Sherdog.com’s Guide to the Ultimate Fighter
Scott Holmes Oct 20, 2006
Six years ago I was running late for a UFC watch party. The word
"party" is very loosely used since it really amounted to me, my
buddy Tom and a rich older woman who couldn’t care less about
fighting but wanted some young boys in her lair.
I showed up in time to watch Matt Serra (Pictures) put a BJJ clinic on Shonie Carter (Pictures). I knew who Shonie was; hell anyone who tried to keep up in those days knew who both guys were.
Back then, you got your shot in the Octagon by building a decent
résumé, and both men carried one. Serra was a rising name in the
BJJ scene and Carter was a Chicago wild man with an impressive
history, both losing and winning against some of the best in the
biz.
With respect to both fighters I was more concerned that night about Couture-Rizzo and Liddell-Randleman, but I'll still remember that fight like it was yesterday.
I just mean that I watched a guy go from one submission attempt to the next like you or I breath. I remember thinking then that this was the new BJJ. Royce Gracie (Pictures) was the superior technician but God help us if an actual athlete learns the same technique.
Some of that thought was true: the superior athletes are now the new UFC elite. It's been five years and so much has changed. Ironically Matt Serra (Pictures) has been a huge influence in the change.
His disciples flooded fight organizations, yet he still has a hunger to reclaim something that was knocked out of his grasp in one split-second.
Shonie Carter (Pictures) was losing that fight five years ago. Shonie repeatedly got put in perilous positions but to his credit he always maneuvered his way out of it. No matter how dire it looked he was always able to either slip, power or just will his way out of the bad spot. It was a fight that showcased the mind-bending skill of Serra and the wiliness of Carter.
For those reasons many of us were intrigued by their match-up. More so, I suppose, since Matt Serra (Pictures) cornered Shonie at the beginning of this season. Then they had a deterioration of teamwork that led up to tonight's grudge match.
No sooner had the guys stepped off the scales at 170 did another rivalry emerge. Sure, Serra has been talking about Marc Laimon this whole season. Laimon's not a fan of the Gracies whereas Matt is almost a life-long student, so there's some beef right there. In fact, if any of you have had the pleasure of learning Brazilian jiu-jitsu you've probably run across some real BS in the fact that for some reason everyone gets real territorial in that world.
(I'll be honest, it shocked me. I really thought it would be a "spread the good word of jiu-jitsu" kind of world, but instead it's a real catty world that is defined by who you trained under and who he trained under and then who he’s cousins with. I could do a whole thesis on how much I hate the he said/she said world of jiu-jitsu, but frankly I have things to do in the morning so I'll keep moving.)
Basically, Matt and Marc have been battling a bit all season. Marc doesn't train Team Mojo in BJJ. Why bother they have Matt? Laimon has sat on the sidelines and along with that comes the outsider animosity.
It finally came to a head as Matt Hughes (Pictures) tried to stir the pot and talk Marc and Matt into rolling together. Later, Marc explains to Matt Hughes (Pictures) how much he loved the beat down he gave Royce Gracie (Pictures). I think his exact words were: "It was great, the utter decimation of Royce.”
Serra, the Gracie devotee, overhears this and confronts Laimon about it. Basically, he punks Marc out for being a talker and not a fighter. Meanwhile, the mischievous Hughes smiles in the background.
Serra explains it in a fairly decent sense: "You should have more respect.” Laimon claims that he has all the right to air out his opinions and while that is true, he should wave those rights, put on a red nose and a wig because he just got clowned.
Oh, and speaking of clowns, after Shonie decides to paint his bunk bed, Jorge Rivera (Pictures) decides to put on some bikini briefs, a clown wig and some floppy shoes and goes out to train. It's a little something his team calls the "Phony Carter Show" and frankly the producers and Spike just don't give it enough airtime. It had true comedy potential. Instead, Jorge states that he'd rather Shonie see this display when he's back at home.
After Shonie and Matt do some training, they meet in the backyard for a little look back at their first fight. They marvel over the time that has passed and share wonderment over what has transpired in their lives since. It's a rare tender moment not just reserved for TUF, but the entire reality world. All due respect to Flava Flav and New York.
So now, it's time to settle this score that's been years in the making. Did Serra get screwed from a fluke punch or did Shonie just prove that he's dangerous at any point of a scrap? Does anyone except old men like me even care? Hard to say, but the fight is upon us nonetheless.
Round one of the second 170-pound semifinal begins and soon after touching gloves Serra goes for a single-leg and has Shonie on the ground. He's on Shonie like gum on a park bench and immediately takes his back. Shonie starts getting pounded in the head from behind and for a moment it looks like Serra might end this thing early.
Sure, Matt's doing what he does best but then Shonie does the same and somehow gets out of trouble, stands up and then spins back into a face-to-face clinch. Serra's style is a bit more advanced as he is able to throw hard punches, kicks and knees while still clinching with Shonie.
Shonie seems to have been baiting him though, since he picks the right moment to power throw Matt on his back with a hard slam. The other fighters seem impressed as they let out a collective "ooooh" and now Shonie is on top. That won't last long though since Matt gets back on his feet and then powers Shonie into a trip and onto his back.
Matt starts doling out shoulder punches until Shonie once again is able to stand. Once they are standing, out of nowhere Shonie deploys his spinning back-fist (“Chicago pimp slap” for all you true O.G's out there) and buckles Matt's knees.
For a second the world goes mute as my Sri Lankan roommate and I stammer while thinking that lightning might have struck twice. Instead, Matt is able to hang on, but not before Shonie once again tosses him on his back hard. Someone says "he stole the round" and they couldn't be more correct. In the last 40 seconds Shonie stole the round right from under Serra.
Round two begins and in the clinch both men bury hard shots and knees to each other's body. Matt summons some weird power and again wills his way through putting Shonie on his back. Both men trade short body blows and headshots through the next two minutes until Serra takes Carter's back.
Once again, taking Carter's back just gives him an escape and he's able to get back up. The round ends without too much damage to either fighter.
The final round is under way and Matt Serra (Pictures) is just driven to avenge his loss. Once again, like a man possessed he forces Shonie onto the ground. Again he pummels Shonie with tight shots and elbows and uses an economy of motion that's only reserved for the most technical of fighters.
Shonie is able to again stand back up but with Matt still on his back he ends up just getting suplexed onto the mat. Shonie's strength is starting to fail and any attempt at putting Serra down is refuted. Serra once again tries for a power takedown and ends up on his back where the fight ends.
Redemption comes for Serra through a tough fought unanimous decision. He'll now face Chris Lytle (Pictures) in the finals. Next week we'll move up to the middleweights and see a battle between Travis Lutter (Pictures) and Pete Sell (Pictures). Yay.
Oh and note to Sherdog … Hook Em!
I showed up in time to watch Matt Serra (Pictures) put a BJJ clinic on Shonie Carter (Pictures). I knew who Shonie was; hell anyone who tried to keep up in those days knew who both guys were.
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With respect to both fighters I was more concerned that night about Couture-Rizzo and Liddell-Randleman, but I'll still remember that fight like it was yesterday.
Matt was doing things I'd never seen before. It was the first time
that I'd really ever seen a BJJ fighter "flow.” Don't get the flow
confused with the "glow" from "The Last Dragon" … no one shot
sparks out of their hands and yelled "Who's the master?"
I just mean that I watched a guy go from one submission attempt to the next like you or I breath. I remember thinking then that this was the new BJJ. Royce Gracie (Pictures) was the superior technician but God help us if an actual athlete learns the same technique.
Some of that thought was true: the superior athletes are now the new UFC elite. It's been five years and so much has changed. Ironically Matt Serra (Pictures) has been a huge influence in the change.
His disciples flooded fight organizations, yet he still has a hunger to reclaim something that was knocked out of his grasp in one split-second.
Shonie Carter (Pictures) was losing that fight five years ago. Shonie repeatedly got put in perilous positions but to his credit he always maneuvered his way out of it. No matter how dire it looked he was always able to either slip, power or just will his way out of the bad spot. It was a fight that showcased the mind-bending skill of Serra and the wiliness of Carter.
For those reasons many of us were intrigued by their match-up. More so, I suppose, since Matt Serra (Pictures) cornered Shonie at the beginning of this season. Then they had a deterioration of teamwork that led up to tonight's grudge match.
No sooner had the guys stepped off the scales at 170 did another rivalry emerge. Sure, Serra has been talking about Marc Laimon this whole season. Laimon's not a fan of the Gracies whereas Matt is almost a life-long student, so there's some beef right there. In fact, if any of you have had the pleasure of learning Brazilian jiu-jitsu you've probably run across some real BS in the fact that for some reason everyone gets real territorial in that world.
(I'll be honest, it shocked me. I really thought it would be a "spread the good word of jiu-jitsu" kind of world, but instead it's a real catty world that is defined by who you trained under and who he trained under and then who he’s cousins with. I could do a whole thesis on how much I hate the he said/she said world of jiu-jitsu, but frankly I have things to do in the morning so I'll keep moving.)
Basically, Matt and Marc have been battling a bit all season. Marc doesn't train Team Mojo in BJJ. Why bother they have Matt? Laimon has sat on the sidelines and along with that comes the outsider animosity.
It finally came to a head as Matt Hughes (Pictures) tried to stir the pot and talk Marc and Matt into rolling together. Later, Marc explains to Matt Hughes (Pictures) how much he loved the beat down he gave Royce Gracie (Pictures). I think his exact words were: "It was great, the utter decimation of Royce.”
Serra, the Gracie devotee, overhears this and confronts Laimon about it. Basically, he punks Marc out for being a talker and not a fighter. Meanwhile, the mischievous Hughes smiles in the background.
Serra explains it in a fairly decent sense: "You should have more respect.” Laimon claims that he has all the right to air out his opinions and while that is true, he should wave those rights, put on a red nose and a wig because he just got clowned.
Oh, and speaking of clowns, after Shonie decides to paint his bunk bed, Jorge Rivera (Pictures) decides to put on some bikini briefs, a clown wig and some floppy shoes and goes out to train. It's a little something his team calls the "Phony Carter Show" and frankly the producers and Spike just don't give it enough airtime. It had true comedy potential. Instead, Jorge states that he'd rather Shonie see this display when he's back at home.
After Shonie and Matt do some training, they meet in the backyard for a little look back at their first fight. They marvel over the time that has passed and share wonderment over what has transpired in their lives since. It's a rare tender moment not just reserved for TUF, but the entire reality world. All due respect to Flava Flav and New York.
So now, it's time to settle this score that's been years in the making. Did Serra get screwed from a fluke punch or did Shonie just prove that he's dangerous at any point of a scrap? Does anyone except old men like me even care? Hard to say, but the fight is upon us nonetheless.
Round one of the second 170-pound semifinal begins and soon after touching gloves Serra goes for a single-leg and has Shonie on the ground. He's on Shonie like gum on a park bench and immediately takes his back. Shonie starts getting pounded in the head from behind and for a moment it looks like Serra might end this thing early.
Sure, Matt's doing what he does best but then Shonie does the same and somehow gets out of trouble, stands up and then spins back into a face-to-face clinch. Serra's style is a bit more advanced as he is able to throw hard punches, kicks and knees while still clinching with Shonie.
Shonie seems to have been baiting him though, since he picks the right moment to power throw Matt on his back with a hard slam. The other fighters seem impressed as they let out a collective "ooooh" and now Shonie is on top. That won't last long though since Matt gets back on his feet and then powers Shonie into a trip and onto his back.
Matt starts doling out shoulder punches until Shonie once again is able to stand. Once they are standing, out of nowhere Shonie deploys his spinning back-fist (“Chicago pimp slap” for all you true O.G's out there) and buckles Matt's knees.
For a second the world goes mute as my Sri Lankan roommate and I stammer while thinking that lightning might have struck twice. Instead, Matt is able to hang on, but not before Shonie once again tosses him on his back hard. Someone says "he stole the round" and they couldn't be more correct. In the last 40 seconds Shonie stole the round right from under Serra.
Round two begins and in the clinch both men bury hard shots and knees to each other's body. Matt summons some weird power and again wills his way through putting Shonie on his back. Both men trade short body blows and headshots through the next two minutes until Serra takes Carter's back.
Once again, taking Carter's back just gives him an escape and he's able to get back up. The round ends without too much damage to either fighter.
The final round is under way and Matt Serra (Pictures) is just driven to avenge his loss. Once again, like a man possessed he forces Shonie onto the ground. Again he pummels Shonie with tight shots and elbows and uses an economy of motion that's only reserved for the most technical of fighters.
Shonie is able to again stand back up but with Matt still on his back he ends up just getting suplexed onto the mat. Shonie's strength is starting to fail and any attempt at putting Serra down is refuted. Serra once again tries for a power takedown and ends up on his back where the fight ends.
Redemption comes for Serra through a tough fought unanimous decision. He'll now face Chris Lytle (Pictures) in the finals. Next week we'll move up to the middleweights and see a battle between Travis Lutter (Pictures) and Pete Sell (Pictures). Yay.
Oh and note to Sherdog … Hook Em!
