By Matt Serra
UFC Welterweight champion
My take on choosing the quarterfinals, as well as Longo’s, was that we wanted to put their last remaining guys against each other, and try and shut them out of the finals. One of the producers, along with Dana, implored that we not do that. They told us to not get carried away with the Hughes Vs Serra rivalry thing, that the goal was to find the next best fighter, that, for TV purposes, we were looking for the best fights possible, and that, ideally, the two best fighters in the house would meet in the final, regardless of what team they were on. The producers were DEAD SET against us putting Tommy and Mac against each other. I can’t stress that enough. That, coupled with a few guys on my team’s desire to try and shut Team Hughes out of the semifinals completely, caused me and Longo to buckle, so we did not pit Tommy and Mac against each other.
Hughes said he’d have had a problem with Mac Vs Tommy, but, if that was something we did decide to do, I don’t think he would be justified in doing: that was a right we earned during the prelims.
In any event, the quarterfinals ended up being:
Jon vs Mac
Tommy vs Ben
Richie vs George
Matt vs Rudeboy
After the matchups were announced, I was not pleased to learn that I had to send some of the guys over to Hughes’s team, since we had placed so many guys in the quarterfinals. I’d have much preferred to have me sit out cornering duties entirely for those matchups, and have their teammates corner them, like Jens did last season when Nate Diaz fought Corey Hill. I’d have trained them all the entire week, but I would not choose sides when it came down to coaching. I brought that up as possibility, and was again shot down by the powers that be.
I decided the only reasonable thing to do was to have a coinflip, as I was not about to choose sides. I ended up having to send Rudeboy and Richie over to Team Hughes to train for their fights. I thought Richie handled his concerns with a great deal of maturity in approaching Hughes and his staff, and I don’t know how Matt Hughes thought they didn’t handle themselves like adults, considering he didn’t even bother to shake their hands when their meeting was over.
In regards to this week’s fight, Jon manned up and asked for Mac, a guy who, from all accounts, was considered one of the best fighters in the house by his peers. I admired that greatly – the only way you’re going to get better in this sport is to challenge yourself, and asking for Mac a challenge most guys wanted to avoid when we held our prematchup interviews.
The fight went down, and Jon was a little nervous going in, which had me concerned. Instead of letting the fight come to him, he exerted a lot of energy trying to get the fight where he wanted it to go. Chalk it up to experience or a lack thereof. Mac, to his credit, was able to take advantage of that, win the fight, and move on to the semifinals.
Until next week…
Comments (17)
Once again, Matt Hughes proves to be a jerk. I don't care how good a fighter Dana thinks he is (or was), he's no coach.
It's about a team, it's not about a team, you can pick the quarterfinals, but we'll tell you what they should be....I mean, give me a break. You can't change the rules as you go along.
Serra won, fair and square, and now they need to change the rules to appease Hughes' massive ego? That guy is going to collapse under the weight of his own self-importance one day.
Serra, we're really rooting for you out here in Vegas for a big victory here in December!
Hughes has a high school mentality. I thought it was very upfront and mature for a fighter to go to the coach. Hughes proved what a dope he is. Even if he thought it was weird...geez give the kid credit for stepping up to clear the air. The world lacks communication. He is fighting in there and sure wants someone in his corer that supports him. Thanks Jetty - http://Dan-Henderson.com
Matt Serra...I've loved you from when you were on the Ultimate Fighter the first time....even then listening to you shouting ringside, I knew you'd make an awesome coach!!! Now for the serious stuff....did anyone else see Tommy's tap 4 minutes into the first round with War Machine?
Hughes in under a minute.
My feelings about the quarterfinal matchups are like this, yeah it would be great to see the team stay together, but Dana was right in that the show is about finding the best fighter. In my opinion the best fighters as of now are Mac, Tommy, and George. If Tommy and Mac go at it this early then there would be a strong possiblity one of the weaker fighters would go much further than they probably should. And even though we all have issues with Matt Hughes and his ego, i doubt that he complained about not having a team to coach.(Greg) Someone with his wrestling talent and competitive attitude might serve these fighters well. I agree with Dana in that they are so fortunate to have the oppurtunity to be coached by Serra, they should feel equally as lucky to be coached for a handful of weeks by Hughes. The experience will allow them to decide what kind of fighter they want to become. At the end of the day its about the individual not the team.
Serra, I've been a fan since your first appearance on the ultimate fighter. I've also been a Huges fan since the first ultimate fighter. I was starting to think that the producer were casting Huges in a bad light, and making him look like a jerk. But after a couple of episodes, I think Huges is giving then a lot to work with. Suddenly I see where Serra is coming from. Huges is a stuck up, disrespectful, ego maniac. The proof is in the podding. You can comment on Serra page anytime after he sends out his blogs. What's up Huges, where is your comment box? Do I really have to log on to Matt-Huges.com to comment? I don't think Huges likes criticism on his blog page, while he's critiquing others.
well, i agree, i couldnt believe that hughes sat there like that when richie went to him and the coaches...and then on hughes blog, hes saying that he is still gonna seperate these two from his "team", i feel bad for richie and rudeboy (whom i like) i feel they are gonna get shafted in the training aspect...i think they should have been allowed to cont to train w serra, and be cornered by a teammate
I don't think tommy is a good fighter at all. He might be great one day, but know i think tommy is just a one dimesional wrestler. As for the Finale, i pick Mac and George going at it. But i'm not counting out my boy Matt Arroyo, he's totally awsome and will do great things in the UFC
Matt (Serra) is probably one of the best coaches I've seen. Even when he coached Shoney Carter on a previous edition of the Ultimate Fighter series; Shoney listened and was able to defend his ground position.
I have to agree with Dan Henderson's comment about the guy's going to Matt (Hughes). They were just making an attempt to communicate with the other "sides" coach, and, well, it went no where. At least that's what was portrayed on the show, and in Matt's comments afterward.
Overall, I think all the guys have had a great opportunity to train with some outstanding fighters/coaches during the series.
With the preliminaries at 6-2, Matt Serra must be doing something right. Can't wait until December 29th.
Dan Henderson is right.
@Serra... Go get him Coach!
i remember seein matt hughes when he appeared on ufc comeback intimidating gsp, well he soon had his comeuppance and i hope matt serra destroys the big head cos u can see who the better person and coach is from the way they both act.come on team serra !!!!!
I have had a problem with Matt Hughes since his first appearance on The Ultimate Fighter. This year has just reinfornced all the bad things we all discovered about him in previous seasons. Its all about him, he gets mad at his fighter when they don't win, because it makes him look bad. Serra on the other hand, congratulates Hughes' fighters, is awesome in the corner, and gives respect when it is earned. Serra took a coaching role in his first appearance on TUF, when he hand absolutely no need to do so. I am continually impressed by Serras coaching style and commitment to his fighters. I can't wait for Serra to successful defend his well earned title.
Coach Serra congrats on the TUF season so far hopefully we will see a Team Serra Jersey when that trophy is awarded. All TUF aside I'm sure I'm not the first to say it but Matt Hughes doesn't deserve a shot at the title yet. Be it for ratings or the oohh factor or even a contract stipulation he does not deserve a title shot. Bottom line is Hughes needs to work his way back into contention. For those Hughes fans that are yelling at the screen right now, look I have been a Matt Hughes fight fan for a long time too( I am a MH fight fan not a MH out of the octagon fan ) and I must say Hughes needs to be treated like every other fighter. After the performance that GSP showed against Kos and the performance that Hughes had against Lytle I would have given the rematch shot to GSP first. Enough about the challengers though. Coach Serra good luck with TUF and all my thoughts and prayers are with you in the octagon in your title defense and victory over Hughes, Believe in yourself and you will prevail.
Serra is a great coach and hilarious too... reminds me of Frank Rizzo from the Jerky Boys!
I'd like to see Serra keep the title until Swick gets a couple fights under his belt in the class.... Swick vs Serra and Swick vs GSP will be bananas
I am so disappointed that Serra Vs. Hughes isn't going to happen soon. I wanted Serra to shut that dumb farmboy up for good. As a coach, he is being outclassed on the show. When Richie came to speak to him, Matt Hughes showed his true colors. He took it as a personal insult, and it wasn't totally about him. The kid wanted to clear the air, is that such a threat? Why was Robbie Lawler throwing attitude also? Don't you have to do something in this sport besides get knocked out by Nick Diaz before you throw attitude at kids who will probably eclipse all of your accomplishments? Mike Swick is an exciting fighter in his own right, and deserves respect, but can he beat someone at 170 before we start talking title shot? He is not top 5 in the division yet.
Matt Serra is a classy guy. I have a lot of respect for him both as a coach and as a fighter. I think he genuinely cares.
Matt, I'm sure you're sick about hearing GSP and MH battling for a fake version of your title. That's not right to me. There's other champions out there fighting steriods claims, and they get to hold the title for a year without a single fight. Why did Dana strip you of your title so quickly? I don't get it.
Get better quickly. Back injuries suck, but I'm sure you'll work through it.
Best of Luck
Mark
I have really tried to like and respect Hughes but every week he sinks deeper and deeper in my view. He is supposed to be this stand up dedicated integral guy and not to mention (and as he has advertised) a committed religious man but he has the most pretense and biggest image of anyone on that show. He cannot even get past himself. All this public display of religious guidance but no application--no humility--no graciousness. His body language with his team clearly sends the message he has no vested interest in them personally. I think they all felt that and never had an edge from the get go. Serra, although pretty full of himself too has never professed to be anything different and that makes him real. His team has connected with him on various levels and it shows!!