For those of you that have been loyal HotStuffers, know that I've been a Matt Serra fan from day one. There's something about his "New Yorker" personality that I find intriguing and hilarious. And feeling this way has given me a reason to "like" him. In my opinion, I think the Ultimate Fighter has been a great way for people to see a little more personality from fighters than you see in the octagon. I know I know, some of you are going to say oh that's just a reality show and they edit it to look a certain way. Fine. Thanks for your opinion, but I tend to think a little of what you see really is what you get. Look at Rashad and Rampage. Hughes and Franklin. Sure it might be somewhat edited but I think Matt Serra is probably a funny, caring guy in "real life". Knowing that Matt is currently training for his upcoming fight against Frank Trigg I thought what a great time to get to know his wife Ann.
Q. Where did you and Matt meet?
A.
Matt and I met through my sister and his brother almost eight years ago. It was
kind of a blind date.
Q. How long have you been married?
A.
We've been married for almost 3 years.
Q. Some fighters have been forthcoming in
saying having a baby (specifically a baby girl) changed them. Made them a
little 'softer'. Have you noticed a change with Matt?
A.
It's definitely true that when a man has a baby (especially Matt) they become
softies. Matt did become softer, and the thing I like about it is that even
when we're out in public he doesn't care how he acts to entertain the baby.
We'll be in the supermarket and he'll be talking funny or throwing her up in
the air, or even running around with her in the cart. He thinks I get embarrassed
but I absolutely love it. He is an awesome father and he's not afraid to show
his love and affection for his baby. I think even if we had a baby boy he would
act the same exact way. Matt is a family man and I'm proud to be his wife and
the mother of his child. I knew since we first started dating that he would be
like this because he's always had a soft spot for me, it just became even
softer because of our daughter.
Q. Also, some guys have said they can't be
with their baby girl right before fight time because they think they lose a
little bit of that fighter instinct whenever they baby is around. See any
of that with Matt?
A.
I do see that with Matt. He'll be going out to vegas two weeks before the
fight. Right now I'm staying with my parents, just as I've done last year after
we had the baby, because he needs to get that anger in him and he says with the
baby around he's just too happy all of the time. Ever since we've had the baby
I've stayed with my parents five weeks before the fight.
Q. Were you a MMA fan prior to meeting Matt
or did he get you involved in the sport?
A.
As a little girl I've always watched the WWE with my dad, I know it's not
the same because it's fake but I've always been into that kind of sport.
Q. Were you at Matt together during the
Ultimate Fighter 4 and 6? How was it to see him as a student or contestant vs a
coach?
A.
We had just gotten engaged when he was accepted to go onto the Ultimate Fighter
4. It was very difficult not seeing him for six weeks. I didn't see a
difference between season six because whether him being a student or a coach
he's always a leader and he's always willing to learn. I felt that he was like
a coach for his teammates on season four because he was always helping them out
and more often than not and he was the corner man for most of them.
Q. Is it MMA talk at your house all the
time? At the dinner table?
A.
We do talk a lot about MMA because Matt owns two Academies along with his
brother and that's basically the only sport that either of us really enjoys
watching.
Q. What has been the hardest fight to see
Matt lose and what made it more difficult than others?
A.
I think the hardest fight to see Matt "lose" on the books was the
Hughes fight. Only because I feel as though Matt had absolutely won that fight.
It was crushing because it was such a long feud between them, and he had
trained so hard for that fight. That was the first time that he had to leave
our newborn at the time and I think it was the hardest training camp for him
with everything going on. He really did deserve to win that fight.
Q. What do you think has been the most
satisfying fight to see Matt win? Why?
A.
The most satisfying fight to see Matt win was the Ultimate Fighter 4 finale
because that fight had really secured our future. I love Chris Lyttle and
his family, but it had gotten him the shot at the title and it had made his
name even bigger than it was, which he deserves. He is the nicest, most sincere
person, and works hard for where he is today.
Q. Care to share any inside information on
how you support him? Do you do anything special while he’s training for a
fight? Special recipes to help him lose weight before the big weight cut?
A.
First thing is I move out of the house for five weeks with my daughter. I have
to prepare many meals a day for him, he needs to eat every three hours. I make
him brown rice with some kind of seasoned chicken. And I just basically support
him in everything.
Q. Have you ever cut weight with him?
A.
I always try to eat healthy with him in the beginning, but having the same
thing every day for three months is boring. I give him a lot of credit for what
he does in preparing for a fight, especially the fact that he's a typical
Italian who loves food. I'm not sure if I could ever do it.
Q. I understand Las Vegas is a long flight
for baby Angelina, so will you watch UFC 109 with friends/family at
home?
A.
I will watch 109 with my whole family. I have a huge family on my dads side
(he's one of 10), so whenever Matt fights we all get together at someone's
house and we make a party of it.
Q. What do you as a family like to do when
he’s not training?
A.
Matt and I are pretty easy going. We like to make a date night once a week, we
go to eat and then to a movie. In the summer we like to take the baby to the
park, but in the winter we're stuck indoors, so we just enjoy playing with the
baby or watching the shows that she loves (Your Baby Can Read).
Q. How's the Serra Academy doing? Anything
special you want to tell our readers about?
A.
The Serra Academies are doing very well, it's becoming so packed in there. Matt
will be opening another school in a couple of months. The new school will be in
Huntington next to where the old one was, it's going to be 8300 square feet.
It's going to be a beautiful facility where they will not only teach Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu but MMA, Muay Thai, and wrestling, not to mention there
will be an area for personal training. So we're all very excited about it.
Q. My fiance and I have a set routine of
things we do leading up to his fight. I have sort of figured out his behavior
and habits and I know when I should leave him alone to get 'fight focused'. Do
you and Matt have any special routine leading up to a fight?
A.
Basically I leave the house for five weeks, he still comes visits everyday but
we still miss each other. Just like you, I know when to leave him alone, or
when he has his mind set on fighting.
If
you have any questions about the Serra Academies go to mattserra.net.
So, as you can see from my interview with Ann, she confirmed everything I had sort of 'expected' of Matt. He is a great father and husband. And you have to be funny to do funny baby talk in a super market. Right?
Here's to hoping the sacrifices he's made for this camp will pay off at UFC 109.
