Former UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra revealed in a revealing interview on Lytes out podcast that Renzo Gracie asked him to take a dive in his ADCC match against Marcio Feitosa.
Serra, who had an impressive run at the 2001 ADCC tournament, defeating notable names like Takanori Gomi, Jean Jacques Machado, and Leo Santos, found himself in a difficult position when his mentor Renzo Gracie approached him before the final match.
“Renzo asked me to take the f***ing dive,” Serra disclosed. “He said ‘Matt, they’re looking at Americans as like that they’re all for themselves, and this will prove that you’re one of us.'”
The request was rooted in complex politics within the Brazilian jiu-jitsu community. According to Serra, Renzo explained that Feitosa had previously “left his neck out” for Renzo in a previous ADCC tournament, following an unwritten code of seniority.
While Serra agreed to lose the match out of loyalty to his mentor, he set one condition: “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.”
The tournament’s prize money at the time was reportedly around $10,000 for first place and $5,000 for second place. Serra and Jean Jacques Machado also received additional money for having the match of the tournament.
