Assumptions save us time; we use and collect them over time to save us the trouble of having to gather all the facts needed to form an opinion. I’m sure some of us have made the mistake of calling someone a “she” only to find out that “Pat”, is indeed all, that is man and just enjoys growing his hair out during the summer.
But, as we’ve all heard at some point in our lives (usually from an angry mom) to assume is to “make an ass out of you and me”. Aside from just being a clever bit of word play, this turn of phrase is actually pretty sound advice.
Former welterweight champion Matt Hughes is a great example. Mr. Hughes prescribes to several different assumptions about life, ranging from why fighters get hurt nowadays (they’re just soft), to why hunting is ok (the bible doesn’t say otherwise), and, most recently, that if you present a reasoned legal defense in court, you’re acting like a punk.
Were these just the ramblings of a retired champ, we could simply smile and nod, writing his comments off as nothing more than the disgruntled posits of an old man with too much time on his hands.
But that’s not what he is, at least according to the UFC. No, the UFC Hall of Fame inductee is actually the “Vice President of Athlete Development and Government Relations”.
What exactly does the VP of ADGR do, you ask? Well, it would appear, not much. Zuffa created the position for Hughes as an excuse to continue paying him after he ended his career with back-to-back knockout losses.
The UFC does this from time to time, most notably with guys like Minotauro Nogeuira, Chuck Liddell, and of course Hughes. The only precursor appears to be having a good business relationship with the higher-ups and ending your fighting days struggling to remain conscious.
These positions are essentially the UFC’s pension program, given out to the men who sacrificed their bodies and brains over many years without ever rocking the boat too much. To that end, don’t expect to see Nate Quarry or Randy Couture behind a Zuffa desk anytime soon.
And truly, Hughes is a company man. He’s never said anything that stands in contrast with the expressed wishes of the UFC. In other words, he knows where his bread is buttered. Recently, he seems to have forgotten where he came from.
After the NSAC handed down a five year suspension to Nick Diaz for a positive drug test, seemingly everyone in the MMA sphere took to the interwebs to voice their collective concerns and outrage.
Everyone but Matt Hughes.
Though he voiced alarm over the length of Diaz’ punishment, Hughes found cause for the harsh treatment given to Diaz for his apparent “punk” attitude.
The only problem here (outside of a paid Zuffa employee taking to Twitter to deride a peer) is that Diaz wasn’t even that much of a punk during his hearing. He may have refused to answer any questions, but he did so after taking the advice of his legal counsel. He wasn’t flashing the bird and shouting something about an area code, he was simply using his constitutionally guaranteed right of privacy (Ironically, Hughes himself posted a picture of the constitution on his Twitter later that day).
I don’t know that we can really expect much better from Hughes. In his eyes, using the constitution to protect yourself from unfair questioning is akin to wearing baggy pants and spray painting train cars (something Diaz has probably actually done).
The worst part is that Hughes should have actually been forced to do something for Diaz. The entire other half of his job description is “Government Relations.” But did he reach out to the NSAC on behalf of Diaz? Of course not. He was busy voicing assumptions on Diaz’ disposition in court.
Don’t want to bear witness against yourself? You’re a punk. Don’t like fighting hurt? You’re soft. Don’t like hunting? You’re “just a kid”. During his tenure as the VP of Athlete Development, Hughes has done nothing to support his fellow fighters. In fact, he’s become a distraction. As fellow fighter Matt Mitrione pointed out, Hughes is supposed to act as a liaison for fighters, not to make unfounded assumptions on their behavior.
Having been born and raised in a place like Hillsboro, Illinois, Hughes is probably the kind of guy that would look at a medical marijuana patient like Diaz as a “loser stoner” as opposed to a person using their doctor prescribed medication. If just a shred of what he wrote in his book is true, he’s a disgusting human being.
Even worse, he’s an assumer. And with every assumptive tweet posted, he continues to make an ass out of everyone involved, most notably himself.
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