Matt Serra’s Back and Head Ready for Georges St. Pierre

By John Morgan/TAGG Radio Network

Although a herniated disc has kept UFC welterweight champion Matt “The Terror” Serra (9-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) sidelined and out of competition since his shocking upset victory over Georges St. Pierre (15-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) last April, the native New Yorker vows his back will not be an issue in their rematch at UFC 84.

Serra discussed the matter while a guest on a special Friday episode of The Lights Out Show on the TAGG Radio Network (www.taggradio.com), a partner site of MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

“(My back is) not going to be a factor,” Serra said. “It’s going to be fine… I’ll be great for the fight. I would never have (taken) the fight if I felt that I couldn’t be myself.”

Serra knows St. Pierre will be looking for redemption in the fight, and that thought has kept the 33-year-old motivated during his path to recovery.

“Obviously, after last time, the guy’s going to want to do some damage to me,” Serra said. “So unless I want to get my ass kicked, I got to train my ass off. It’s easy to get motivated when you know someone wants to put a hole through your face.”

Since the loss, St. Pierre has bounced back with two impressive victories over ex-champion Matt Hughes, as well as Josh Koscheck, en route to winning the UFC’s interim welterweight title. Serra said he understands why those fighters could not beat St. Pierre, and that he will not make the same mistake.

“(St. Pierre) is a very talented guy, you know,” he said. “I’ve just seen both with Koscheck and Hughes, it’s almost that — it’s not that I care about being disrespectful to Hughes — but it’s almost like I see two guys that want to get hit less than GSP. The last guy, besides myself, that gave GSP all he could handle was B.J. (Penn) because B.J. don’t give a f***. And I think that’s the attitude you have to have.”

Serra won the title from St. Pierre in a well-documented Cinderella story that began with Serra earning victories over UFC veterans Pete Spratt, Shonie Carter and Chris Lytle on Spike TV’s “The Ultimate Fighter 4: The Comeback.” Now Serra will have to defend the belt in front of St. Pierre’s hometown crowd in Montreal, Canada.

However, the nine-year veteran is unfazed by the difficult task in front of him.

“You have to kind of put yourself in the danger zone with this guy,” Serra said. “And I feel you have to have the mentality — like ‘him or me.’ That type of mentality.”

Serra also discussed his life as an instructor, his new prize pupil George Sotiropoulos, and his take on MMA newcomers Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson and Brock Lesnar. To hear the full interview, download Friday’s edition of The Lights Out Show, available for free in the TAGG Radio Network archives.

This story was produced by TAGG Radio (www.taggradio.com) specially for MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). The show — which is hosted by fighter/broadcaster Frank Trigg, Gorgeous George and Goze — books some of the biggest names in MMA. Download all the former episodes at www.taggradio.com, or tune into TAGG Radio’s live shows Monday-Friday at noon ET/9 a.m. PT.