Matt Serra has a UFC Hall of Fame ring, a world championship, and one of the most celebrated upsets in combat sports history under his belt. But when it comes to what he brags about most, none of that comes close to the day Renzo Gracie slapped a black belt around his waist.
During a recent episode of his podcast, Serra sat down with longtime friend and training partner Rodrigo Gracie and the conversation turned to one of the most meaningful days of both their lives: the day they received their black belts together at the Renzo Gracie Academy on 37th Street in Manhattan.
Serra explained that neither he nor Rodrigo knew what was coming that day. “I was getting ready to go compete in Pride,” Serra said, “and I remember he goes, Matt, everybody get against the wall. He goes, you guys, you’re going ten minutes, feet the floor.”
The two went at it in front of roughly 40 to 50 people, and by Serra’s recollection it was as competitive a match as the two had ever had.
“I remember you got me down early,” Serra told Rodrigo. “It was me defending my guard a lot and then I got on at the end. I’m trying to put the pressure. It was about as even a match as you could have.”
When the ten minutes were up, Renzo wasted no time. “Once we got done, he just slapped us both with our black belts,” Serra said. “That was amazing. I remember we just looking at each other like that.”
What made the moment especially significant, Serra explained, was the era.
He said, “There’s thousands of black belts out there now, but back then there wasn’t so many. I was the first American to get it under Renzo, you know what I mean? So it was a huge thing.”
Rodrigo added that the two of them were “the very first to get the black belt” as Renzo’s students, calling it “quite the honor.”
That honor has stayed with Serra ever since, to the point where it outranks everything else when he talks about his accomplishments. “You know, I brag about that more than the Hall of Fame,” Serra said plainly.
He caught himself immediately after saying it. “I’m sorry. What do I got to bring up? I’m in the my Hall of Fame, right? Yeah. Yeah. I’m messing around. I just throw in a compliment to myself. No, no, but what a great day that was, man. We got all black belts on the same day.”
