This Month’s MMA Birthdays: Matt Serra Turns 45

Author of perhaps the sport’s greatest upset, Matt Serra remains one of the unlikeliest Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholders of all-time. He turned 45 on June 2.

A 2001 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships gold medalist, Serra holds the rank of black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Renzo Gracie. He won Season 4 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series, compiled an 11-7 record as a professional mixed martial artist and was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2018. Serra captured the undisputed welterweight crown at UFC 69, where he dethroned the heavily favored Georges St. Pierre on April 7, 2007. Virtually no one gave him a chance, and so it was that jaws hit the floor when he stopped St. Pierre with punches 3:25 into Round 1. Though the Canadian won their rematch in decisive fashion, Serra’s place in history was secure. He retired following a September 2010 defeat to Chris Lytle but continues to play a prominent role on the MMA scene. Operating the Serra-Longo Fight Team alongside longtime friend Ray Longo, Serra has coached a number of successful fighters, including Aljamain Sterling, Al Iaquinta and former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman.

Others in MMA who are celebrating birthdays in June:

JUNE 1

Miodrag Petkovic, 50
Michael Buchkovich, 42
Wendell de Oliveira Marques, 36
Patricky Freire, 33
Bobby Moffett, 29

JUNE 2

Chris Haseman, 50
Matt Serra, 45
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, 43
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, 43
Christian M'Pumbu, 42
Roan Carneiro, 41
Tatsuya Mizuno, 38
Eduardo Bustillos, 32
Christopher Wing, 31

JUNE 3

Stefan Leko, 45
Jason MacDonald, 44
Linton Vassell, 36
Mara Romero Borella, 33
Vernon Ramos, 27

JUNE 4

Egan Inoue, 54
Tonya Evinger, 38
Michael Johnson, 33
James Krause, 33
Saul Almeida, 30

JUNE 5

Rob Kaman, 59
Brian Warren, 45
Jose Caceres, 32
Samba Coulibaly, 32
Ricky Turcios, 26

JUNE 6

David Bielkheden, 40
Vagner Rocha, 37
Ray Wood, 30
Chris Fishgold, 27
Xavier Siller, 25

JUNE 7

Chris Wilson, 42
Saad Awad, 36
Ryan Bader, 36
Michael Kuiper, 30
Mark Burns, 28

JUNE 8

Dan Severn, 61
Marvin Eastman, 48
Hirotaka Yokoi, 41
Noad Lahat, 35
Tim Roman, 34

JUNE 9

Dion Staring, 41
Muslim Salikhov, 35
John Phillips, 34
Jim Hettes, 32
Takashi Sato, 29

JUNE 10

Cyrille Diabate, 46
Brendan Tierney, 44
Luiz Azeredo, 43
Hiroyuki Takaya, 42
Nordine Taleb, 38
Walt Harris, 36

JUNE 11

Lavar Johnson, 42
Tsuneo Kimura, 37
Daron Cruickshank, 34
Artur Kadlubek, 34
J.J. Aldrich, 27

JUNE 12

Andy Ologun, 36
Ali Bagautinov, 34
James Chaney, 32
Zane Kamaka, 30
John Lineker, 29

JUNE 13

Daniel Aguiar, 39
Greg Rebello, 37
Paul Bradley, 36
Deron Winn, 30
Lucie Pudilova, 25

JUNE 14

Claude Patrick, 39
Danny Martinez, 34
Chris Barnett, 33
Anatpong Bunrad, 33
Amador Ramirez, 29
Polyana Viana Mota, 27

JUNE 15

Kevin Casey, 38
Joe Stevenson, 37
Ryan Keenan, 34
Gabriel Benitez, 31
Justin Frazier, 30

JUNE 16

Rich Attonito, 42
Daria Ibragimova, 35
John Franchi, 34
Chris Gruetzemacher, 33
Xiaonan Yan, 30

JUNE 17

Kuniyoshi Hironaka, 43
Casey Noland, 41
Chris Weidman, 35
Luan Chagas, 26

JUNE 18

Wes Combs, 46
Assuerio Silva, 45
Matt Baker, 35
Darrill Schoonover, 34
Kwan Ho Kwak, 30

JUNE 19

Chris Seifert, 50
Savant Young, 43
Mike Swick, 40
Richie Vaculik, 36
Ann Osman, 33

JUNE 20

Roy Nelson, 43
Marion Reneau, 42
Quinton Jackson, 41
Alex Caceres, 31
Logan Nail, 30

JUNE 21

Marcos Oliveira, 41
Erick Silva, 35
Jake Lindsey, 33
Tom Duquesnoy, 26
Christian Lee, 21

JUNE 22

Randy Couture, 56
Ryushi Yanagisawa, 47
Brian Bowles, 39
Hiroshi Izumi, 37
Bethe Correia, 36
Douglas Silva de Andrade, 34
Dave Morgan, 34
Bradley Scott, 30
Taila Santos, 26

JUNE 23

Charles “Mask” Lewis, 1963-2009
Rob Wince, 46
Marcos Galvao, 38
Nick Thompson, 38
Paul Ruiz, 32
Mark Striegl, 31

JUNE 24

Junior Assuncao, 38
Jessamyn Duke, 33
Brendan O'Reilly, 32
Max Coga, 30
Brian Camozzi, 28

JUNE 25

Yoshihiro Nakao, 47
Alexey Oleynik, 42
Luciano Azevedo, 38
Carlo Prater, 38
Marcelo Guimaraes, 36
Marcos Rogerio de Lima, 34
Rob Font, 32
Andre Fili, 29

JUNE 26

Pawel Nastula, 49
Virgil Zwicker, 37
Eddie Wineland, 35
Hannah Cifers, 27

JUNE 27

Mu Bae Choi, 49
Yoshinori Suzuki, 38
Ernest Chavez, 36
Joe Taimanglo, 35
Ben Reiter, 32

JUNE 28

Daniel Gracie, 47
Sam Hoger, 39
DaMarques Johnson, 37
Brennan Ward, 31
Johnny Case, 30

JUNE 29

Shin Kochiwa, 39
Ryo Kawamura, 38
Mike Whitehead, 38
Cody East, 31
Jimmie Rivera, 30
Rose Namajunas, 27

JUNE 30

Fabiano Scherner, 47
Gilbert Yvel, 43
Katja Kankaanpaa, 38
Dan Miller, 38
Zach Makovsky, 37