Matt 'the Terra' Serra Future...

Rogan and the other announcer were mentioning that this could be the beginning of something for him...

What do you guys think...does he have a shot of holding on to the title for a few defenses or do you think he is a flash in the pan?

Thanks for your replies. Would love to get some discussion going on that.

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Posted by FortySixBelow

Rogan and the other announcer were mentioning that this could be the beginning of something for him...

What do you guys think...does he have a shot of holding on to the title for a few defenses or do you think he is a flash in the pan?

Thanks for your replies. Would love to get some discussion going on that.

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I think it's going to be short, too many good fighters in the UFC WW devision. Off the top of my head I can think of at least 5 people that can beat him 9 times out of ten. Then again I picked GPS to win so what do I know...

I can see Serra going either way, honestly. He has the heart of a champion and definitely works hard, so I can see him being a tough one to knock out of the top spot. But then again, I think GSP beats him in a rematch, he is the prototype of what future MMA stars are going to look like. What went down tonight makes the WW division very interesting.

If he fights like he did tonight no telling.... wow... amazing.

I guess all the people counting him out motivated him big time.

I think it's going to be interesting to see what he does in the future, if he continues to teach BJJ or just trains MMA and focuses on keeping the belt. Even before he rocked GSP and pounched on him to win the fight, he looked really good and confident standing in there, that might of been from his "they think imma lose imma **** him up" attitude. I don't know. I'd like to see him fight again though. but in my opinion the only way for him to go is down, sadly i think that was just a once in a life time fluke but i do hope i'm wrong cause what MMA org couldn't use a high caliber fighter able to knock out GSP in the first round.

I think Hughes will beat him. Then he will have a rematch with GSP for a title shot and lose. Then he will move back to 155 and be a serious contender for a while. Gutty fighter , and a great performance, but I don't see him ever beating GSP again. I like the guy though, serious Buster Douglas vibe right now.Serra's one of those guys I'm just always happy for when he does well. Classy and a gamer

Yeah... real humble. In fact, this fight featured two of the nicest fighters in this division... everyone else has at least one or two character flaws. No excuses from GSP after he lost and Serra called him the future still.

I think ist gonna be short. UFC likes to "overthrow" the champ and the give him the Grudge re-match (I.E. ratings)

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Posted by hippysmacker

I think Hughes will beat him. Then he will have a rematch with GSP for a title shot and lose. Then he will move back to 155 and be a serious contender for a while.

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Not sure about that. He said on the "Beatdown" that 155 was murder for him and he likes pasta too much.

He also said that if he didn't win the show, he was going to concentrate on running his school and maybe do jits competitions.

He might go back to that plan if his reign is short.

Well, I thought that Serra had no shot at all so I'm not going to even try and predict his future. Hughes versus Serra next would be my pick. Winner fights GSP again.

I like Serra, and seeing a fellow Long Island native win it is awesome. But I think that with MMA getting much larger and having an influx of so many good fighters, that it's going to be hard for someone to hold on to a belt past 2 or 3 defenses. Seriously though, after Serra's TKO victory in round one against possibly the best pound-for-pound fighter there is, I have no business trying to predict a damn thing.

If you watch the fight da shot dat rocked GSP was to the back of the head so dats prolly the reason for this fiasco. Maaaaaaad props too serra though, i mean nobody thought he cud do it.

Serra is a real life Rocky Balboa. I loved that guy on TUF4, and now Im really sorry I doubted him!

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Posted by jaba

If you watch the fight da shot dat rocked GSP was to the back of the head so dats prolly the reason for this fiasco. Maaaaaaad props too serra though, i mean nobody thought he cud do it.

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I knew this would come up. It looked like that to me too, but it was GSPs fault the way he ducked, not Matt's.

Credit to Matt for not going for the takedown and finishing with strikes.

Matt Serra was about 2 percent to win that fight and I believe that's exactly what last night was, the 2 percent. Any other time I see GSP winning that fight. GSP could have easily KO'd Serra had he struck first. GSP is too classy and respectful to admit it, but I think he severely underestimated Serra coming into that fight and I dont think he will do it again. No disrespect to Matt Serra, you don't get be 15-4 by being a slouch, but I think he loses the belt in his first title defense against any of the other WW contenders.

GSP didn't look at the top of his game in that fight. Whatever it was, he didn't look as sharp as he was with Hughes. Serra looked sharp, especially for his standards.

I also think that GSP might have given Serra too much respect in this fight. He was pulling a lot of kicks. I think he was 'afraid' of Serra's ground game.

Looking at the fight again, it's hard to tell, but it looks like GSP might have slipped.

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Posted by Rush

GSP didn't look at the top of his game in that fight. Whatever it was, he didn't look as sharp as he was with Hughes. Serra looked sharp, especially for his standards.

I also think that GSP might have given Serra too much respect in this fight. He was pulling a lot of kicks. I think he was 'afraid' of Serra's ground game.

Looking at the fight again, it's hard to tell, but it looks like GSP might have slipped.

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Only from a GSP fan !!!

Oh, I thought I took that last line out. But since it's immortalized now...

It's just speculation, but the first punch that started the finish..... It didn't look like Serra actually hit him. But I saw GSP's right knee buckle a bit.

Does anyone know what knee he injured?

I'm meeting Georges on the 22nd so I guess I'll see if he's limping or favouring his knee at.

Still, taking nothing away from Serra.

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Posted by FortySixBelow

Rogan and the other announcer were mentioning that this could be the beginning of something for him...

What do you guys think...does he have a shot of holding on to the title for a few defenses or do you think he is a flash in the pan?

Thanks for your replies. Would love to get some discussion going on that.

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i think that his suprise game plan worked but will only work this 1 time.
no one, including gsp will allow serra to beat him in this manner again

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Posted by Gogoplata

What went down tonight makes the WW division very interesting.

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you are correct. this fight and kos winning really mixes things up. much more interesting than the LHW division

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Posted by Rush

GSP didn't look at the top of his game in that fight. Whatever it was, he didn't look as sharp as he was with Hughes. Serra looked sharp, especially for his standards.

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I agree. Im really chuffed that Serra won, Im really happy for him, but Rush himself said after the fight that he felt stiff and unable to just let go and fight. Again, its great that Matt got the big win he has always wanted and imo deserved, but he wont hold the title for long, not with imminent defences from George and Matt.

I hope Serra enjoys the belt while he has it. I'm fairly confident he won't have it past his next fight. Pretty much all top contenders in WW would beat him. GSP would beat him in a rematch and so would Hughes. I mean Serra deserved to win he was the better fighter last night. However anyone with a brain knows he won't hold that title long.

in my opinion he would have a hard time keeping the belt because there are lot of talent in the 170 division - matt hughes may overpower him(take him down and hold him on the ground) and win by UD same with koscheck. and I still believe that GSP would win if they would be given a rematch

I definitely think GSPwas holding back in his match as he mentioned in his interview. The man did not appear to be his aggressive balls to the wall self. But as everyone has been saying, Serra brought it last night, and he deserved the win.

Whats with all the hate towards Serra. The guy just did a randy so to speak. We all counted him out (98% in fact), and he proved us all wrong.

He did everything right in this fight, and won the WW belt in devastating fashion. Something hes been working towards his whole career. Prehaps it will be a short reign, or maybe not! One things for sure the WW division is wide open.

As for GSP, im sure he'll be back and better than ever. Rush is prehaps the future of this sport, but one things for sure, Matt 'The Terror' Serra is the Present!

I don't see Serra holding this belt for long. He may have pulled off the upset that no one (including myself) believed he could, but I still wouldn't pick him to win against Hughes, or against GSP in a rematch.

To be honest, if GSP didn't have one successful title defense, I don't know what the chances of Serra having any are...

This is a crazy sport, and as Wanderlei said, "Man, anything can happen, these gloves are small..."

Well, we all know that Matt Serra is known for the ground game.

But his punches appear to pack more power than most welterweights. In addition, his footwork and defense looked great last night. I think he's well-rounded enough that I wouldn't be surprised if he held onto that belt for a few more fights.

All I'm gonna say for now is: BJ/ Serra. Both top notch JJ. BJ has great hands and Matt's done a lot of work there. I'd have BJ, but you don't know. I'm with everyone else and never woulda picked matt 24 hours ago, but these days noone knows anything. All the "MMA experts" , myself included, have been made to look like fools. But if this fight happens for the belt... maybe the best JJ/grappling match in mma since sak/newton? I'm salivating just thinking of it...

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Posted by JimiMak

But if this fight happens for the belt... maybe the best JJ/grappling match in mma since sak/newton? I'm salivating just thinking of it...

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I dont think so! Id say both guys would be very happily keep it on their feet, although bjj could come into it in the later rounds.