Great Moments in MMA History: Matt Serra vs. Georges St. Pierre

Hello once more fans and friends and welcome back to another edition of “Great Moments in MMA History”. Today’s momentous induction celebrates what is undoubtedly the most shocking victory in MMA history. It will likely be remembered as the crowning achievement of MMA veteran Matt Serra’s career, while also being remembered as the lowest point for one of MMA’s best and brightest, the phenomenal Georges St. Pierre. And it happened in my hometown, while I was busy watching Cinderella (more on that anecdotal story further into the induction). It’s Matt Serra defeating GSP, and it was one of the most shocking moments in the history of our sport.

To his credit, Matt Serra was a wily MMA veteran leading into this fight. He had three full years of experience over the defending Welterweight Champion, and he had just won the fourth season of the popular reality television show “The Ultimate Fighter”. Unlike previous seasons of TUF, this comeback-themed season guaranteed the winners a shot at the championship of their division as well as a six-figure UFC contract. Up until then, the closest Serra ever got to a championship was when he lost to BJ Penn in the first round of a two-round mini-tournament for the UFC Lightweight Championship. It was the opportunity of a lifetime, and the only thing standing in his way was one of the most dynamic MMA fighters in the history of the sport.

The entire world seemed to belong to GSP leading up to UFC 69. He was on a six-fight winning streak, the highlight of which saw him avenge the only loss of his professional career when he TKO’d his former idol, the legendary Matt Hughes. With Hughes no longer the lone blemish on an otherwise spotless career, many fans and insiders were falling over themselves in their rush to proclaim that “The Era of GSP” had begun. Leading up to this fight Matt Serra was as high as an eleven-to-one underdog, with virtually no one giving him any chance at dethroning the newly-minted champion.

Then the fight began…and the impossible happened. During a punch exchange, Matt Serra clipped GSP near the back of the ear, and it seemed as if GSP’s forward momentum caused him to stumble a bit. Then he got up, backed away, and fell in earnest. Whether it was “panic mode” setting in or a survival instinct, the scramble-brained GSP attempted to half-heartedly grapple with the first American to ever receive a black belt in Brazilian Jui Jitsu from the famous Gracie clan. After shrugging GSP off of him, Serra continued to unload, nailing punch after punch, until GSP fell onto his back. Serra quickly pounced, pounded out GSP, and captured the UFC Welterweight Championship.

And I missed it. I’m a proud Houstonian as well as a proud Texan, and I missed one of the most shocking moments in the history of this sport right as it went down in my hometown. At the time of this event I had been working as a security guard for entertainment venues in and around the Houston area, and yes, the Toyota Center (where this fight happened) was a venue that I could have worked at. I campaigned hard to see this fight even though I was a relative newcomer to MMA, but instead, my supervisor sent me to the Miller Outdoor Theater for the next three days. And, as I said earlier in the article, the venue was booked for a three-day showing of a Cinderella play, the one that’s a musical. While Serra was shocking the world, I was supervising a bunch of soccer-moms and their little children. Just my luck, I guess.

Above all else, I think this fight proved once and for all that anything can happen in MMA. Even if Matt Serra would go on to lose the belt right back to GSP in his next fight, nothing will ever diminish what he accomplished at UFC 69. GSP cynics still trot out the loss to Serra like it’s a scarlet letter. This one fight perfectly embodied the never-say-never nature of Mixed Martial Arts, so it quite easily makes it into my list of “Great Moments in MMA History”.