As you may or may not know, Matt Hughes announced on his website last night that he will be fighting Georges St. Pierre at UFC 79 on Dec. 29 for the interim welterweight title. The match was later confirmed via UFC.com.

This bout replaces the previously scheduled welterweight title match between Hughes and Matt Serra that was scrapped after Serra sustained a herniated disk in his lower back during a training session on Monday.

Sometimes pundits question the UFC's matchmaking ability but it's time to give credit where credit is due. The UFC has hit a homerun in signing the third installment of the trilogy between Hughes and GSP. Since Wanderlei Silva vs. Chuck Liddell was not at its optimum marketing appeal, the loss of Hughes vs. Serra from the card after all the time and money that was put behind the promotion of it could have been a doomsday situation for the UFC. Simply put, a rumored replacement bout between Hughes and Thiago Alves wasn't going to cut it.

But the UFC stepped up and put together a main event that, on paper, is probably better than Serra vs. Hughes. The most impressive thing is how quickly after Serra pulled out that they were able to make GSP vs. Hughes happen. A match of this magnitude under these circumstances just isn't made overnight. But it feels like that was exactly the case in this instance. By cutting through all the red tape and acting quickly and decisively the UFC still has enough time to give this bout the promotion attention it deserves.

I was surprised when I read the announcement on Hughes' site because the word was that GSP would not be an option for 12/29. My guess is that the UFC made it worth his while to take the match vs. Hughes on short notice.

Instituting an interim title for the welterweight division is also the right move. I'm not the biggest fan of interim titles but they do serve a purpose and they were used much more prior to the start of TUF-era.

I'm not sure if the decision to go with an interim title is based on the fact that the welterweight title hasn't been seen since Serra won it from GSP in March or if they found out some additional information in regard to Serra's injury. I'm not a doctor but it wouldn't surprise me if he's sidelined for a prolonged period of time.

As someone who suffered a severe back injury, the fact that Serra apparently had to be carried to the hospital is a huge concern. When my back went out I couldn't walk and had to be transported to the hospital via ambulance. It was pretty embarrassing to say the least but I simply did not have control of my body from the waist down. An MRI later showed that I not only had a massive herniation but that a piece of the herniated disk broke off and was lodged against my spine. It was a pretty nasty injury that ended up requiring surgery and I wouldn't be shocked in the least if Serra had something similar.

Serra wanted the Hughes match badly for personal reason and he was in line for a major pay day. If it wasn't a catastrophic injury it's likely he would have cut back on his training and kept everything a secret and simply gone into the match less than 100 percent.

Injuries are nothing new to Serra as he came into the UFC with a strong buzz behind him. However, he never lived up to his potential and spent a significant period of time sidelined because of injuries. He basically fell off the scene and had to use the fourth season of The Ultimate Fighter as a vehicle to get back on the map.

I don't think Serra will need to retire but his recovery could be a long process and I think we'll see the winner of a potential bout between Jon Fitch and Karo Parisyan take on the winner of Hughes vs. GSP III before we see Serra get back into the picture.

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Sam Caplan

Lead Writer/Editor - ProElite.com

SamCaplan.ProElite.com