Long-time UFC fighter and former welterweight champion Matt Serra doesn’t want to come out and say it, but from the sounds of things he’s hung up his gloves for good.
“It’s hard to say it,” Serra admits in an interview with Newsday. “It’s like you can’t say it, even though it probably is true. I would love to put closure on my career with one last fight at the Garden, but at the same time, if that doesn’t happen, I definitely consider myself done. It’s hard to say the ‘R word.’ I might never say the ‘R word.'”
Now 39 years-old, Serra hasn’t fought since a decision loss to Chris Lytle back at UFC 119 in September of 2010, but up until now has always hinted that he was planning on returning to the Octagon at some stage.
However, he’s not in need of a big payday due to the ongoing success of his gyms, and a recent health scare appears to have been the final push he needed to convince himself that it was now time to bow out of the sport.
One night recently Serra found he couldn’t bend his arm or lift it properly so he headed to a nearby hospital where it was discovered that he had two blood clots in his arm and another in his lung. It’s just as well that he did seek medical attention as without treatment that could have lead to him dying.
As it stands he had to have a rib removed on his left side and now has to inject an anticolagulant into his stomach each day for the next three months.
Despite his decision to call it a day Serra admits that it’s hard to walk away from fighting in the UFC.
“Glory is a drug, dude. I’m telling you, that’s the problem. It really is. I know why guys can’t walk away. I absolutely get it.”
Serra’s biggest moment by far in the UFC was pulling off one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport by TKO’ing GSP to claim the welterweight title in April of 2007.
While his career record stands at just 11-7 he did also win the fourth season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ show which focused on former UFC fighters looking to make their way back to the big show. Serra defeated Shonie Carter, Pete Spratt and Chris Lytle to win the series.
One of the biggest and well liked personalities in the sport, it’s likely that the UFC will aim to use Serra in some capacity in front of the camera from time to time so I don’t think we’ve seen the last of him yet.
