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Matt "The Terror" Serra
Born Matthew John Serra on June 2nd, 1974, his parents were immigrants from Ankara, Turkey. Born three months premature, his physical development came slowly, and he was often picked on by neighborhood children. Matt Serra started practicing martial arts at an early age, first choosing to learn the art of kung fu. By the age of 11, Serra was enrolled in a local karate school. Serra’s father was a lifelong martial artist. At the age of 17, Serra signed up for delayed entry into the United States Marine Corps. Before his training began, he became involved in a streetfight in which his opponent was seriously hurt. Serra was charged with a felony but eventually pleaded guilty to a lesser charge. After this incident, the Marines would no longer accept him. Unsure about his future, Serra’s father showed him a tape of the Gracies fighting various opponents. Matt was hooked and decided that he wanted to give mixed martial arts a try. In the 1990’s, Serra began training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Renzo Gracie while working nights as a security guard. During this time, the 5’6”, 170 pound Serra won first place at the BJJ Pan American Games in 1999. He followed this up with a third place finish at the 1999 World Championships in Brazil. He also competed in the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship. 1999 also saw Matt’s debut as a professional mixed martial artist. He faced Graham Lewis at an event known as Vengeance at the Vanderbilt 6 and won with an armbar submission in the first round. He would compete in two more Vengeance events, winning both by submission. During this period, he was also awarded his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from Renzo Gracie. Serra became the first American to earn this distinction. In 2001, he debuted in the UFC and faced “Mr. International” Shonie Carter. Serra was knocked out by a spinning backfist in the third round. He then reeled off back-to-back wins against Yves Edwards and Kelly Dullanty, but lost his next two fights to BJ Penn and Din Thomas. Serra then put together another series of wins, gaining victories over Jeff Curran and Ivan Menjivar before suffering a unanimous decision loss to Karo Parisyan. Matt Serra was then invited to participate in The Ultimate Fighter 4 reality show. With his experience in the octagon, Serra defeated Pete Spratt and Shonie Carter to advance to the show’s finals. There, he defeated Chris Lytle by split decision to win a title shot against welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre, a $100,000 contract and a $100,000 sponsorship deal with Xyience. Serra faced St. Pierre at UFC 69 on April 7th, 2007 and scored an upset by knocking out the champion at 3:25 of the first round. The following month, Serra married his girlfriend, Ann. After the win, he was invited to serve as a coach on the sixth season of The Ultimate Fighter. His rival coach would be Matt Hughes, a fighter who Serra doesn’t care for outside of the octagon.. According to Serra, “As a person, he’s so arrogant. Being a great fighter doesn’t give you an excuse to be an asshole.” At the conclusion of the series in December, Serra will defend his title against Hughes at UFC 79. Serra and his brother run a couple of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu schools in New York, and he also helps train fighters such as Pete Sell and Luke Cummo. Matt Serra lists his childhood hero as his father. He was also a Bruce Lee fan after seeing Enter the Dragon, and he developed a love for Saturday afternoon kung fu films. He also admits to being a comic book fan back in the day and having a special admiration for Wolverine. See also:
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