UFC 50: Matt Hughes Submits Georges St-Pierre at the Horn
UFC 50: The War of ’04 took place on October 22, 2004, in Atlantic City, New Jersey, at Boardwalk Hall. Matt Hughes submitted Georges St-Pierre at 4:59 of round one to win the vacant welterweight title. Tito Ortiz defeated Patrick Côté by unanimous decision in the non-title light heavyweight main event. The seven-fight card also featured wins for Rich Franklin, Frank Trigg and Evan Tanner.
Hughes wins the vacant welterweight title
Hughes and St-Pierre met for the vacant welterweight title. St-Pierre had won his first two UFC fights against Karo Parisyan and Jay Hieron, but this was his first championship opportunity. Hughes brought the experience of an established former champion to the matchup, having lost the belt to B.J. Penn earlier in the year.
The challenger held his own through much of the opening round before Hughes secured an armbar. St-Pierre tapped at 4:59, ending the contest immediately before the horn. The timing made the submission especially memorable: one more second would have ended the round, but Hughes had already forced a conclusion.
That result began the competitive history between two defining welterweights. It was also a reminder that a promising performance and a winning result are different things. St-Pierre showed enough to make the meeting worth revisiting, yet Hughes supplied the finish and left with the championship. Their first encounter belongs to Hughes in the record.
Ortiz defeats Côté over three rounds
The main event was a non-title light heavyweight contest. Ortiz defeated Côté by unanimous decision after 15 minutes, with the scorecards reading 30–27, 30–26 and 30–26. It was the only bout on the evening to reach the judges.
Ortiz’s win came after defeats to Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, giving him a successful return to the victory column. Côté completed the scheduled distance, but the judges all favored the former champion. No light heavyweight belt changed hands in this fight; the night’s championship result came in the welterweight division.
Franklin, Trigg and Tanner finish their opponents
Franklin submitted Jorge Rivera with an armbar late in the third round of their middleweight contest. Trigg stopped Renato Verissimo with elbows in round two at welterweight. Tanner submitted Robbie Lawler with a triangle choke during the first round, adding another significant middleweight result.
On the preliminary card, Ivan Salaverry forced Tony Fryklund to submit to a body lock, and Travis Lutter knocked out Marvin Eastman in round two. Those results gave the card four submissions, two striking finishes and one decision. Its variety lies in the different ways fighters closed their contests, with Hughes’ last-second armbar providing the most historically important finish.
UFC 50: The War of ’04 full results
- Tito Ortiz def. Patrick Côté by unanimous decision (30–27, 30–26, 30–26).
- Rich Franklin def. Jorge Rivera by submission (armbar), Round 3, 4:28.
- Vacant welterweight title: Matt Hughes def. Georges St-Pierre by submission (armbar), Round 1, 4:59.
- Frank Trigg def. Renato Verissimo by TKO (elbows), Round 2, 2:11.
- Evan Tanner def. Robbie Lawler by submission (triangle choke), Round 1, 2:22.
- Ivan Salaverry def. Tony Fryklund by submission (body lock), Round 1, 1:36.
- Travis Lutter def. Marvin Eastman by KO (punch), Round 2, 0:33.
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Article Tags
UFC 50, Matt Hughes, Georges St-Pierre, Tito Ortiz, Welterweight Championship, UFC, MMA
