Hughes on mend, surgery unlikely

Matt Hughes on Tuesday provided an update on the status of his knee injury via his personal blog. The outlook for the multi-time UFC welterweight champion is promising. It appears he may not need surgery.

"Last Wednesday, I went in for my second MRI and also a stress x-ray. It all came back very positive and looks as though I will not need surgery," wrote Hughes.

"I still have to go back for my three-month check-up to find out more; but as of right now I can do more and start exercising a little bit."

Hughes sustained the injury in a non-title fight against Thiago Alves at UFC 85 on June 7 in London. In a blog entry written shortly after the fight, Hughes confirmed that he had partially torn the ACL ligament in his knee.

There is hope that he will be healed up for a fight with Matt Serra in early 2009, possibly as soon as January or February.