Matt Serra is a famous American mixed style fighter. Representative of the light and welterweight divisions. He performed at a professional level from 1999 to 2010.
Biography
The future athlete was born in June 1974 on the second in the small American city of East Meadow. Matt's parents are native Italians who migrated to the United States in order to improve their financial situation.
From an early age, Matt was actively involved in sports. In the eighties of the last century, martial arts were especially popular in the United States. Following the fashion, the parents decided to enroll their son in one of the sections. The boy liked the Hollywood action films with karate and boxers, which were popular at that time, and he began to practice with pleasure. The first single combat with which Serra began his career was the exotic Wing Chun. But after several years of grueling training, he switched to classic wrestling.
After graduating from school, Serra became interested in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. In this type of martial arts, he achieved good results, won several victories at the regional level and went to the World Championship, which was held in Brazil. Having won this tournament, Matt tried his hand at the grappling championship in Abu Dhabi. There, the novice athlete reached the semi-final stage and won silver.
Professional career
The amateur fighter's overwhelming performance attracted the attention of several major organizations, but most continued to simply follow the athlete's progress. In the 2000 Pride Fighting Championships, an organization from Japan invited Serra to their tournament. In the summer of the same year, Matt's first professional fight was supposed to take place, against a Brazilian fighter, but this did not happen. Joille de Oliveira, Matt's alleged rival, suffered severe burns in a pyrotechnic accident and was unable to take part in the duel.
In 2001, Matt signed a contract with the famous American organization UFC. He made his debut in the ring against Shawnee Carter, who knocked out the rookie in the third round. Despite a bad start, Serra quickly recovered and won several high-profile victories in a row.
In April 2007, Serra claimed the UFC welterweight title and faced reigning champion Georges St-Pierre. Matt defeated the eminent opponent in the first round and won a new title for himself.
In total, during his career, Matt had 18 bright fights, 11 of which ended in his victory. The last fight took place in September 2010. As part of the UFC tournament, Serra entered the ring against Chris Lytle. The fight ended in time and Lytl was awarded the victory by a judge's decision. From that moment on, Serra no longer entered the ring, and three years later announced the end of his professional career.
Personal life and family
The famous fighter has been married since 2007. His chosen one is named Anne Serra. Together with her husband, they are raising two daughters.
