The Ultimate Fighter Season 4 Finale Preview
Serra vs. Lytle
Nov 10, 2006
Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighter Matt
Serra (Pictures) is the first American to receive
a black belt from Renzo
Gracie (Pictures). He is the 1999 Pan-American
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament champion, 1999 World Games Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu gold medalist, eight-man Abu Dhabi Qualifier Tournament
winner and the 2001 Abu Dhabi Submission Fighting event “best
match” award recipient. He is 4-4 in the UFC and has more Octagon
experience than anyone else on the TUF 4 cast.
His debut was the eternal highlight reel for Shonie Carter (Pictures), as he fell victim to the incredible no-shadow backfist, affectionately referred to as the “Chicago pimp slap.”
Serra came back four months later to beat Yves Edwards (Pictures) by decision. “The Terror”
exhibited his “monkey jiu-jitsu” skills in his next appearance,
submitting Kelly Dullanty
in less than three minutes. His last five UFC contests, spanning
four years, have all gone to three-round decisions. This includes a
loss to TUF 4 cast member Din
Thomas (Pictures) and losses to B.J. Penn (Pictures) and Karo Parisyan (Pictures).
Matt had his way with Muay Thai devotee Pete Spratt (Pictures) before submitting him with strikes in the opening round. He would score some level of revenge against Carter (though he coached Shonie to victory earlier in the season) thanks to a decision victory in the semifinals. Carter was his usual unpredictable self, but Serra would again taste Carter’s backfist as well as a hard slam. Serra rebounded through takedowns and superior positioning to dominate the contest.
Chris Lytle (Pictures) is 22-12-5 as a pro in MMA with likely another 10 wins as an amateur. The Indiana State Boxing Champion is 13-1-1 as a pro boxer. Lytle is an Indiana State Tang Soo Do champion and a P.W. I. Full Contact champion, as well as the current Absolute Fighting Championship welterweight champion and HOOKnSHOOT middleweight champion.
With a 2-4 record in the UFC, Lytle returns to the Octagon after a year’s absence. He debuted in 2000 against Pat Miletich (Pictures) fighter Ben Earwood (Pictures), but wouldn’t resurface in the UFC until the 2003, losing a decision to Robbie Lawler (Pictures) in a match of bizarre theatrics. Lytle returned to submit Tiki Ghosn (Pictures) and Ronald Jhun (Pictures) before losing a decision to Karo Parisyan (Pictures). A cut forced an end to his most recent appearance in the octagon, a competitive scrap with Joe Riggs (Pictures).
Similar to Serra, Lytle tapped out Pete Spratt (Pictures) in the TUF tournament. Chris then took sparring partner Din Thomas (Pictures) the distance in bout for a spot in the finals.
In my opinion Chris was a front-runner from the start and Serra is a good match-up for him to showcase his arsenal. Lytle knows enough on the mat to submit good grapplers and he knows enough to avoid being submitted by some of the best out there (Lytle has never been submitted in a pro MMA bout). As for the stand-up, Chris has ferocious hands and will be able to handle whatever Serra brings on the feet.
Serra’s best asset is his will to win. He, too, has never been submitted. But he hasn’t been as active as Chris has in their seven years in the sport. I see Lytle avoiding Serra’s takedown attempts before finding an opening to do some damage on the feet to finish this one and set himself up to face next week’s Matt Hughes (Pictures)-Georges St. Pierre (Pictures) winner.
His debut was the eternal highlight reel for Shonie Carter (Pictures), as he fell victim to the incredible no-shadow backfist, affectionately referred to as the “Chicago pimp slap.”
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Matt had his way with Muay Thai devotee Pete Spratt (Pictures) before submitting him with strikes in the opening round. He would score some level of revenge against Carter (though he coached Shonie to victory earlier in the season) thanks to a decision victory in the semifinals. Carter was his usual unpredictable self, but Serra would again taste Carter’s backfist as well as a hard slam. Serra rebounded through takedowns and superior positioning to dominate the contest.
Chris Lytle (Pictures) is 22-12-5 as a pro in MMA with likely another 10 wins as an amateur. The Indiana State Boxing Champion is 13-1-1 as a pro boxer. Lytle is an Indiana State Tang Soo Do champion and a P.W. I. Full Contact champion, as well as the current Absolute Fighting Championship welterweight champion and HOOKnSHOOT middleweight champion.
With a 2-4 record in the UFC, Lytle returns to the Octagon after a year’s absence. He debuted in 2000 against Pat Miletich (Pictures) fighter Ben Earwood (Pictures), but wouldn’t resurface in the UFC until the 2003, losing a decision to Robbie Lawler (Pictures) in a match of bizarre theatrics. Lytle returned to submit Tiki Ghosn (Pictures) and Ronald Jhun (Pictures) before losing a decision to Karo Parisyan (Pictures). A cut forced an end to his most recent appearance in the octagon, a competitive scrap with Joe Riggs (Pictures).
Similar to Serra, Lytle tapped out Pete Spratt (Pictures) in the TUF tournament. Chris then took sparring partner Din Thomas (Pictures) the distance in bout for a spot in the finals.
In my opinion Chris was a front-runner from the start and Serra is a good match-up for him to showcase his arsenal. Lytle knows enough on the mat to submit good grapplers and he knows enough to avoid being submitted by some of the best out there (Lytle has never been submitted in a pro MMA bout). As for the stand-up, Chris has ferocious hands and will be able to handle whatever Serra brings on the feet.
Serra’s best asset is his will to win. He, too, has never been submitted. But he hasn’t been as active as Chris has in their seven years in the sport. I see Lytle avoiding Serra’s takedown attempts before finding an opening to do some damage on the feet to finish this one and set himself up to face next week’s Matt Hughes (Pictures)-Georges St. Pierre (Pictures) winner.
