Matt Serra

On the 5th July 2018 Matt Serra was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame Class of 2018 in the pioneer wing.

As of June 2016, Matt Serra currently hosts the official UFC podcast UFC Unfiltered with comedian Jim Norton as co-host.

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 which gave Serra the right to pick the fights in the second round. However, from then on Serra did not corner a single fighter to victory and saw all his trainees eventually lose out. The finale saw Team Hughes fighters Tommy Speer and Mac Danzig face each other for the title of Ultimate Fighter.

On May 22, 2013, Serra retired from MMA, stating he would only return to MMA again to fight at an event held at Madison Square Garden in New York.

At UFC 109, Serra defeated Frank Trigg via KO (punches) at 2:23 of the first round, awarding him Knockout of the Night Honors. Serra was rumored to be headlining UFC Fight Night 22 on April 17, 2010, versus Mike Swick, but the fight was turned down by Swick due to an arm injury.

At UFC 119 Serra fought Chris Lytle on September 25, 2010. Serra lost the fight via unanimous decision.

At UFC 83 on April 19, 2008, Serra fought Georges St-Pierre in a match to determine the undisputed welterweight championship during the UFC's first-ever event in Canada, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec. Instead of striking, St-Pierre pressed the action early with a takedown and kept mixing up his attack, never allowing Serra the chance to mount a significant offense. In the second round, St-Pierre continued his previous actions, forcing Serra into the turtle position and delivering repeated knees to Serra's midsection. When Serra was unable to improve his position or defend against the strikes, referee Yves Lavigne stopped the fight.

Serra fought St-Pierre on April 7, 2007, at UFC 69, and won the UFC Welterweight title by TKO via punches at 3:25 of the first round. Prior to the fight Serra was considered a substantial underdog and consequently the fight is considered to be one of the biggest upsets in MMA history.

Matt and his wife Ann were married on May 26, 2007. The couple had their first child, a daughter named Angelina, on February 11, 2009. The couple had their second child, a girl, in April 2011.

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.

At age of 18 he began Brazilian jiu-jitsu after finding out about the sport from Black Belt magazine. Serra won first place at the Brazilian jiu-jitsu Pan American games in 1999 and won third place at the 1999 World Championships in Brazil in the brown belt division. 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 66–76 kg division after forfeiting the final against Marcio Feitosa due to being told to step down by Renzo Gracie as part of a hierarchical respect system within the Gracie lineage. Serra was invited to compete in Pride 9 against Johil de Oliveira but the bout was called off at the last minute when Oliveira was burned in a pyrotechnics accident backstage. Soon after, Matt began to compete in the UFC organization where he built up a record of four wins and four losses. One of the losses was a close decision fight with future Welter and Lightweight champ B.J. Penn which would have earned him a title shot in the failed Lightweight tournament.

Serra began practicing martial arts at an early age, first studying Wing Chun. In the 1990s, he began practicing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Renzo Gracie and obtained his Black belt in May 2000, the first American to do so under Renzo. In addition to competitive bouts with (UFC Hall of Famers) Matt Hughes and B.J. Penn, Serra's biggest accomplishment in mixed martial arts came at UFC 69: Shootout where he defeated Georges St-Pierre in a Knockout of the Night award-winning performance to capture the UFC Welterweight Championship.

Matthew John Serra (born June 2, 1974) is an American former professional mixed martial artist, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner who competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, co-star of Dana White: Lookin' for a Fight, co-host of the official podcast of the UFC, UFC Unfiltered, alongside Jim Norton. Serra defeated Pete Spratt, Shonie Carter and Chris Lytle en route to becoming The Ultimate Fighter 4 Welterweight Tournament Winner. He captured the UFC Welterweight Championship immediately after. Serra also served as the head coach for The Ultimate Fighter 6 reality show opposite Matt Hughes, and he is a member of the UFC Hall of Fame. In Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Serra holds a Silver Medal in the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship.