The April bout was the last one of the Iowa native’s UFC contract and her first with the Sayif Saud-led Fortis MMA team in Dallas. It also came after an 0-3 start to her time in the Octagon, and now she was a round down with two to go.
Panic time? Not for Hughes.
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“I was not even fazed one bit,” she said. “Sayif came over and he was like, ‘Hey, I need way more from you, and I need you to do this, this and this, I need you to stick to the game plan.’ And I was like, ‘Okay, no problem.’ And I felt like ten more minutes was plenty of time to do exactly what I needed to do. So it was like I was just getting warmed up – it was like I just did two miles, and I’m ready for the next eight.”
Hughes knows all about warming up for two miles and then kicking into gear for the rest of a long race, having competed in the 5,000, 10,000 and 3,000m steeplechase distances in college.
She even ran a marathon. Accidentally.
“We were out for a long run of 18 miles and the group I was with got lost,” laughs Hughes, who actually wound up going over the 26.2 marathon distance to 28 miles. “That was miserable. It was out in South Carolina, and it was hot and humid. It’s times like that where it’s perfect because it pushes you more and you learn a little bit more about yourself.”
That’s what distance running can do for you. Like a fight, it’s nice to have the talent and technique, but if you don’t have that heart to push through the tough times, none of that matters.
“I like when you have to gut check and have to tap in to where you might feel super uncomfortable, but all right, who’s got more guts right now?” said Hughes. “Honestly, I feel like it helped shape me as a martial artist and as a good UFC fighter. That cardio base and having those conversations with yourself at Mile 8 when you’re in a half marathon or even a full marathon, it’s like, ‘Okay, you just gotta keep going. Keep charging through that fire and eventually it’s gonna be over.’ But a lot of people break, and so I think that training, that endurance distance running, really shaped me to be unbreakable and in the fire all the time.”
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At this point, you can guess where this story is going. Hughes roared back in the next two rounds against Nunes and when the judges’ scorecards were tallied, she had a majority decision win and her first UFC victory. It’s a little disappointing that what followed was only a fried chicken sandwich and a couple beers, but that was more than satisfying for a fighter who earned her victory and a fresh start to her UFC career. And when she got home, she had some familiar faces waiting for her.