Matt Serra
Matthew John Serra (born June 2, 1974) is an American former professional mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner who competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the co-star of Dana White: Lookin' for a Fight and co-host of the official podcast of the UFC, UFC Unfiltered, alongside Jim Norton. Serra defeated Pete Spratt, Shonie Carter and Chris Lytle en route to becoming The Ultimate Fighter 4 Welterweight Tournament Winner. He captured the UFC Welterweight Championship immediately after. Serra also served as the head coach for The Ultimate Fighter 6 reality show opposite Matt Hughes, and he is a member of the UFC Hall of Fame. In grappling, Serra holds a Silver Medal in the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship.
| Matt Serra | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Serra in 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Matthew John Serra June 2, 1974 East Meadow, New York, United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | The Terror | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Division | Welterweight (1997–2002, 2005–2010) Lightweight (2002–05) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reach | 68 in (173 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Style | Brazilian jiu-jitsu | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fighting out of | East Meadow, New York, United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | Serra-Longo Fight Team[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank | 5th degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Renzo Gracie | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years active | 1997–2010 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mixed martial arts record | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 18 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wins | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| By knockout | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| By submission | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| By decision | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Losses | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| By knockout | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| By decision | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Entrepreneur and Coach | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relatives | Nick Serra, brother | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Last updated on: September 26, 2010 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Serra began practicing martial arts at an early age, first studying Wing Chun. In the 1990s, he began practicing Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Renzo Gracie and obtained black belt rank in May 2000, the first American to do so under Renzo. In addition to competitive bouts with UFC Hall of Famers Hughes and B.J. Penn, Serra's biggest accomplishment in mixed martial arts came at UFC 69 where he defeated Georges St-Pierre in a Knockout of the Night award-winning performance to capture the UFC Welterweight Championship.
Background
Serra was born to an Italian-American family in East Meadow, New York. His father is a retired policeman in New York City and his late mother was a stay-at-home mom.[2] Serra has older sister and brother, and two younger brothers. Serra's father was enthusiastic about mixed martial arts, and Matt first began Wing Chun at an early age.[3] As a teenager he began competing in wrestling.
Serra went to East Meadow High School, and had already enrolled in the United States Marine Corps Delayed Entry Program before graduating.[4] Serra had the desire to follow a career in the military, namely the Marines, though an event when he was 17 years old would put an end to that dream.
When Serra was 17 years old, he was involved in a street fight that left his opponent severely injured. Serra was charged with a felony and had to plead guilty to avoid a hefty sentence. That stain on his criminal record shattered any hopes to be part of the Marines, which somehow came as a blessing in disguise. At the time, his father had discovered Gracie Jiu-Jitsu (later becoming a black belt himself) and encouraged his son to train with Craig Kukuk (the first American BJJ black belt), it was through Kukuk that the Serras met Renzo Gracie who shared an academy with Kukuk in New York. This would prove to be a tremendous solution for what looked to be an uncertain future.
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
Aged 18 he began Brazilian jiu-jitsu after finding out about the sport from Black Belt magazine.[4] Serra won first place at the Brazilian jiu-jitsu Pan American Championship in 1999 and won third place at the 2000 World Championships in Brazil in the brown belt division.[5] Continuing his martial arts career, he competed in the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship choking out Takanori Gomi, winning a decision over Jean Jacques Machado, and placing 2nd in the 66–76 kg division after forfeiting the final against Marcio Feitosa due to being told to step down by Renzo Gracie as part of a hierarchical respect system within the Gracie lineage. Serra was invited to compete in PRIDE 9 against Johil de Oliveira but the bout was called off at the last minute when Oliveira was burned in a pyrotechnics accident backstage.[6] Soon after, Serra began to compete in the UFC where he built up a record of four wins and four losses. One of the losses was a close decision fight with future Welterweight and Lightweight champion B.J. Penn which would have earned him a title shot in the failed Lightweight tournament.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighter
In 2006, Serra became a participant on The Ultimate Fighter 4: The Comeback on SpikeTV. On the show, Serra defeated Pete Spratt and Shonie Carter to reach the finals, his win against Carter avenging his infamous highlight-reel KO loss to Carter at UFC 31. On November 11, 2006, Serra defeated Chris Lytle at The Ultimate Fighter: The Comeback Finale by split decision to become the Ultimate Fighter 4 Welterweight Tournament Champion.
His win earned him a guaranteed title shot against Georges St-Pierre for the UFC Welterweight Championship,[7] as well as a $100,000 contract and $100,000 sponsorship with Xyience.[8]
Winning the welterweight title
Serra fought St-Pierre on April 7, 2007, at UFC 69, and won the UFC Welterweight Championship by TKO via punches at 3:25 in the first round. Prior to the fight Serra was considered a substantial underdog and consequently the fight is considered to be one of the biggest upsets in MMA history.
The Ultimate Fighter coach
Serra coached season 6 of The Ultimate Fighter reality show with Matt Hughes. Team Serra finished 6–2 in the first round of fights, winning six consecutive times which gave Serra the right to pick the fights in the second round. However, from then on Serra did not corner a single fighter to victory and saw all his trainees eventually lose out. The finale saw Team Hughes fighters Tommy Speer and Mac Danzig face each other for the title of Ultimate Fighter.[9]
Serra said in season 6 of The Ultimate Fighter that Joe Scarola lost his job at Serra's jiu-jitsu school for quitting The Ultimate Fighter within the first week of the show. In exchange, Scarola opened his own academy which has created a feud among the two former friends.[10] Relieving Scarola from his duties was difficult for Serra as the two were close friends, with Scarola serving as best man at Serra's wedding.[11]
The two coaches were scheduled to face off for the UFC Welterweight Championship after the conclusion of the series at UFC 79. Serra, however, was forced to withdraw from the fight due to a herniated disc in his lower back.[12] The injury became evident when Serra was demonstrating a move to his student and fell to the floor in excruciating pain.[13] In Serra's place, Georges St-Pierre fought and defeated Hughes for what was then the interim UFC welterweight title. This led to Serra holding the welterweight title while St-Pierre held the interim title.
After St-Pierre vs Hughes at UFC 79, Serra confirmed to NBC Sports that his back was rapidly improving. He announced that he was scheduled to fight Georges St-Pierre at the first event to take place in Canada, UFC 83.[14] This match would unify the interim and regular welterweight belts.
Rematch with St-Pierre, fight with Matt Hughes, and retirement
At UFC 83 on April 19, 2008, Serra fought Georges St-Pierre in a match to determine the undisputed welterweight champion during the UFC's first-ever event in Canada, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec.[15] Instead of striking, St-Pierre pressed the action early with a takedown and kept mixing up his attack, never allowing Serra the chance to mount a significant offense.[16] In the second round, St-Pierre continued his previous actions, forcing Serra into the turtle position and delivering repeated knees to Serra's midsection.[17] When Serra was unable to improve his position or defend against the strikes, referee Yves Lavigne stopped the fight.[18]
Serra suffered a unanimous decision loss to Matt Hughes at UFC 98. Serra hurt Hughes early on in the fight with an inadvertent head-butt and a follow-up flurry of hooks. However, Hughes recovered and went on to win a close decision.[19] After the fight Hughes and Serra embraced each other and ended their feud.
At UFC 109, Serra defeated Frank Trigg via KO (punches) at 2:23 of the first round, awarding him Knockout of the Night Honors.[20][21] Serra was rumored to be headlining UFC Fight Night 22 on April 17, 2010, versus Mike Swick, but the fight was turned down by Swick due to an arm injury.
At UFC 119 Serra fought Chris Lytle on September 25, 2010. Serra lost the fight via unanimous decision.[22]
In an interview with Ariel Helwani at UFC 131 Serra addressed when or if he would be fighting in the UFC in the foreseeable future. Between the birth of his second child and the rigors of training (Serra himself confirmed that he weighed somewhere around 200 lbs. at interview time), he likened his current situation to that of Rocky Balboa in the sixth film of the series, saying that he still "had some stuff in the basement".[citation needed]
On May 22, 2013, Serra retired from MMA, stating he would only return to MMA again to fight at an event held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.[23]
UFC Unfiltered
As of June 2016, Serra currently hosts the official UFC podcast UFC Unfiltered with comedian Jim Norton as co-host.[24]
UFC Hall of Fame
On the 5th July 2018 Matt Serra was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame Class of 2018 in the pioneer wing.[25][26]
Personal life
Matt and his wife Ann were married on May 26, 2007.[27] The couple have two daughters born in February 2009 and April 2011.[28][29]
Serra co-owns a Brazilian jiu-jitsu school in Huntington, New York with his younger brother Nick. He currently trains with Ray Longo and trains fighters such as former UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman, UFC Bantamweight Champion Aljamain Sterling, Gian Villante, Pete Sell,[30] Luke Cummo, and The Ultimate Fighter: Live Finalist Al Iaquinta. They fight under the Serra-Longo Fight Team. After being absent from Aljamain Sterling's corner for UFC 259, Serra announced that he would be retiring from cornerman duties moving forward, although he would still remain as head coach for Serra-Longo Fight Team.[31]
Instructor lineage
Jigoro Kano → Mitsuyo Maeda → Carlos Gracie, Sr. → Helio Gracie → Rolls Gracie → Carlos Gracie, Jr. → Renzo Gracie → Matt Serra
Championships and achievements
Mixed martial arts
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- UFC Hall of Fame (Pioneer wing, class of 2018)
- UFC Welterweight Championship (One time)
- The Ultimate Fighter 4 Welterweight Tournament Winner
- Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Matt Hughes
- Knockout of the Night (Two times) vs. Georges St-Pierre, Frank Trigg
- First fighter to win both a The Ultimate Fighter Tournament and UFC Championship
- Sports Illustrated
- 2000s Upset of the Decade vs. Georges St-Pierre[32]
- 2000s Cinderella Story of the Decade vs. Georges St-Pierre[32]
- Bleacher Report
- 2000s Upset of the Decade vs. Georges St-Pierre[33]
- Fight Matrix
- Most Noteworthy Match of Year (2007) vs. Georges St-Pierre[34]
- Most Noteworthy Upset of Year (2007) vs. Georges St-Pierre[34]
- Yahoo! Sports
- Upset of the Decade Runner-up vs. Georges St-Pierre[35]
Grappling credentials
- ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship
- 2000 ADCC Tournament Trials: Champion[36]
- 2001 ADCC 77 kg: Silver Medalist[36]
- Record of opponents:
- Won: Takanori Gomi (sub), Jean Jacques Machado (pts), Leonardo Silva Dos Santos (sub)
- Lost: Marcio Feitosa (forfeit)
- International Pro-Ams
- 2000 Black Belt 77 kg (No-Gi): Silver Medalist[36]
- World Jiu-Jitsu Championship
- 2000 Brown Belt Medio: Bronze Medalist[36]
- Pan-American Championships
- 1999 Purple Belt Medio: Gold Medalist[36]
Mixed martial arts record
| 18 matches | 11 wins | 7 losses |
| By knockout | 2 | 2 |
| By submission | 5 | 0 |
| By decision | 4 | 5 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 11–7 | Chris Lytle | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 119 | September 25, 2010 | 3 | 5:00 | Indianapolis, Indiana, United States | |
| Win | 11–6 | Frank Trigg | KO (punches) | UFC 109 | February 6, 2010 | 1 | 2:23 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Knockout of the Night. |
| Loss | 10–6 | Matt Hughes | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 98 | May 23, 2009 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Fight of the Night. |
| Loss | 10–5 | Georges St-Pierre | TKO (knees to the body and punches) | UFC 83 | April 19, 2008 | 2 | 4:45 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | Lost the UFC Welterweight Championship. |
| Win | 10–4 | Georges St-Pierre | TKO (punches) | UFC 69 | April 7, 2007 | 1 | 3:25 | Houston, Texas, United States | Won the UFC Welterweight Championship. Knockout of the Night. Considered the biggest upset in UFC history. |
| Win | 9–4 | Chris Lytle | Decision (split) | The Ultimate Fighter: The Comeback Finale | November 11, 2006 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Won The Ultimate Fighter 4 Welterweight Tournament. UFC Welterweight title eliminator. |
| Win | Exhibition | Shonie Carter | Decision (unanimous) | The Ultimate Fighter 4 | October 19, 2006 (airdate) | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Semifinal bout. |
| Win | Exhibition | Pete Spratt | TKO (submission to punches) | September 28, 2006 (airdate) | 1 | 3:26 | Quarterfinal bout. | ||
| Loss | 8–4 | Karo Parisyan | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 53 | June 4, 2005 | 3 | 5:00 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | Return to Welterweight. |
| Win | 8–3 | Ivan Menjivar | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 48 | June 19, 2004 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 7–3 | Jeff Curran | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 46 | January 31, 2004 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 6–3 | Din Thomas | Decision (split) | UFC 41 | February 28, 2003 | 3 | 5:00 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | Matt Serra was declared the winner in the Octagon. But a referee commented that he scored wrong giving Thomas the victory later. |
| Loss | 6–2 | B.J. Penn | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 39 | September 27, 2002 | 3 | 5:00 | Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | Lightweight Tournament Semifinal. |
| Win | 6–1 | Kelly Dullanty | Submission (triangle choke) | UFC 36 | March 22, 2002 | 1 | 2:58 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Lightweight debut. |
| Win | 5–1 | Yves Edwards | Decision (majority) | UFC 33 | September 28, 2001 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 4–1 | Shonie Carter | KO (spinning back fist) | UFC 31 | May 4, 2001 | 3 | 4:51 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | |
| Win | 4–0 | Greg Melisi | Submission (armbar) | VATV 11 | February 24, 2001 | 1 | 0:46 | Plainview, New York, United States | |
| Win | 3–0 | Jeff Telvi | Submission (guillotine choke) | VATV 7 | January 29, 2000 | 1 | 0:30 | Plainview, New York, United States | |
| Win | 2–0 | Graham Lewis | Submission (armbar) | VATV 6 | August 21, 1999 | 1 | 1:04 | Plainview, New York, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | Khamzat Vitaev | Submission (rear-naked choke) | VATV 3 | April 1, 1998 | 1 | 0:36 | Plainview, New York, United States |
Vale Tudo rules
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 2–0 | Scott Schultz | Submission (armbar) | New York Regional | April 7, 1999 | 1 | 3:35 | Manhattan, New York, United States | Pancrase Rules |
| Win | 1–0 | Unknown | Decision (unanimous) | Bama Fight Night 1 | April 24, 1997 | 1 | 10:00 | Bayside Academy of Martial Arts in Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States | Open Weight |
ADCC submission grappling record
| 4 Matches, 3 Wins (2 Submissions), 1 Loss | |||||||
| Result | Rec. | Opponent | Method | Event | Division | Date | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lose | 3-1 | Marcio Feitosa | Forfeit* | ADCC 2001 | –77 kg | 2001 | Abu Dhabi |
| Win | 3-0 | Leonardo Silva Dos Santos | Submission (rear-naked choke) | ||||
| Win | 2-0 | Jean Jacques Machado | Points | ||||
| Win | 1-0 | Takanori Gomi | Submission (rear-naked choke) | ||||
- Serra lost to Feitosa in what appeared to be a very controversial decision. It was tradition when two practitioners from the same school meet each other in a tournament, the lower ranking student in that school's hierarchy will generally forfeit the match out of respect.
Pay-per-view bouts
| No | Event | Fight | Date | Venue | City | PPV buys |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | UFC 69 | St-Pierre vs. Serra | 7 April 2007 | Toyota Center | Houston, Texas United States | 400,000 |
| 2. | UFC 83 | St-Pierre vs. Serra 2 | 19 April 2008 | Bell Centre | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | 530,000 |
| 3. | UFC 98 | Hughes vs. Serra (CO) | 23 May 2009 | MGM Grand Garden Arena | Las Vegas, Nevada United States | 635,000 |
| Total sales | 1,565,000 | |||||
References
- ^ . 2007. Archived from the original on August 8, 2009. Retrieved 2007-08-15.
- ^ Curreri, Frank (July 5, 2012). "The Matt Serra Diet". ufc.com.
- ^ Dain, Ann (April 7, 2008). "Matt Serra: The People's Champ Gives Tips to Local Fighters". bleacherreport.com.
- ^ a b Jim Norton (August 2, 2016). "UF13: Cub Swanson and Jamey Jasta" (Podcast).
- ^ ATLETA
- ^ "Johil de Oliveira Speaks on His Blindness and Fighting". www.sherdog.com.
- ^ UFC 79: Hughes vs. St. Pierre III for Interim Title
- ^ . www.ultimate-fighter.ca. Archived from the original on 29 March 2008. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
- ^ Morning Beatdown: Mac Danzig vs. Tommy Speer
- ^ Joe Scarola: 'Nerves got to me' in loss to Mac Danzig on TUF 6 (Audio)
- ^ CagE (December 6, 2007). . Cage Today. Archived from the original on 2009-01-24. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
- ^ "Future PLC - Connectors, Creators, Experience Makers".
- ^ UFC : Ultimate Fighting Championship 2007-11-24 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Stupp, Dann (January 31, 2008). "MOntreal's UFC 83 Tickets Sale Beginning Sunday". MMA Junkie. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ . CANADASTARBOXING.com. 2010-09-26. Archived from the original on 2009-02-27. Retrieved 2010-09-26.
- ^ "UFC 83 Play-by Play". SHERDOG.com. 2008-04-19. Retrieved 2010-09-26.
- ^ . YFC.POINTSPREAD.com. 2010-09-26. Archived from the original on 2009-12-13. Retrieved 2010-09-26.
- ^ . MMAJUNKIE.com. 2008-04-19. Archived from the original on 2008-04-22. Retrieved 2010-09-26.
- ^ "UFC 98 RESULTS AND PLAY-BY-PLAY & PHOTOS". MMAWEEKLY.com. 2009-05-23. Retrieved 2010-09-26.
- ^ . MMAJUNKIE.com. 2010-02-06. Archived from the original on 2010-06-29. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- ^ . MMAJUNKIE.com. 2010-02-07. Archived from the original on 2010-02-10. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- ^ . MMAJUNKIE.com. 2010-09-26. Archived from the original on 2010-09-28. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- ^ Marrocco, Steven (May 22, 2013). "Ex-UFC champ Matt Serra is retired – barring fight in Madison Square Garden". mmajunkie.com.
- ^ "The latest 'UFC Unfiltered' podcast features an epic troll of Matt Serra that simply must be heard". MMA Junkie. 2017-10-03. Retrieved 2019-03-06.
- ^ "2018 UFC Hall of Fame induction ceremony: Ronda Rousey, Matt Serra headline this year's class". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2019-03-06.
- ^ Hiergesell, Dan (2018-04-21). "Serra To Be Inducted Into UFC Hall Of Fame This July". MMAmania.com. Retrieved 2019-03-06.
- ^ Blog entry that states when they were married 2007-09-11 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ . Serrajitsu.com. 2009-02-13. Archived from the original on 2008-04-20. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
- ^ "Congrats to Matt Serra: 2nd Baby Girl!". Thegarv.com. 2011-04-21. Retrieved 2011-06-04.
- ^ "Matt Serra". MMAPLAYGROUND.com. 2010-09-26. Retrieved 2010-09-26.
- ^ "Matt Serra Explains Decision to Retire as Cornerman After UFC 259". 13 March 2021.
- ^ a b Gross, Josh (18 December 2009). "MMA: Highlights and lowlights". SportsIllustrated.com.
- ^ "Upset of the Decade". Bleacher Report.
- ^ a b "MMA Awards of the Decade". Fight Matrix.
- ^ "The best of the decade: 10 biggest MMA upsets". Yahoo! Sports.
- ^ a b c d e "Matt Serra". UFC.ca. 14 September 2018.
External links
- Official UFC Profile
- Matt Serra profile
- Official site
- Matt Serra and Long Island in the UFC
- Professional MMA record for Matt Serra from Sherdog