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Matt Serra

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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.

Sherdog.com currently ranks Serra as the number 8 welterweight in the world.[1]

Serra was born to an Italian-American family and currently resides in Long Island, 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 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.[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. 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.[6] In Serra's place, Georges St. Pierre fought and defeated Matt Hughes to claim the interim UFC welterweight 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.[7]

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.

Personal life

Matt and his wife Ann were married on May 262007.[8] Matt owns and operates the Serra Jitsu schools, one in Huntington, NY and the other in East Meadow, NY.[9]

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
Result Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 9-5 CanadaGeorges St. Pierre TKO (Knees to the Body) UFC 83: Serra VS St-Pierre 2 April 19, 2008 2 4:45 Canada Montreal, Quebec, Canada Loses UFC welterweight title
Win 9-4 Canada Georges St. Pierre TKO (Punches) UFC 69: Shootout April 7, 2007 1 3:25 United States Houston, Texas, United States Wins UFC welterweight title
Win 8-4 United States Chris Lytle Decision (Split) The Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale November 11, 2006 3 5:00 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Wins The Ultimate Fighter 4 tournament: Welterweight division
Loss 7-4 Armenia Karo Parysian Decision (Unanimous) UFC 53: Heavy Hitters June 4, 2005 3 5:00 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win 7-3 Canada Ivan Menjivar Decision (Unanimous) UFC 48: Payback June 19, 2004 3 5:00 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 6-3 United States Jeff Curran Decision (Unanimous) UFC 46: Supernatural January 31, 2004 3 5:00 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss 5-3 United States Din Thomas Decision (Split) UFC 41: Onslaught February 28, 2003 3 5:00 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Loss 5-2 United States B.J. Penn Decision (Unanimous) UFC 39: The Warriors Return September 27, 2002 3 5:00 United States Uncasville, Connecticut, United States
Win 5-1 United States Kelly Dullanty Submission (Triangle Choke) UFC 36: Worlds Collide March 22, 2002 1 2:58 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 4-1 The Bahamas Yves Edwards Decision (Majority) UFC 33: Victory in Vegas September 28, 2001 3 5:00 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss 3-1 United States Shonie Carter KO (Spinning Backfist) UFC 31: Locked and Loaded May 4, 2001 3 4:51 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win 3-0 United States Greg Melisi Submission (armbar) Vengeance at the Vanderbilt 11 February 24, 2001 1 0:46 United States Plainview, New York, United States
Win 2-0 United States Jeff Telvi Submission (Guillotine Choke) Vengeance at the Vanderbilt 7 January 29, 2000 1 0:30 United States Plainview, New York, United States
Win 1-0 United States Graham Lewis Submission (Armbar) Vengeance at the Vanderbilt 6 August 21, 1999 1 1:04 United States Plainview, New York, United States
  • Note: His record does not include his two wins while on the Ultimate Fighter as they are classified as exhibition bouts.

References

  1. ^ Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings
  2. ^ UFC : Ultimate Fighting Championship
  3. ^ ATLETA
  4. ^ Fight Finder - UFC 69 Shootout Mixed Martial Arts Statistics
  5. ^ The Shreveport Times
  6. ^ UFC : Ultimate Fighting Championship
  7. ^ Stupp, Dann (January 31, 2008). "MOntreal's UFC 83 Tickets Sale Beginning Sunday". MMA Junkie. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  8. ^ Blog entry that states when they were married
  9. ^ Serra Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu - Matt Serra and Nick Serra - Long Island, New York

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