Serra Shocks the World, but Not Himself in UFC Title Bout

Matt Serra seemed to be the only one who listened, or at least gave second thought, to his incessant proclamations that he was going to "shock the world" and defeat welterweight champion and heavy favorite Georges St. Pierre.

When the 32-year-old Long Island, N.Y., native stepped into the ring, he looked like a slouched bulldog standing in against a polished athlete. But Serra hit like a sledgehammer.

Serra (15-5) snatched the welterweight champion from the golden boy of the Ultimate Fighting Championship in a first-round TKO. Afterward, Serra wondered if it might be the biggest upset in UFC history -- and this time it wasn't taken as such a ludicrous thought.

"I definitely feel I shocked the world," Serra said. "This is a world of upsets and I'm glad I made one tonight and I hope there is going to be a lot more of that success for me in the future."

Serra, who earned a title shot by winning the Ultimate Fighter 4, got St. Pierre (13-2) off balance with a right cross to the back of the head, then knocked him down three more times with big crosses. After St. Pierre couldn't retreat fast enough, Serra jumped on top of him and finished St. Pierre with ground-and-pound blows to the face until the fight was stopped with 1 minute 35 seconds left in the round.

The marquee event's result wasn't the only surprise. For all the verbal barbs traded between Diego Sanchez and Josh Koscheck, the most noise came in the form of boos from the crowd. Sanchez forfeited his undefeated 19-0 record with hardly a punch or kick thrown.

Sanchez appeared too timid to launch any sort of attack, allowing Koscheck (11-1) to land several solid punches and wait out an easy unanimous decision.

Sanchez had beaten Koscheck, a former NCAA national champion wrestler at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, by split decision in the Ultimate Fighter 1 semifinals. Koscheck is now in position for a welterweight title fight.

Roger Huerta beat 155-pounder Leonard Garcia by unanimous decision in the most furious bout of the evening. Kendall Grove beat middleweight Alan Belcher by submission in the second round.