Matt Serra says he's retiring from cornering fighters

One of the most distinct voices in UFC history was absent last Saturday night from a place we’ve grown accustomed to hearing it.

Matt Serra was not in Aljamain Sterling’s corner for his bantamweight title fight against Petr Yan at UFC 259.

"I’m upset that I wasn’t in the corner," Serra said on the "UFC Unfiltered" podcast that he co-hosts with Jim Norton. "I’m upset after being with this kid the whole journey."

Serra, from East Meadow, and Ray Longo, the Herricks High School alum, have cornered Sterling since his last fight in Cage Fury FC in 2013 and throughout his UFC career, the lone fight they missed being last summer against Cory Sandhagen because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Sterling’s corner for last Saturday's title fight -- which he won via DQ after Yan threw an illegal knee -- included his Longo, sparring partners Anthony DiLemme and Dennis Buzukja from Long Island, and Xtreme Couture head coach Eric Nicksick. Sterling moved to Las Vegas last year and was splitting time between training there and Long Island.

"Now this is no longer this thing of ours with me and Longo, and that’s cool," Serra said. "We did this with the intentions of helping these guys reach their goals. But at the same time, you can’t help but feel a little disrespected. You’re with the kid since from his first fight in the UFC. You could point to one time when I maybe missed a sparring session in seven years, or you point to the times I’ve been there all the time. I got a family. You travel and you go and you do it proudly. You do it because you’re backing up your guy. At the end of the day, it’s me and Longo taking our guy to the flagpole against another savage."

"I'm not gonna lie to you, I was a little hurt."

Fight week training restrictions because of COVID-19 played a part in Sterling's decision as he needed specific training partners to prepare for Yan. Fight teams checked into the fighter hotel on Tuesday of fight week and were essentially in a bubble at that point. Before COVID-19, fight team coaches and training partners could come and go whenever during the week.

"Going forward, I think it’s better now to just make an exit on a high note," Serra said. "I always loved cornering. But, like what’s going on for the next fight? Is it me and Eric Nicksick doing rock paper scissors to see who gets in?

"I will always, always be in this kid’s corner. Always. Just not physically. I’m just going to retire all together from the whole corner thing."

Serra said repeatedly that he still supports Sterling and believes in his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt.

"I think he’s going to be a great champion," Serra said. "I will always have his back. Anything he needs from me, and my academy, my black belts. Dude, nothing’s going to change as far as the training in Long Island with us. But I’m just removing myself from this whole scenario. That way, nobody’s feelings are gonna get hurt, I’m not supposed to be there anyway, I’m done."

Listen to Serra on the "UFC Unfiltered" podcast for his full explanation. It starts around the 36-minute mark.

By Mark La Monica

mark.lamonica@newsday.comLaMonicaMark

Mark La Monica is a deputy sports editor at Newsday. He also covers mixed martial arts.