By Matt Serra
UFC Welterweight champion
We knew about the Tommy vs War Machine matchup once they announced George’s bout with J-Roc, and I have to admit, the matchup concerned me. Earlier, War Machine suggested I match up George with Tommy, because he felt George was one of our best guys, which, to me, meant he thought Tommy was a very strong opponent. If Tommy was an opponent he wanted to avoid, that was a mental obstacle War Machine would have to overcome, and the mental aspect of his game was not one of his strength’s. Truthfully, aside from Joey, War Machine was, mentally, the weakest guy on our team. He had all the physical tools, but as I’ve said before, the mental part is just as, if not more, crucial as the physical element.
Aside from the mental aspect, I thought Tommy presented a tough matchup for War Machine skillwise. Tommy is a big, tough strong wrestler, and though he is somewhat one dimensional, that one dimension didn’t match up well with War Machine’s ground and pound style. If Tommy could avoid getting taken down, he would present a lot of problems for War Machine.
It looked like Hughes was riding Tommy pretty hard during train, even slapping him in the face at one point. From what I gather, Tommy was a gentle giant type, and I think Hughes knew he wouldn’t slap him back. I don’t think he would have taken that approach with Mac Danzig or J-Roc. In any event, I thought that was an interesting approach to coaching, not my style, but to each their own.
War Machine had a tough upbringing with his dad’s death and all, and I think living in that house, without any distractions except for the guys you’re living with, thoughts like that can creep into your mind that normally aren’t there, and you dwell on them. Couple that with the normal preflight jitters that come before any fight, and I as hoping War Machine didn’t lose the fight before ever stepping foot inside the Octagon®. I told him it was natural to be nervous before a fight, and like I said on the show, that’s the feeling of being alive.
War Machine came out very aggressively, and he was able to knock Tommy down early and sunk a rearnaked choke in pretty deep. I was told after the fight that Tommy might have tapped by Matt Arroyo, but the referee didn’t see it, and neither did I, so the fight went on, and Tommy was able to overpower War Machine the rest of the fight. I’ll tell you what, though, by the end of the fight, even though he lost, War Machine showed me a lot. When he was getting hammered, a lot of other guys would have tapped out, or would have given up their back or arm to find a way out of the fight. Not War Machine, he hung in there, it reminded me of Drago’s fight with Thales Leites back at UFC69. Even though he was on the losing end of things, he showed a lot of heart. That was a big step for him, and he’ll build off that the next time he sets foot in the Octagon®. If he brings that effort to every fight, and gets his head on straight, the sky’s the limit for him.
Team Serra finished the prelims with a 6-2 record, and I’m proud of our team’s effort. We earned the right to pick the quarterfinal matchups, so come back next week for my thoughts on the selection process.
Comments (7)
Go Matt! Hoping you get to win the TUF challenge against that joke Hughes. Man i cannot take this guy. Weird dude. Cant wait for your fight in december... too bad they could not do on LI thanks frank - http://houston-alexander.com
You are an awesome coach. You have done a great job preparing your guys. Good luck in your fight against Hughes. Knock his butt out!
P.S. - Your impression of Hughes was hysterical
I thought i was the only one who thought Tommy tapped out! I thought i was going crazy. I think that the better man won, but its a shame to see because I think Jon can learn alot and continue to get better, where as Tommy will forever be a westler and will only go so far.
I love to watch Ultimate Fighting but I do not appreciate the bad language. Matt Hughes is not a bad guy. I wish you would not bad mouth him. He doesn't bad mouth you.
Great coaching job Matt..hope you have started training for Hughes and win. LI is rooting for you! Keep that belt!!!Thanks Vern http://Dan-Henderson.com
Im not the kind of guy to hate on anyone, especially fighters, and for this reason i have to agree with chuck scott. I dunno if its just to generate more hype about the fight, sell more tickets like a tito-shamrock kinda deal. Either way, its disrespectful and really, i never thought you were that guy, the name calling and everything.. dam Matt, dont be like that bro.
Its fine if you dont like the guy or whatever, but its dishonorable to act that way to a guy whos basically a legend in the sport. It pisses me off when guys hate on Royce or Sakuraba or Chuck or Wandy. All these guys deserve their respect, just like you deserve your respect.
You the man Matt. Been a fan of yours ever since the last TUF where you won the thing. You seem to be a great guy and an even better coach. On a side note do you ever talk to your student that left the show to go home with his girl? Did you really get rid of him from your school? (If you did I feel you made the correct decision by the way.)