Serra-Longo Fight Team is a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

team based on

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

that was formed by

Matt Serra Matt Serra (born June 2, 1974) is an American former professional mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. He is a former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) competitor and a former UFC Welterweight Champion. He is the co-sta ...

and Ray Longo. The team has two gyms operating under it, Serra BJJ Academy and Longo-Weidman MMA. It has produced four UFC champions,

(former

UFC Welterweight Champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight class ...

Chris Weidman Christopher James Weidman (born June 17, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Middleweight Champion. An accomplis ...

(former UFC Middleweight Champion),

Aljamain Sterling Aljamain Antoine Sterling (born July 31, 1989) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Bantamweight Champion. S ...

(former UFC Bantamweight Champion) and

Merab Dvalishvili Merab Dvalishvili ( ka, მერაბ დვალიშვილი ; born January 10, 1991) is a Georgian and American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championsh ...

(current UFC Bantamweight Champion).

Overview

When Matt Serra was 17, he met Ray Longo at Oishi Judo gym in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and the two became friends. Longo was an accountant who owned a gym and would train fighters at night. The two formed a team where Serra was an MMA fighter and Longo would act as the coach where he organized and provided all the resources needed to help Serra win his fights. The crowning achievement of the team was in 2007 where Serra defeated

Georges St-Pierre Georges St-Pierre (; born May 19, 1981), also known by his initials GSP, is a Canadian former professional mixed martial artist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters in mixed martial arts (MMA) history. St-Pierre was a two-divi ...

UFC 69 ''UFC 69: Shootout'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday, April 7, 2007, at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. In the main event, Matt Serra shocked the UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pie ...

in one of the biggest upsets to become

. The team has expanded in size and currently operates two gyms, Serra BJJ Academy and Longo-Weidman MMA. Serra BJJ is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu gym founded by Matt Serra in 2001 and is currently based in

Huntington, New York Huntington is one of ten Administrative divisions of New York#Town, towns in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York (state), New York, United States. The town's population was 204,127 at the time of the 2020 census, making it the 11 ...

. Serra acts as the head instructor sharing his experience as the first American to be awarded a Black Belt by

Renzo Gracie Renzo Gracie (; born March 11, 1967) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and 7th degree coral belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner and coach. A third generation member of the Gracie family, he is the grandson of Gracie jiu-jitsu co-founder C ...

and a 2001 ADCC Silver Medalist. Longo-Weidman MMA (LAW MMA) is a

gym based in

Garden City, New York Garden City is a village located in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 23,272 at the time of the 2020 census. The Incorporated Village of Garden City is primarily located within the Town of Hempstead ...

and is currently owned by Ray Longo and

. Previously named Ray Longo's International Martial Arts Academy, it was originally founded in 1990 by Longo. Longo is the head instructor. He is a certified instructor of

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (born Lee Jun-fan; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was an American-born Hong Kong martial artist, actor, filmmaker, and philosopher. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy which was formed from ...

Jeet Kun Do Jeet Kune Do (/ˌdʒiːt kuːn ˈdoʊ/; zh, c=截拳道, l=stop fist way' or 'way of the intercepting fist, j=zit6 kyun4 dou6; abbreviated JKD) is a hybrid martial art conceived and practiced by martial artist Bruce Lee. It was formed from L ...

Concepts and focuses mainly on the striking aspect. Chris Weidman is a Former UFC Middleweight Champion who was also coached by Longo to defeat

Anderson Silva Anderson da Silva (; born 14 April 1975) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and professional boxer. He is a former UFC Middleweight Champion and holds the record for the longest title reign in UFC history at 2,457 days. This started in 2006 ...

in an upset at

UFC 162 ''UFC 162: Silva vs. Weidman'' was a mixed martial arts event on July 6, 2013, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The main event was a UFC Middleweight Championship bout between long time title holder Anderson Silva an ...

in 2013.

Notable fighters

Al Iaquinta Al Iaquinta (born April 30, 1987) is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, having once challenged for the Lightweight championship belt. A professional ...

Itsuki Hirata is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist. She is currently signed to ONE Championship, where she competes in the atomweight division. Hirata trained in judo throughout childhood before switching to mixed martial arts (MMA) upon graduatin ...

Gian Villante Gianpiero Villante (born August 18, 1985) is a retired American mixed martial artist who previously fought in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional from 2009 to 2021, he also has competed for Strikeforce ...

Matt Frevola Matthew Kenneth Frevola (born June 11, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2014, he has also competed for the Wor ...

Ulka Sasaki , known professionally as , is a Japanese professional wrestler and former Mixed Martial Artist who currently competes in Pro Wrestling Noah. A professional competitor since 2010, he formerly competed for Ultimate Fighting Championship, Shooto, ...

* Eddie Gordon * Pete Sell *

Mizuki Inoue , known mononymously as , is a Japanese female kickboxer and mixed martial artist. Inoue has fought in the kickboxing promotion J-Girls and MMA promotion Jewels. She won the 2010 Jewels -56 kg Rough Stone Grand Prix tournament at 16 years of ...

* Nazim Sadykhov

References

External links

Serra BJJ Academy

Longo-Weidman MMA
{{MMA Team List Mixed martial arts training facilities Sports in New York (state)

Overview

Notable fighters

See also

References

External links