A clip from an old podcast where Matt Serra claimed that his Professor Renzo Gracie asked him to take a dive at ADCC 2001 has resurfaced.
Read Matt’s full account of this story below.
Matt Serra’s Claim of Taking a Dive at ADCC 2001
This story is actually from a podcast appearance Matt Serra made two years ago. He appeared on Chris Lytle’s “Lights Out” podcast and told the following story.
Matt Serra was Renzo Gracie’s first American black belt, who is an extremely talented grappler. His skills got him an invitation to ADCC 2001.
At the tournament, Serra had an incredible run to the finals after beating Jean Jacques Machado to face Márcio Feitosa.
Before stepping onto the mat, Renzo came to Matt with a request.
“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.”
Matt continued to explain that this practice was commonplace during the era.
“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.”- Matt Serra.
The match Serra was referring to took place in the 2000 ADCC finals which Renzo won against Feitosa.
Matt Accepted the Request
Begrudgingly, Matt Serra would accept his professor’s request to subsequently lose the match to Márcio.
“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.”- Matt Serra.
Did Serra Really Take a Dive?
Unfortunately, we could not find the match online to confirm the truth. However, Matt Serra has no reason to lie about what happened at ADCC 2001. During this era, letting a senior competitor who was also a teammate of your professor win was commonplace.
While this practice was done out of respect, it’s not a good look for professional grappling. Thankfully, this practice of taking a done isn’t done as much in the modern sport.
Bobby is martial artist for almost 20 years with a BJJ black belt under Professor Sergio Miranda. He is also a karate black and former combat sports athlete, who loves all things grappling.
