10 June 2022
Matt Serra a.k.a. `The Terror’, has had a rewarding career as a Mixed Martial Artist (MMA). He is the first U.S. citizen who trained under `Renzo Gracie’ to learn the Brazilian jiu-jitsu form of combat sport (martial arts) and win the Black Belt in this form. His coach, Ray Longo, was responsible for his learning the `Muay’ Thai boxing, which also became one of his styles of fighting. He has defeated Chris Lytle and St-Pierre, which brought him fame as an MMA fighter.
Sudden Retirement from Being a Cornerman in 2021:
Post-retirement from his MMA career, Serra began training upcoming talents to learn the game, being a champion in his days. Alijamain Sterling, who is known for fighting in the UFC in the `Bantamweight’ division, did not include Serra as his cornerman at the `UFC 259′ fight. This caused Serra to react, stating that he would retire from his role of being a `cornerman’ altogether, and would not be working as Sterling’s official corner person’ anymore.
Serra further stated that he would continue to support Sterling in his professional journey in the days to come. Serra believed in making an `exit on a high note’. He also made it clear that he would be helping Sterling but not physically because of the choices that had been made without Serra’s knowledge or consent. This, he cited, to be the cause for his retirement from being a cornerman.
Serra claims that he learned about his not being in Sterling’s corner in the UFC 259 title fight versus Petr Yan secondhand’. This decision supposedly was made post a training camp where Serra worked with Sterling briefly, after which Sterling headed for Las Vegas and met with Eric Nicksick, an `Xtreme Couture’ coach.
Upset with Sterling’s decision, Serra said that the choices made by people result in consequences, and while no one said anything to Sterling on behalf of Serra to avoid affecting his mind prior to the fight, Serra believed that he would have handled the situation in a different way had the shoe been `on the other foot’.
Life after Cornerman Retirement:
Presently Serra, who is the owner of a Brazilian `Jiu-jitsu school in New York’s Huntington area, runs and works in the school along with his younger sibling, Nick. Serra also partners with his coach, Longo, to train fighters like Chris Weidman (former UFC Middleweight champion), Pete Sell, Gian Villante, Al Iaquinta (Finalist of the Ultimate Fighter: Live’), and Luke Cummo. The fighters belong to the Serra-Longo Fight Team’. Serra continues to remain in his position as the Serra-Longo Fight Team’s head coach, despite retiring, in 2021 from his official cornerman duties.
Serra is the co-host of the UFC’s official podcast called UFC Unfiltered’ along with Jim Norton. He also co-stars in Dana White: Lookin’ for a fight. His family comprises of his wife and three daughters and teaches Jiu-jitsu’ to all three of them. At his gym in Huntington, he works five days every week as an instructor. Serra says that he brought Jiu-jitsu to Long Island, and has transformed people with this martial art form. He believes his schools provide the atmosphere for his students to learn the ways to defend themselves, which is a good thing, according to Serra.
Serra works to contribute to the MMA sport, and his contributions are towards the future of this sport. While Serra may not step into the Octagon ever again, the impact that he has created and continues to provide will be of significance for the upcoming generation. All his efforts and his love for this game have kept his name still fresh in the MMA fans’ minds. Serra will probably never compete again, but that does not suggest in any way that he will make an effort to leave this sport ever for good.
Matt Serra – Accolades Earned:
His career spanned from 1997 to 2010, during which time he became the first MMA fighter to win the `UFC Championship` and `The Ultimate Fighter Tournament titles. Serra also started coaching, but it initially met with disappointment as his trainees failed to shine in the long run. Serra officially retired from this profession in 2013, announcing that he would get back to the Octagon only if he was to fight at Madison Square Garden. The `UFC Hall of Fame Class of 2018′ inducted Serra into its pioneer wing on the 5th of July, 2018, adding one more feather to his hat of victories.
