Matt Serra
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Matt Serra | |
|---|---|
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| Statistics | |
| Nickname | The Terror |
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) |
| Weight | 170.5 lb (77.3 kg/12.18 st) |
| Nationality | American |
| Born | June 2, 1974 |
| Fighting out of | Long Island, New York |
| Town of birth | Long Island, New York |
| Team/Association | Serra Jiu-Jitsu[1] |
| Fighting style | Brazilian Jiu Jitsu |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Wins | 9 |
| By knockout | 1 |
| By submission | 4 |
| Losses | 5 |
Matthew John Serra (born June 2, 1974) is an American Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and mixed martial artist, known for winning several martial arts championships. He is the former UFC Welterweight Champion. He began practicing martial arts at an early age, first studying kung fu. In the 1990s, he began studying Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Renzo Gracie and on May 23, 2000 was awarded his black belt, the first American to do so under Gracie.
He holds notable wins over Yves Edwards, Jeff Curran, Ivan Menjivar, Chris Lytle, and Georges St. Pierre.
Sherdog.com currently ranks Serra as the number 7 welterweight in the world.[2]
Serra was born to an Italian-American family and currently resides in Long Island, New York.[3]
Contents |
[edit] Life and Early Career
Matt won first place at the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Pan American games in 1999. Serra won third place at the 1999 World Championships in Brazil as a brown belt.[4] 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 66-76kg division. With these credentials, Matt soon began to compete in the UFC organization where he currently has a record of nine wins and five losses.
Matt later became a participant in 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 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, as well as a $100,000 contract and $100,000 sponsorship with Xyience.
Serra fought St. Pierre on April 7, 2007, and won the UFC Welterweight title via TKO at 3:25 of the first round.[5] Prior to the fight, Serra was considered a substantial underdog.[6]
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 and gave Serra the right to pick the fights in the second round. However, from then on Serra didn't corner a single fighter to victory and saw all his guys eventually lose out. The finale saw Team Hughes fighters Tommy Speer and Mac Danzig face each other for the title. The two coaches were scheduled to face off for the UFC welterweight title at the conclusion of the series, but Serra was forced to withdraw from his upcoming title fight against Matt Hughes at UFC 79 due to a herniated disc in his lower back. The injury became evident when Matt was demonstrating a move to his student and he fell to the floor in excruciating pain.[7] In Serra's place, Georges St. Pierre fought and defeated Matt Hughes to claim the interim UFC welterweight title.
By January 2008, 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.[8]
Serra and his brother, Nick, run two Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu schools at local strip malls in East Meadow, New York and Huntington, New York. Serra currently trains with Ray Longo and trains fighters, including George Sotiropoulos, Pete Sell, and Luke Cummo. They fight under the Serra/Longo Competition Team. Matt Serra said in season 6 of The Ultimate Fighter reality show that Joe Scarola lost his job for quitting within the first week of the show. 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.
On February 4th, 2008 in Montreal, during a press conference to officially announce the fight, Serra said that his back was 100% and that he would be ready on April 19th. At UFC 83, Serra was defeated by Georges St. Pierre by TKO (strikes) at 4:55 of the second round.
[edit] Personal life
Matt and his wife Ann were married on May 26, 2007.[9] Matt owns and operates the Serra Jitsu schools, one in Huntington, NY and the other in East Meadow, NY.[10]
[edit] Mixed martial arts record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 14 matches | 9 wins | 5 losses |
| By knockout | 1 | 2 |
| By submission | 4 | 0 |
| By decision | 4 | 3 |
- Note: His record does not include his two wins while on the Ultimate Fighter as they are classified as exhibition bouts.
[edit] References
- ^ Fight Finder: Matt Serra. Sherdog (2007). Retrieved on 2007-08-15.
- ^ Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings
- ^ UFC : Ultimate Fighting Championship
- ^ ATLETA
- ^ Fight Finder - UFC 69 Shootout Mixed Martial Arts Statistics
- ^ The Shreveport Times
- ^ UFC : Ultimate Fighting Championship
- ^ Stupp, Dann (January 31, 2008). MOntreal's UFC 83 Tickets Sale Beginning Sunday. MMA Junkie. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ Blog entry that states when they were married
- ^ Serra Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu - Matt Serra and Nick Serra - Long Island, New York
[edit] External links
- Matt Serra MySpace
- Matt Serra Profile
- Official site
- Professional MMA record for Matt Serra from Sherdog
- Matt Serra's blog about The Ultimate Fighter 4
| Previous champion Georges St. Pierre |
7th UFC Welterweight Champion |
Next champion Georges St. Pierre |
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