Post by Head Booker on Apr 8, 2007 1:06:31 GMT -6
FOXSports.com
Posted: 1 hour ago
Long Island welterweight Matt "The Terror" Serra was an 8-1 underdog on some Las Vegas sports books in his Ultimate Fighting Championship title shot against champion Georges St. Pierre on Saturday night.
That made his first-round TKO of the man considered the 170-pound division's new poster child all the more stunning.
Serra scored one of the biggest upsets in the history of mixed martial arts by blitzing St. Pierre in just three minutes, 25 seconds to capture the championship at UFC 69 at the Toyota Center in Houston.
The 32-year-old Serra is known for his jiu-jitsu but stunned St. Pierre by dominating the standup game. Serra (9-4) connected with a big right hook and followed with another shot that floored the Montreal native. Serra then pounced and finished off St. Pierre with a ground-and-pound assault before referee John McCarthy called off the fight.
St. Pierre dropped to 13-2 on his career, which also marked the first time he was TKOd.
The title upset throws the future of the welterweight division into question. Former champion Matt Hughes, who lost to St. Pierre in November after dominating the division for several years, has yet to get his title rematch. Hughes decisioned Chris Lytle at UFC 68 in March.
Also complicating matters, the man considered next in line for a title shot, Diego Sanchez, suffered his first career loss on Saturday night. Sanchez (19-1) was dominated by former NCAA Division I wrestling champion Josh Koscheck (10-1), with Koscheck winning by unanimous 30-27 scores.
In bouts of note, Japanese middleweight Yushin Okami won a 29-28, 29-28, 30-27 decision over Houston's Mike Swick, and Los Angeles lightweight Roger Huerta defeated Leonard Garcia on straight 30-27 scores.
Posted: 1 hour ago
Long Island welterweight Matt "The Terror" Serra was an 8-1 underdog on some Las Vegas sports books in his Ultimate Fighting Championship title shot against champion Georges St. Pierre on Saturday night.
That made his first-round TKO of the man considered the 170-pound division's new poster child all the more stunning.
Serra scored one of the biggest upsets in the history of mixed martial arts by blitzing St. Pierre in just three minutes, 25 seconds to capture the championship at UFC 69 at the Toyota Center in Houston.
The 32-year-old Serra is known for his jiu-jitsu but stunned St. Pierre by dominating the standup game. Serra (9-4) connected with a big right hook and followed with another shot that floored the Montreal native. Serra then pounced and finished off St. Pierre with a ground-and-pound assault before referee John McCarthy called off the fight.
St. Pierre dropped to 13-2 on his career, which also marked the first time he was TKOd.
The title upset throws the future of the welterweight division into question. Former champion Matt Hughes, who lost to St. Pierre in November after dominating the division for several years, has yet to get his title rematch. Hughes decisioned Chris Lytle at UFC 68 in March.
Also complicating matters, the man considered next in line for a title shot, Diego Sanchez, suffered his first career loss on Saturday night. Sanchez (19-1) was dominated by former NCAA Division I wrestling champion Josh Koscheck (10-1), with Koscheck winning by unanimous 30-27 scores.
In bouts of note, Japanese middleweight Yushin Okami won a 29-28, 29-28, 30-27 decision over Houston's Mike Swick, and Los Angeles lightweight Roger Huerta defeated Leonard Garcia on straight 30-27 scores.
