MONTREAL — Welterweight champion Matt Serra showed the funny side of mixed martial arts Thursday, putting on a charm offensive ahead of his UFC 83 showdown with local favourite Georges St. Pierre at the soldout Bell Centre.
The Serra show at the pre-fight news conference was so entertaining that even St. Pierre lost his game face and laughed. The 33-year-old Serra cracked jokes, poked fun at himself and willingly played the role of UFC huckster as a TV reporter from Colombia asked him to invite South Americans to watch the fight Saturday night.
"Buy it Colombia," he said, referring to the pay-per-view. "I love your coffee."
St. Pierre, fighting in his backyard, opened his comments in French. Serra then took the podium, talking up the fight briefly before trying to talk his way out of calling St. Pierre "Frenchy" during a brief war of words last year after Serra dethroned the Canadian at UFC 69 last April in Houston.
"For the record I don't hate the French," he said. "Can I just get that out there? Please. All right. . . . I know I said Frenchy in there at some point. I have nothing against the French. Come on. Lighten up."
He then left the microphone to laughter and applause.
When a reporter subsequently asked Serra if he knew any French, Serra laughed.
"Not too much," he said. "Nothing really. I was about to say 'oui, oui.' I just don't know, bro."
Knowing he will be the villain of the piece before a crowd of more than 21,000 Saturday, Serra earned more laughs by saying he prepared by watching tapes of unpopular heavyweight Tim Sylvia walk out to the cage.
"I'm going to hell people, that's what I'm doing," he said with a chuckle as he realized he had just added someone else to the list of people pissed at him. "What's the matter with me?"
The 26-year-old St. Pierre got into the act himself as he tried to express his emotions going into the fight.
"I'm very excited, I have butterflies, I'm very nervous, I'm scared, I'm scared to fail but that's normal. If I wouldn't have this feeling, you know I would not perform well. That's all good.
"So I have butterflies but the only thing I have to do is fly my butterflies in formation," he said, drawing laughter as he enthusiastically used his hands to illustrate just such a formation.
Asked if the two fighters really dislike each other, Serra earned more laughs when he replied; "Well, it's not like he's Matt Hughes or anything."
The antipathy between Hughes and Serra, rival coaches on "The Ultimate Fighter" reality TV show, is very real.
Serra (16-4) and St. Pierre (15-2) may not be bosom buddies but they are hardly diehard enemies. St. Pierre, a 10-1 favourite going into their first fight, was respectful the night he was knocked out but irked Serra with comments a month later that his training was limited by injury and he would never have taken the bout had it been against Hughes.
"But I told myself 'It's Matt Serra, I can beat this guy easily,' he told Toronto radio station The Fan 590. "I took it, I made a mistake, I learned a big life lesson from it."
Serra was not impressed. "How do I not get insulted by that," he countered in an interview with MMAWeekly Radio.
"Drink your red wine, go to your hockey game and shut up," added Serra, referring to St. Pierre as Frenchy and throwing an F-bomb in for good measure.
Serra later said he was taking a page out of the NASCAR-themed comedy "Talladega Nights," which pits Will Ferrell against a flamboyant Frenchman played by Sacha Baron Cohen.
The two fighters will get back to business Saturday in the UFC's debut on Canadian soil before what will be a UFC-record crowd of more than 21,000. St. Pierre is a 5-1 favourite going into the rematch and shows none of the turmoil that surrounded him going into their first bout.
St. Pierre's father was sick and a cousin was in a coma after a car accident. He also admitting losing focus after winning the championship. Add in some injuries, a few nights out and his training camp was a shambles.
The Montrealer's major problem getting ready this time has been his phone ringing all the time as reporters and others want a piece of his time.
Serra, a five-foot-six ball of energy who loves the spotlight, is a jiu-jitsu black belt with surprisingly heavy hands. He earned his title shot against the 5-10 St. Pierre by winning Season 4 of "The Ultimate Fighter."
A back injury has kept him out of the cage since beating the well-rounded Canadian. St. Pierre has fought twice, looking impressive in wins over Josh Koschek and Hughes.
St. Pierre stepped in for the injured Serra against Hughes at UFC 79 in December. His win over the former title-holder earned St. Pierre the interim welterweight championship. Serra and St. Pierre will decide the 170-pound title for real Saturday.
Serra, who had his belt with him Thursday, says he normally keeps it on the dresser in his bedroom. St. Pierre says he keeps his interim belt in his closet — he gave the real belt he won by defeating Hughes at UFC 65 in November 2006 to his mother as a thank you for a lifetime of support.
"The real champion is right there," he said pointing to Serra. "If you ask me the question Saturday night, it's going to be me the champion."
