Matt Serra to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame
One of the most surprising UFC champions in the history of the promotion will enter their Hall of Fame in July.
Back in April 2007, Matt Serra shocked the world when he stopped the seemingly invincible Georges St-Pierre to win the UFC welterweight title. That earned him a place in the memory of UFC fans forever, and ultimately led to another big honor yesterday - being announced as a member of the UFC Hall of Fame class of 2018.
The promotion announced the pending induction on the FS1 portion of the UFC Fight Night: Atlantic City broadcast, and Serra (a man never who is short on words) said that he was honored by the recognition:
“It’s super special, it really is quite the honor. I’ve always bragged that I fought some guys in the Hall of Fame, legends like B.J. Penn and Matt Hughes, and they always knew they were in a fight, but now I’m in there, so I can’t even use that line.
“I’m in good company. It’s just such an honor, and I exceeded all my goals now.”
He will enter the Pioneer’s wing of the HOF, and will be a part of the July 5th induction ceremony in Las Vegas.
Serra (11-7, 7-7 UFC) entered the UFC way back in 2001, and his biggest claim to fame for the first four years was probably ending up at the business end of a Shonie Carter spinning back fist with just seconds left in a fight he was dominating to that point. He was an unremarkable 3-3 in that early run. But The Ultimate Fighter proved to be his salvation.
He won TUF 4, which earned him a title shot against GSP, and he took home the title that fateful day in Houston in one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport. He ended up dropping it back to GSP in his next bout a year later, and fought just three times after that.
He finished up his career with a 2010 decision loss to Chris Lytle, but has remained a fixture in the organization as a trainer and a co-host of shows like Lookin’ for a Fight with Dana White, and the UFC Unfiltered podcast with Jim Norton.
Congrats to Mr. Serra on the induction.