The Ultimate Fighter 4 Winner Matt Serra Shocks the World and Captures UFC Championship Gold

At UFC69 in Houston this Saturday, Matt Serra did what a lot of people thought was impossible. He cashed in his title shot, his prize for winning the fourth season of The Ultimate Fighter, and captured the UFC Welterweight Championship from Georges St. Pierre in impressive fashion.

When The Ultimate Fighter 4: The Comeback was announced, people were intrigued in the concept of fighters who had already appeared in the UFC getting another chance. Most intriguing, however, was that the prize was not a contract, but a title fight against, in the case of the Welterweights, the winner of the Matt Hughes-Georges St. Pierre fight that would occur shortly before the finale.

Hardcore UFC fans scoffed. First of all, the fight would be against Matt Hughes, as there was no way the unstoppable slamming machine from Hillsboro, IL would be beaten by St. Pierre, especially since Hughes stopped him once, easily, at UFC50. Besides, there was no chance any of these “second-raters” would come close to winning the title fight. If they were that good, they wouldn’t need a second chance, now would they?

Then, two momentous things happened. First, Georges St. Pierre beat Matt Hughes. More importantly, Matt “the Terror” Serra won The Ultimate Fighter 4: The Comeback.

Matt Serra holds the impressive distinction of being the first American to hold the rank of black belt in Brazilian (Gracie) Jiu-Jitsu, training under the legendary Renzo Gracie. His MMA career stretches back to 1999, including a 5-4 record in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Along with his brother Nick, Matt runs a jiu-jitsu school in Long Island called Serra Jiu Jitsu, whose members include fellow UFC fighters and TUF veterans Pete Sell and Luke Cummo.

Until TUF, Serra was best known as being on the receiving end of Shonie Carter’s highlight-reel spinning backfist at UFC31, a clip that was shown again and again during the season until Serra avenged his most famous loss in the semi-finals, a fight he requested, almost begged for. At the live finale, Serra beat Chris “Lights Out” Lytle in a controversial decision to capture the win and the title shot. Serra made it obvious that he wanted to fight Hughes, explaining on Inside the UFC that Hughes was “a bit of a prick,” and looked forward to shutting him up.

But it was not to be, at least not yet. At UFC65, St. Pierre shocked the world by beating Hughes in by TKO in the second round. Make no mistake, St. Pierre is a world class fighter, holding wins over such world-class athletes as TUF5 coach B.J. Penn and current Lightweight champion Sean Sherk, with only one loss (the aforementioned loss to Hughes). However, Georges got lucky in that he faced a lackadaisical, ill-prepared Matt Hughes who was not ready to defend himself against the barrage of punches, knees, and high-kicks that put Hughes down for the count for the first time sine January 2004.

Even with a theoretically easier opponent, no one gave Matt Serra much of a chance. During the SpikeTV UFC69 Preview special, UFC President Dana White and color commentator Joe Rogan both pointed out that this was a bad matchup for Serra, that he was a huge underdog, and the best he could hope for was a puncher’s chance – that is, to land a lucky shot and knock St. Pierre out. Las Vegas bookmakers agree, making Serra a +900 underdog (meaning that a $100 bet would win $900, not the longest odds for a UFC fight in the past year, but nothing to show much confidence in Serra, either). In other words, on paper, it was an easy win for St. Pierre.

As the saying goes, that’s why they don’t fight on paper.

The fight started slowly, both athletes feeling each other out. Interestingly, Serra made sure to keep his right hand high to fend off St. Pierre’s lethal high kicks – one of which knocked out Matt Hughes. Serra was obviously on the lookout, dodging and ducking while peppering his opponent with punches and leg kicks, and St. Pierre couldn’t adjust.

Halfway through the first round, Serra rocked St. Pierre with a right hand, and St. Pierre stumbled back toward the fence. Serra pounced, and staggered Georges twice more before knocking him on his back. Sensing blood, Serra dove on St. Pierre and rained down elbows until referee “Big” John McCarthy stopped the fight.

At 3:25 of the first round, Matt Serra definitely won the UFC Welterweight championship over Georges St. Pierre, in a fight that he wasn’t supposed to have a chance. There were no controversial decisions or stoppages. Matt Serra, champion.

In a post-match interview, a jubilant Matt Serra asked Joe Rogan, “Joe, I'm really hungry, man. I was wondering if you and Dana had some humble pie in the back?”

Next up for UFC Welterweight Champ Matt Serra? A yet-to-be-scheduled match against former champ Matt Hughes. Keep an eye out for that one, as it’s sure to be a war.

Mike DeGeorge is an Accountant from St. Louis and is also Associate Editor for RealityNewsOnline. He's been an Ultimate Fighting Championship fan since the Tank Abbott days. You can reach Mike at rno.mike@gmail.com.

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