“Some become champions, few become legends.”—Bill “Superfoot” Wallace
Welcome once again fight fans to another installment of Time Warp Battle, where historical fighting legends meet today’s future (or in this case—current) Hall of Fame candidates.
Today, we’re going to look back at what would happen if the 1979 PKA Middleweight Champion kickboxer, Bill Wallace, were to take on one of today’s most popular and decorated UFC fighters—the former UFC Welterweight Champion, Matt Hughes, circa 2006.
If you are new to this series (sorry, it’s been a while), please note that the intent of Time Warp Battle is not to take anything away from the accomplishments of those who have dedicated so much of themselves to help bring their passions and sporting disciplines to the masses.
But nonetheless, it’s fun to speculate just how far athletes have evolved (if at all) and imagine for a brief moment, how these respected legends would do against some of today’s greatest MMA Superstars.
Okay, enough of the anti-harassment disclaimer—let’s begin.
Matt Hughes was truly at the top of his game in 2006. Some of his records and achievements at that time included: the most wins in the UFC (14), two-time UFC Welterweight Champion, and a total of seven UFC title defenses.
Not bad.
Hughes was (and still is) primarily known for his wrestling prowess and was an accomplished NCAA Division I All-American Team Collegiate wrestler from Eastern Illinois University. Hughes possessed incredible strength, submission abilities, and vicious ground-and-pound striking.
Before facing Georges St-Pierre at UFC 65 on November 18, 2006, Hughes had a remarkable record of 41 wins and only four losses.
Very impressive.
Now for the bad news…
St-Pierre permanently disrupted Hughes’ reign of terror by beating the champion convincingly in their highly anticipated re-match. St-Pierre, who himself was a good wrestler (but far less accomplished compared to Hughes), easily avoided all of Hughes’ takedown attempts, while successfully taking Hughes down to the mat at will.
St-Pierre also did a phenomenal job of exposing major holes in Hughes’ strike defense by landing a devastating “superman” punch near the end of the first round and then finishing the fight with an absolutely ferocious head kick.
Can you see where I’m going with this?
Now, I know what you are all thinking (yes, I am a mind reader).
A wrestler could still easily beat a karate kickboxer any day of the week—especially one as well-rounded as Matt Hughes, right?
Well fight fans, before you get too far ahead of yourselves, allow me to introduce you to one of my childhood heroes—Bill “Superfoot” Wallace.
[APPLAUSE]
For those of you who may be unfamiliar, Bill Wallace is an American martial artist who was the Professional Karate Association World Full-Contact Karate Champion. He was also the PKA Middleweight Champion kickboxer for over 15 years.
That’s right—15 very long years!!
In the beginning, Wallace started off as a high school wrestler who later turned to the art of judo in 1966. Not very long after however, he was forced to discontinue his judo studies due to a severe right knee injury that was sustained during practice.
Then in 1967, while serving in the U.S. Air Force, Wallace began studying Shorin-ryu karate (along with boxing) and quickly transitioned from competing in the point-fighting circuit to competing in full-contact kickboxing.
Due to the severity of his knee injury, many observers thought that “Superfoot” was committing what they considered to be “martial arts suicide” by switching to a predominantly striking art such as karate, but Wallace was determined to prove them all wrong.
Between the years 1974 and 1980, a healthy Wallace had won 23 consecutive professional fights and retired as the unbeaten PKA Middleweight World Full-Contact Karate Champion.
“Superfoot” became largely known for his signature fast left leg kicks, especially his roundhouse and hook kicks, which were clocked at over 60 miles per hour.
That’s just about 100 kilometers per hour if you are Canadian, eh?!
Wallace used his left foot as others would use their hands, faking opponents with two or three rapid fake kicks and following with one solid knockout technique. His power was amazing, his speed was unmatched, and his precision was astounding.
After his fighting career ended, Wallace had the athletic proficiencies to teach karate, judo, wrestling, and weight-lifting at Memphis State University.
I don’t know about you fight fans, but that sounds pretty well-rounded to me.
I genuinely feel that Bill Wallace would have had what it takes to defeat Matt Hughes in the prime of his career as the UFC Welterweight Champion. Wallace was anything but one dimensional—in fact, his style was so unique, no one was able to figure out how to beat his striking in 15 years.
I highly doubt that Matt Hughes would have been the one to solve that puzzle.
Don’t get me wrong, Matt Hughes was a very good Champion and definitely deserved to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame when you consider all that he has done for the sport of Mixed Martial Arts.
He just isn’t “Legendary.”
.
Other interesting facts about Bill Wallace:
He was a former member of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness.
He had starred in movies with Chuck Norris, Jackie Chan, Mickey Rourke, and John Belushi.
He was the one who found John Belushi dead of a drug overdose at the Chateau Marmont on March 5, 1982.
He was the play-by-play commentator for the inaugural Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) pay-per-view event in 1993.
He was great friends with the late Elvis Presley, who even flew in a Los Angeles acupuncturist to treat Wallace at the Graceland Manor when he was injured.
His more prestigious victories included: the U.S. Championships (three times), the USKA Grand Nationals (three times), and the Top Ten Nationals (two times).
Black Belt magazine named Wallace to its Hall of Fame three times in seven years—twice as “Competitor of the Year” and once as “Man of the Year.”
Awesome!
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New to the Time Warp Battle Series? Visit www.mrjamesryan.com
Or click on one of the following:
Time Warp Battle: 1969 Chuck Norris would Melt the “Iceman” of 2006
Time Warp Battle: 1967 Bruce Lee would Teach BJ Penn a Lesson in History
Time Warp Battle: 1972 Olympic Wrestler Dan Gable vs. Georges St-Pierre
James, I like your articles featuring hypothetical match-ups between famous non-MMA fighters and MMA champs. But…
The article doesn't mention whether or not the Hughes vs. Wallace match would be under the plethora rules and regulations forced upon American MMA by the U.S. States Athletic Commissions. If so, Matt Hughes buries Wallace without breaking a sweat in a UFC cage. In fact, under those conditions, any mid to upper tier MMA fighter (even a featherweight), would defeat an in-prime Wallace. Of course, if you have different rules and regulations in mind for this hypothetical match, tell us what they would be, so we can at least analyze the fight to some degree.
I'd rather see Wallace in his prime vs. a legitimate Martial Arts Shaolin monk–instead of Hughes, in a no-rules, no time limit, no gloves, and no judges match.
Thanks Joseph,
I was going with the assumption of modern-day MMA rules inside of the cage. Speed kills ya know!!!
Under current American MMA rules? Forget it–Wallace has zero chance vs Hughes. For that match to be competitive, a level playing field would be required. And that would entail altering most of the rules and regulations.
its nice to learn about these martial artist from back in the day, but come on Bill Wallace>Matt Hughes? Either way, nice article