore Indoor Stadiu ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Hughes was expected to face promotional newcomer Carlos Felipe on March 14, 2020 at

UFC Fight Night 170 ''UFC Fight Night: Lee vs. Oliveira'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 170'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 28'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 14, 2020 at Nilson Nelson Gymnasium, G ...

. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the event was eventually postponed . Hughes faced Juan Espino on September 27, 2020 at

UFC 253 ''UFC 253: Adesanya vs. Costa'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 27, 2020 at the du Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Background The event was orig ...

. He lost the fight via submission in round one. On October 2, 2020 it was reported that Hughes was released by the UFC.

Championships and accomplishments

** Legacy Fighting Alliance Heavyweight Championship (Two times)

Mixed martial arts record

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Jeff 1988 births Heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Living people American male mixed martial artists American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Sportspeople from Norfolk, Virginia Mixed martial artists from Virginia