Matt Serra had said that he was asked to take a dive in the final of ADCC 2001 – and that the request came directly from his coach, Renzo Gracie.
Although Serra is best known for his historic upset victory over Georges St-Pierre in the UFC, he was a highly accomplished grappler long before his MMA success.
He was the first American to earn a black belt under Renzo Gracie and secured a bronze medal at the IBJJF World Championship as a brown belt in 1999.
His grappling skills led to an invitation to ADCC 2001, where he competed in the under 77kg division.There, Serra had an incredible run, submitting two opponents and defeating Jean Jacques Machado.
And, well, that win put him in the final against Marcio Feitosa.But before stepping onto the mats, he received an unexpected request from his coach:
Renzo asked me to, you know, take the f***ing dive.
He said: “Listen”, and this is exactly what he said, he goes: “Matt, they’re looking at Americans as like that they’re all for themselves, and this will prove that you’re one of us.”
At the time, it was common for younger competitors to allow senior teammates to win as a sign of respect.This practice of throwing matches within the same team has long been suspected at ADCC, and Serra revealed that his situation was part of an ongoing pattern:
Renzo did tell me, and he didn’t have to tell me, but Marcio did leave his neck out for Renzo the Abu Dhabi before that.
I wanna add that so I’m not s**tting here on Marcio, this is the way they’re playing it back then.Renzo was his senior, he left his neck out for Renzo.
Serra was referring to the under 77kg division in ADCC 2000, where Renzo Gracie and Marcio Feitosa met in the final after both won their opening three matches.
Feitosa was caught in a Guillotine Choke, and Renzo claimed his second ADCC title.Although Serra admitted he wasn’t thrilled with the idea of throwing the match, he ultimately agreed out of loyalty:
I told Renzo, look, I see what’s going on, I get it, the seniority thing.I’ll take a bullet for you.
You want me to give up this medal for you, you got it, but I’m not letting them tap me.
Sloth Jiu-Jitsu: you can be slow and unathletic and still kick butt in Jiu-Jitsu.
