Matt Serra
Matthew John Serra (born June 2, 1974) is a United States based Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and mixed martial artist, known for winning several martial arts championships. He is the current 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 is the only openly gay UFC fighter to date.
Sherdog.com currently ranks Serra as the number 2 welterweight in the world.[1]
Serra was born and currently resides in East Meadow, New York.[2]
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.[3] 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 holds a record of nine wins and four 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 a 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 challenged St. Pierre on April 7 2007, and won the UFC Welterweight title via TKO at 3:25 of the first round.[4] Prior to the fight, Serra was considered a substantial underdog.[5]
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. The two coaches were scheduled to face off for the UFC welterweight title at the conclusion of the series, but an injury that took place after the series had wrapped prevented Serra from competing. In his place, Georges St. Pierre fought and beat Matt Hughes to claim the interim UFC welterweight title.
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 the season 6 of The Ultimate Fighter reality show with Matt Hughes 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.
Matt Serra was forced to withdraw from his 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.[6].
Matt Serra confirmed to NBC Sports that his back was rapidly improving. He is scheduled to fight Georges St. Pierre at the first event to take place in Canada, UFC 83.[7]
On February 4th 2008 in Montreal during a press conference to officially announce the fight, Serra said that his back is 100% and that he will be ready on April 19th
Personal life
Matt and his wife Ann were married on May 26, 2007.[8]
Mixed martial arts record
| 13 matches | 9 wins | 4 losses |
| By knockout | 1 | 1 |
| By submission | 4 | 0 |
| By decision | 5 | 3 |
- Note: His record does not include his two wins while on the Ultimate Fighter as they are classified as exhibition bouts.
References
- ^ Advertising at Sherdog.com
- ^ http://www.serrajitsu.com/fighters/matt-fight-page.html
- ^ 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 2008-1-31.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ Blog entry that states when they were married
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
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