For those that have followed me over at MMAHotStuff, 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.
