Even in Losing to Hughes, Matt Serra Proves He's No Fluke

Posted May 24, 2009 11:59AM By Mike Chiappetta (RSS feed)

Filed Under: UFC

First thing's first. Matt Serra was not robbed at UFC 98. Neither though, did he lose. After two years of back and forth, after injuries delayed their original fight, and after 15 minutes in the octagon, the two Matts were fit to be tied, and their match should have been ruled a draw.

The judges, however, saw things differently. After three rounds, they gave Matt Hughes a 29-28 across-the-board win. They no doubt gave Serra the first round, and Hughes the final two.

The fight was close enough that neither fighter was quite sure whose name ring announcer Bruce Buffer would call.

"I thought I had it, but I'm sure Matt thought the same thing," Hughes said in the post-fight press conference at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

"I thought I squeezed out the third. It was close, but what are you gonna do?" Serra added.

No matter what the judges decided - and make no mistake, judging close rounds in real time is not easy - Serra should forever have the "one-hit wonder" tag that some affixed to him removed. Hughes is an all-time great, came into the fight motivated and in fantastic shape, and was fortunate to make it out in a conscious state, let alone with a win.

The first two rounds were somewhat easy to score. In the first, Serra hurt Hughes badly, had him on wobbly legs and looked on the verge of finishing him before Hughes rebounded. In the second, Hughes scored a takedown a minute into the round and kept Serra on the ground for most of the rest of the frame, landing strikes from time to time.

But then came the pivotal third, which all three judges scored for Hughes.

It is safe to assume they gave him the round on the strength of his takedown as well as keeping Serra on his back for two minutes and 18 seconds. But a closer look at the action shows that Hughes did virtually no damage, and in fact, Serra was the more active and effective fighter during that time.

In that 138-second span, Hughes threw only 10 shots to the body and one to the head, and all of those punches came when Serra had one of his arms trapped in an omoplata. In fact, Hughes was delivering the punches while trying to escape Serra. Despite fighting from the top, Hughes' shots were defensive rather than offensive. They were reactionary, designed to pull himself from an uncomfortable situation he was not in control of.

During their time on the ground, Serra used two omoplatas to stifle Hughes offensively, and also tried a triangle, while Hughes didn't land a single meaningful strike. Serra did such an effective job neutralizing Hughes that referee Steve Mazzagatti stood the fighters up with 1:45 left. Upon the restart, Serra took Hughes to the mat with a trip takedown and then landed at least two power strikes from the top before time ran out.

The UFC counts effective striking, grappling, aggression and octagon control as its scoring criteria, but one could argue that in fact Serra was controlling most of the ground action with omoplatas, while Hughes was unable to inflict any damage at all. In essence, Hughes' offensive output for the final round was one single takedown. Still, the judges gave the round to him.

"I thought I got the third round," Serra said. "I got the foot sweep, I got on top, landed some shots. I thought I squeezed it out. But I have no regrets."

Given the longstanding rivalry, Serra had the right to be upset with the decision, but he knows there is more to it than that. Regardless of the official decision, he gets to leave Las Vegas behind knowing he earned the respect of Hughes, who was just a few years ago the most dominant champion in the UFC.

After the fight, the two hugged, shared a word about squashing their feud, and Hughes went so far as to raise Serra's arm in the air.

Hughes immediately said he plans to continue fighting. Though the Serra fight was the last on his UFC contract, he is unlikely to fight anywhere else. Serra, though, did not seem quite as sure.

"Let me just absorb this and spend time with my family," he said. "I just had a three-month old. She's been with my family and I've been away from [my family] training for this, so I need to get back to them, chill a bit and weigh my options."

For their efforts, the Matts won the "Fight of the Night" award, which carried with it a $60,000 bonus. But more so than money, Serra gets to leave the ring knowing that all those people who thought his win over Georges St. Pierre was a fluke left with something new to think about.

Matt Serra fought one of the sport's all-time great to a stalemate, even if the judges didn't quite see it that way.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

5-24-2009 @ 2:27PM

dave said...

This was actually a one puch wonder fighting a past champion way past his prime. Five years ago Hughes would have taken this guy out in two rounds or less. Duran and Ali fought way past their prime and lost to lesser opponents; Hughes better quit now or he will suffer the same fate.

Bottom line-Serra really isn't anything but a mediocre fighter, and Hughes needs to concentrate on coaching/managing.

5-24-2009 @ 4:40PM

daviddrvd said...

serra-hughes delivered on this card for sure, the way i scored it i had serra 2 rounds 1 and 3 hughes had round 2 but didn't do much damage at all in any rounds, hughes boxing looked amateur at best the judges definitely based the win control over serra in the 3rd,even so serra's takedown at the end should counted 4 something hughes only controlled serra temporarely but got no where each time serra was more active from the bottom he had this win but got screwed this time

5-25-2009 @ 9:10AM

skeen267 said...

Hughes/Serra should have been a draw. Serra had round 1, Hughes had round 2 ,and they evenly split round 3. Could make a case for Serra, even.

5-25-2009 @ 10:27AM

jflu1961 said...

YOU GUYS MUST BE SERRA SICKOFANTS! JUST LOOK AT SERRA'S FACE AFTER THE FIGHT AND THEN LOOK AT HUGHES. HUGHES GOT WAY MORE STRIKES TO SERRA'S FACE. THE FIRST ROUND ONLY WENT TO SERRA BECAUSE OF AN ACCIDENTAL HEAD BUTT THAT TOOK HUGHES DOWN. I GUESS YOU CAN GIVE THE FIRST ROUND TO SERRA BECAUSE HE HAS A BIGGER AND HARDER HEAD !.......THIS FIGHT WAS NO DRAW!!!!!!!!

5-25-2009 @ 10:32AM

dave said...

This was actually a one puch wonder fighting a past champion way past his prime. Five years ago Hughes would have taken this guy out in two rounds or less. Duran and Ali fought way past their prime and lost to lesser opponents; Hughes better quit now or he will suffer the same fate.

Bottom line-Serra really isn't anything but a mediocre fighter, and Hughes needs to concentrate on coaching/managing...............................I COULD HAVE NEVER SAID IT BETTER MYSELF!!!!!!!!!!!PERFECT ANALYSIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5-25-2009 @ 10:50AM

retrojoke said...

This fight was unimpressive and should have gone to Serra. Headbutt or not-no point was deducted,Serra won the first and third round and had a dominant finish against a so called wrestling legend of MMA. Serra was robbed. Smaller and not as powerful and he still took it to Hughes. This fight really showed what a one trick pony Hughes is.Zero standup and the worst footing/positionals i have seen from any champion.

Serra is a good fighter, just look at his stats and youll see that. His lossess are almost all decisions, which show that he hanged in their just couldnt win.

5-25-2009 @ 12:29PM

richardbikle said...

Even with replays you can't get it right RetroJOKE. Hughes won more of the fight than Serra; it's that simple.

Hughes has excellent positioning and range. If you knew anything at all you could see that is part of his abilities that made him the best WW Champion ever.

Quit trying to repeat what you've heard others say, you dont know how to apply it.

5-25-2009 @ 12:39PM

Ted said...

If not for the headbutt; Hughes would have won all three rounds. That headbutt just about knocked him out and he still finished the round as a true warrior.

5-25-2009 @ 12:48PM

M13 said...

I agree with Mike Chiapetta's assessment. I felt both guys put a great performance considering both had ups and downs for the past year. I give round 1 to Matt Serra despite the head-butt. Round 2 to Matt Hughes easily. The final round however, was way too close to call.

5-25-2009 @ 12:59PM

sifuherc said...

What some of you guys are not seeing is that Hughes did nothing in the 3rd but fight defensivley to avoid being out of his comfort zone. He had one takedown in the third and then he got taken down from a guy that should be fighting at light weight. I give props to Serra , he as he said should of been more active in the second but was conserving energy.

To the idiot that said look at serra's face , well I think that comment say a lot about your intellect. Good thing we don't judge fights my marks on fighters faces because fedor would of had a bunch of loses to his undefeated record. Newb.

5-31-2009 @ 6:48PM

sifuherc said...........................To the idiot that said look at serra's face , well I think that comment say a lot about your intellect. Good thing we don't judge fights my marks on fighters faces because fedor would of had a bunch of loses to his undefeated record. Newb........I'm the Idiot that said look at serra's face. the difference between this fight and Fedor's fights is Fedor knocks his opposition out.... I was simply pointing out that Hughes pounded Serra's face in and without the headbutt it would not have been close. MAYBE YOU SHOULD HAVE READ THE WHOLE THING !

5-25-2009 @ 6:11PM

retrojoke!!!!...Serra is a good fighter, just look at his stats and youll see that. His lossess are almost all decisions, which show that he hanged in their just couldnt win.......................retrojoke You are a JOKE!...........................Man You and I are polar opposites. How about his fight with that CLOWN SHONEY CARTER ?.....THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER IS MATT HUGHES IS PAST HIS PRIME..... BECAUSE IN HIS PRIME HUGHES WOULD WIPE UP THE MAT WITH SERRA!....without the accidental Headbutt this fight would not even have been close !

5-25-2009 @ 6:17PM

sifuherc said...

What some of you guys are not seeing is that Hughes did nothing in the 3rd but fight defensivley to avoid being out of his comfort zone.......EXCUSE ME BUT I WATCHED THE WHOLE FIGHT!what Hughes did was gain an OBVIOUS! lead in points then wait for Serra to make a mistake because Serra was getting desperate...ITS CALLED STRATEGY!!!! LOOK IT UP AND GET BACK WITH ME !!!!

5-25-2009 @ 6:25PM

M13 said...

I agree with Mike Chiapetta's assessment. I felt both guys put a great performance considering both had ups and downs.......XXXXOOOO...XOXOXO...KISS..KISS..KISS!..OH GIVE ME A BREAK !............Chiapetta is a Serra Sickofant....THE ONLY DAMAGE SERRA DID WAS WITH HIS FAT, HARD HEAD! WHEN HUGHES GOT SERRA DOWN HE WAS PUNCHING HIS FACE IN....... LOOK AT SERRA'S FACE AFTER THE FIGHT !!!!!!IT AMAZES ME WHAT SOME PEOPLE SEE WHEN THEY WATCH A FIGHT....I JUST WISH IT HAD BEEN A 5 ROUND FIGHT SO HUGHES COULD HAVE SWELLED SERRA'S EYES CLOSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5-25-2009 @ 9:35PM

Well, that's your opinion buddy. I too saw that fight last night like you did. You can stick to your views and I'll stick with mine.

5-26-2009 @ 4:10PM

M13 said...

Well, that's your opinion buddy. I too saw that fight last night like you did. You can stick to your views and I'll stick with mine. ..........IF YOU INSIST ON STICKING TO YOUR VIEWS MAYBE YOU SHOULD GET AN EYE EXAM FIRST SO YOU CAN SEE WHAT REALLY HAPPENED ! GO BACK AND WATCH THE TAPE AND COUNT THE BLOWS. THE THIRD ROUND WAS NOT CLOSE ON A JUDGES SCORE CARD HUGHES WINS WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED. sometimes the judges screw it up but in this fight only one judge had it wrong.( DON'T TAKE MY WORD FOR IT WATCH THE TAPE AND COUNT THE BLOWS ! )

5-27-2009 @ 4:50AM

kwilbur10 said...

guys this was the only fight on the card that didn't mean anything. this goes for a future title shot an up in the rankings or anything. this fight should have happened two years ago, it didn't so we were stuck watching these lame fighters. all hughes proved is that he is too old, one of the attributes listed on the ppv was that hughes has 10 yrs of mma exp. wow. just say fighting waaaaaayyyyy to damn long. and serra didn't look to terrible its just that he is too short and not as strong. so whatever. this fight sucked and i hope i don't see this fight ever again.

5-27-2009 @ 12:25PM

Brad Henderson said...

the only reason it was even a fight was due to the headbut/knock out by Serra, Hughes won the foght on the ground and on his feet

5-27-2009 @ 4:35PM

welcome screen said...

Hughes won the fight not by fighting skill or ability, but by controversial favoritism popularity decision. And that about sums it up! Hughes on his feet is Tim the maniac saliva on the ground. and you can take that to the bank. Serra's stand up and ground game is far superior to Hughes. A decision is an opinion and we all know what they say about opinions.

5-27-2009 @ 8:13PM

jaysinw said...

Serra is a kywag that only won the 1st because of the accidentally headbutt. He could not put Hughes away even with Hughes having trouble standing. Serra with out question is a one hit wonder. He lost to hughes who by the third had the lead and waiting for Serra to make a mistake in the third. All fighters do it. Serra did not land any shots that hurt Hughes in that round and Hughes was about to pick Serra up at the end and slam him. HUGHES IS PAST HIS PRIME< BUT SERRA NEVER HAD ONE!!!

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