MMATH

It has been announced that Frank Trigg will square off against Matt Serra at UFC 109. Most people would consider this match to be somewhat lackluster as both fighters appear to be on the tail end of their careers. However, it is exactly their position in both the UFC and the world of MMA in general that makes this fight interesting.

The UFC typically does not do too many loser leaves town matches, but I feel that this pairing is exactly that. In fact, this match could very well be a loser leaves mixed martial arts match. Which, I suppose, is sad to see. Many people like Matt Serra for being a charismatic fighter and his stand out performance during season 4 of the Ultimate Fighter. Even though Serra has some legitimate BJJ skills and powerful hands, he’s better known for his coaching abilities than anything else at this point. Frank Trigg on the other hand is making one last shot at greatness despite rather subpar performances leading up to this match.

Matt Serra’s Ultimate Fighter 4 victory marked the pinnacle of his career. He narrowly defeated perennial journeyman fighter Chris Lytle via split decision to be the victor of the season. His reward was a title match against Georges St. Pierre. Serra came in as one of the biggest underdogs the sport has ever seen, easily one of the greatest of the UFC.  Despite this Serra came into his title fight to the Rocky theme and put GSP away for the biggest defeat of his career. Unfortunately for Serra, he has only been on a skid since then. GSP came back and pounded Serra out for a few rounds before kneeing the smaller man into oblivion. Following that, Serra fought Matt Hughes in a grudge match of two fighters who genuinely hated each other. Serra lost to Hughes soundly. This loss leaves Serra with a disappointing 9-6 record and the realization that he is severely outgunned at Welterweight. What to do next?

Frank Trigg has always been B level talent. He has managed to break his way into the UFC on a couple of occasions but never able to make a lasting impact. This has relegated him to lower level organizations to hammer out lesser talent. Trigg did assemble quite a few victories before his most recent acquisition by the UFC. He put together 4 straight wins prior to be introduced to Josh Koscheck’s fists during 103. Koscheck put Trigg away hard and early which brought on a bit of controversy about whether or not Trigg was to be cut from the UFC altogether once again – ending his bid at MMA greatness.  This bout against Serra clearly indicates Trigg’s last chance.