Q&A: Serra Talks St. Pierre
Prior to GSP I
Josh Gross Apr 19, 2008
Sherdog.com: What were you feeling
right before that fight with Georges started the first time?
Serra: I tell everybody, as a fighter you always get nervous. It's part of the game. It's that little pit in your stomach -- not so much nervous as you're walking into the unknown even if you've been there many times before. That's the game we play. There are so many ways to win and so many ways to lose. You zig, you shoulda zagged and the fight's over. That's the reason I do it. That's part of the reason why I think everybody is addicted to it. That rush, where other guys might have to shoot some guns or jump out of a plane. That's what you feel when you're fighting. But the only thing I was really nervous about was I wasn't really nervous. I fought in a pressure cooker before. I had fights that -- I'm not going to say meant more because that's not really the right thing because this is for the title -- were important just for my livelihood. My second time in the UFC fighting a dangerous striker in Yves Edwards (Pictures) when I didn't even have the stand-up game I have now. I lose that and I'm out of the UFC. Fighting Chris Lytle (Pictures), the winner gets, with everything included, over 200 grand; the loser gets 10 grand. Now that's not pressure? I'm mean, that's horrible. And I'm getting married soon after that. That was horrible. So screw it. I knew with sponsors and just with showing up I'm getting paid. And I'm like, what the hell am I worried about: losing some skin? Either way, I knew when I was walking into that fight with Georges last time in Texas that it's going to be a different fight than people expect. They think I'm going to be running in there trying to hump his leg. I knew what I was gonna try to do. And I pulled it off. So, good for me.
Sherdog.com: And this time around? The circumstances are quite different.
Serra: Well, I still think he's looking at it … it's interesting because he's an interesting guy. Who knows what he's thinking. He's been more of the wrestler lately. I think he's gotten a little gun-shy. And that's just me shooting from the hip. People talk about how dominating his performances were. When I fought him last time he cleaned out the division. His last two wins were a decision win over B.J. Penn (Pictures) and the destruction of Matt Hughes (Pictures), which nobody had ever seen before like that. Now, I'm fighting him again a year later and he's coming from a decision win over [Josh] Koscheck and a destruction of Matt Hughes (Pictures). I don't know what's so different. What's so devastating? Don't get me wrong, I don't want to discredit the guy. He's a tremendous talent, but if people think I'm shaking in my boots they're crazy. They don't know me.
Sherdog.com: What has Ray Longo meant to your growth as a fighter, and perhaps your growth as a person?
Serra: Well, Ray Longo is, besides a trainer, one of my closest friends. For what Renzo has done for me for my jiu-jitsu and brought me under his wing for that, Ray -- I'm not going to say just my striking, which is totally due to him -- but my athleticism, my training, he's also my physical trainer. The guy has a way to bring you up. Some guys will burn you out, for the sake of burning you out and ego. He knows exactly how to bring you up to peak at the right time. And that's very important. Because otherwise, why do you trust somebody? Anybody can get somebody tired if you have them do 10,000 dead lifts. That's more of an ego thing. Longo is a very intelligent trainer, man. As far as a standing up, we watch tapes, the striking and winning that title the way I did in that fashion was all due to Ray. He was saying, it's so funny, we were doing the Countdown special last year and the guy interviewing Ray asked him how he thought the fight was going to go, and Ray goes "I don't see St. Pierre as a guy that likes to get hit and Matt hits harder than you think. I think he's going to hit him and I think St. Pierre is actually going to try and take Matt down." The interviewer, you'd think he'd be a little more Switzerland, and he was just like out of surprise looks at him and says "Yeah? You really think so?" And Ray's like, "What do you want me to say to that?" It's funny man. Ray was saying that the whole time yet I got lucky. So I mean, I don't know. What do you say to that? Really, it's all hype. It's all fluff. The guy is an athlete. No one is indestructible in the sport. And, you know, rock and roll man. I feel really confident. I'm excited to see what's going to come out of it, technique and whatnot.
Serra: I tell everybody, as a fighter you always get nervous. It's part of the game. It's that little pit in your stomach -- not so much nervous as you're walking into the unknown even if you've been there many times before. That's the game we play. There are so many ways to win and so many ways to lose. You zig, you shoulda zagged and the fight's over. That's the reason I do it. That's part of the reason why I think everybody is addicted to it. That rush, where other guys might have to shoot some guns or jump out of a plane. That's what you feel when you're fighting. But the only thing I was really nervous about was I wasn't really nervous. I fought in a pressure cooker before. I had fights that -- I'm not going to say meant more because that's not really the right thing because this is for the title -- were important just for my livelihood. My second time in the UFC fighting a dangerous striker in Yves Edwards (Pictures) when I didn't even have the stand-up game I have now. I lose that and I'm out of the UFC. Fighting Chris Lytle (Pictures), the winner gets, with everything included, over 200 grand; the loser gets 10 grand. Now that's not pressure? I'm mean, that's horrible. And I'm getting married soon after that. That was horrible. So screw it. I knew with sponsors and just with showing up I'm getting paid. And I'm like, what the hell am I worried about: losing some skin? Either way, I knew when I was walking into that fight with Georges last time in Texas that it's going to be a different fight than people expect. They think I'm going to be running in there trying to hump his leg. I knew what I was gonna try to do. And I pulled it off. So, good for me.
Sherdog.com: And this time around? The circumstances are quite different.
Serra: Well, I still think he's looking at it … it's interesting because he's an interesting guy. Who knows what he's thinking. He's been more of the wrestler lately. I think he's gotten a little gun-shy. And that's just me shooting from the hip. People talk about how dominating his performances were. When I fought him last time he cleaned out the division. His last two wins were a decision win over B.J. Penn (Pictures) and the destruction of Matt Hughes (Pictures), which nobody had ever seen before like that. Now, I'm fighting him again a year later and he's coming from a decision win over [Josh] Koscheck and a destruction of Matt Hughes (Pictures). I don't know what's so different. What's so devastating? Don't get me wrong, I don't want to discredit the guy. He's a tremendous talent, but if people think I'm shaking in my boots they're crazy. They don't know me.
Sherdog.com: What has Ray Longo meant to your growth as a fighter, and perhaps your growth as a person?
Serra: Well, Ray Longo is, besides a trainer, one of my closest friends. For what Renzo has done for me for my jiu-jitsu and brought me under his wing for that, Ray -- I'm not going to say just my striking, which is totally due to him -- but my athleticism, my training, he's also my physical trainer. The guy has a way to bring you up. Some guys will burn you out, for the sake of burning you out and ego. He knows exactly how to bring you up to peak at the right time. And that's very important. Because otherwise, why do you trust somebody? Anybody can get somebody tired if you have them do 10,000 dead lifts. That's more of an ego thing. Longo is a very intelligent trainer, man. As far as a standing up, we watch tapes, the striking and winning that title the way I did in that fashion was all due to Ray. He was saying, it's so funny, we were doing the Countdown special last year and the guy interviewing Ray asked him how he thought the fight was going to go, and Ray goes "I don't see St. Pierre as a guy that likes to get hit and Matt hits harder than you think. I think he's going to hit him and I think St. Pierre is actually going to try and take Matt down." The interviewer, you'd think he'd be a little more Switzerland, and he was just like out of surprise looks at him and says "Yeah? You really think so?" And Ray's like, "What do you want me to say to that?" It's funny man. Ray was saying that the whole time yet I got lucky. So I mean, I don't know. What do you say to that? Really, it's all hype. It's all fluff. The guy is an athlete. No one is indestructible in the sport. And, you know, rock and roll man. I feel really confident. I'm excited to see what's going to come out of it, technique and whatnot.
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