Congratulations to Matt and Ann Serra

After listening to Matt Serra being interviewed on the Savage Dog Show, I learned many things.

Well, first, I was wrong in my prediction of the sex of Matt Serra'a baby.

His daughter arrived five weeks before her due date and weighed five pounds and 10 ounces.

Although I do not know the date and time that she was born, I will admit to having been very concerned when Matt was not present to corner his friend and student Pete "Drago" Sell at UFC 96.

With my vivid imagination and worrywart nature, I suspected that the only thing that would keep Matt away from the fight would be something related to his first child's birth.

I eventually comforted myself with the knowledge that the baby was due in mid or late March. Not everything goes the way it is planned, however, as in this case.

Fortunately, the baby is fine and because Ann is breast feeding, Matt does not have to get up for the night feedings.

He is crazy about all of this of course; a great stroke of luck for a first time father.

I want to congratulate him and Ann as well as the rest of their large clan on their newest member.

Matt did express anxiety about the outcome of the Sell vs Brown fight, saying that Pete had been in the best shape of his life and it was hard to see him beaten, with the referee contributing to his friend being injured so badly.

Saying that Pete liked tough fights and had not complained on his own behalf, Serra berated Yves Levine and said he even felt sorry for the position Matt Brown found himself in after the ref's mistake.

Savage Dog had several uplifting moments as well.

Of course being one who feels that Matt might make a ton of money as a stand-up comedian, I was not at all surprised as I laughed my way through his interview.

His wry comments always crack me up! And he had many comments to make, being the forward, outspoken guy he is, especially when he gets on a roll with his favorite subject: Matt Hughes.

I was surprised that time has not dulled the edge of his animosity towards Hughes.

Unlike myself, few people can hold on to a grudge that length of time without forgetting what they were so angry about in the first place.

I will admit though that I am glad he can recall why he was angry at Hughes and I was tickled pink that he hasn't forgotten that Hughes' misses was calling for Serra's blood at her husband's hands or else!

That woman might be able to match my record for carrying a grudge, come to think of it.

It didn't take much baiting to get the native New Yorker to express his true feelings about Mr. Hughes, and he spared few expletives in doing just that.

He discussed Hughes' strengths as a wrestler and mentioned the fact that Hughes was able to put Thiago Alves on the mat, a feat the much younger Josh Koscheck was unable to match.

When one of the interviewers asked if Serra planned to use his striking ability to beat Hughes, Serra scoffed at the wisdom of giving away his strategy before the fight, as did I.

Why do interviewers feel compelled to keep asking such inane questions of a fighter before the fight?

While Serra gave away no secrets or his game plan, he stated that the weight cut was hard going, trying to get off the "sympathy weight" he had gained during his wife's pregnancy.

Only Matt Hughes or another man married with children would understand how that whole concept works.

Serra admitted to being bushed after the intense workout he had completed with his old friend and boxing coach Roy Longo prior to doing the phone interview.

He even thanked the interviewers for asking how he felt about fighting Hughes, which really revved him up again after his grueling workout.

"How lucky am I to get paid to hit Hughes in the mouth?" he queried.

Obviously he felt very privileged to be soon presented with having that honor.

Matt also paid his respects to the late Charles Lewis of Tapout, who had sponsored him by saying how ironic it was that Lewis once told him he wanted the Tapout brand to be right alongside Nike products in all the stores; now they are; Lewis's dream has come true.

How sad for him to die such a sudden and senseless death.

When asked about his next fight after Hughes and how long he will continue to fight, Serra answered that it was the wrong time to ask him that question.

All of his attention is focused on the fight with Hughes and he is not going to jinx himself by looking beyond that.

As far as retiring goes, he won't think about it until it is no longer fun for him.

He is a very fortunate man with a beautiful wife and daughter, very popular Serra BJJ schools and a plan to open another gym.

With all of his successes and the chance to get paid to hurt his long time foe-- for what more could Matt Serra ask?