Jorge Rivera

Jorge Luis Rivera (born February 28, 1972) is a retired American mixed martial artist who competed in the Middleweight division. Perhaps best known for his 15 fights in the UFC, he was also featured on The Ultimate Fighter 4, after competing for Cage Warriors and Cage Rage in England.

Background Jorge Luis Rivera was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He and his family then moved to Milford, Massachusetts before finally settling down in Bellingham, Massachusetts. Rivera is of Puerto Rican descent, and being one of the ethnic minorities in these towns, he along with his siblings often got into street fights. When Rivera was 25 years old, he began training in mixed martial arts.

Military career Rivera served as a 19K M1 Armor Crewman with A/1-70 Armor at Fort Polk, Louisiana. He participated in moving the unit from Fort Polk to Fort Hood, Texas before his enlistment ended in 1992.

Mixed martial arts career Rivera's first sanctioned fight was in 2001, when he was 29 years old against Branden Lee Hinkle in Chester, West Virginia. Lee Hinkle, who had been fighting professionally for three years, also had the legendary Mark Coleman in his corner. Rivera landed a solid straight right hand early, that knocked out Lee Hinkle's mouthpiece and caused him to stumble, but then responded using his wrestling, picking up and slamming Rivera. Lee Hinkle then proceeded to land many punches that caused referee Din Thomas to stop the fight, making Lee Hinkle the winner by TKO.

Rivera's first fight in the UFC was a unanimous decision victory over David Loiseau at UFC 44. He then followed up with back-to-back submission losses to Lee Murray at UFC 46 and Rich Franklin at UFC 50 before rebounding with a unanimous decision win over Dennis Hallman at UFC 55.

Rivera was defeated by Chris Leben by technical knockout before appearing on The Ultimate Fighter 4 as a Middleweight contestant. Although Rivera was not successful in achieving a slot in the middleweight finals, he appeared on the live card of The Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale, defeating Edwin DeWees by technical knockout in the first round. Jorge then was defeated by Terry Martin by KO via an uppercut at UFC 67, fourteen seconds into round one. Jorge broke his jaw from the knockout punch and did not compete until UFC 80, where he knocked out heavy favorite Kendall Grove in the first round. He went 4–3 after the upset, with wins over Eric Schafer, Nate Quarry, Nissen Osterneck and submission artist Rob Kimmons, with his only losses since coming from top level opponents Martin Kampmann, Michael Bisping, and Costas Philippou.

Rivera was scheduled to face Alessio Sakara on August 28, 2010, at UFC 118, but was forced off the card with an arm injury and replaced by Gerald Harris.

Rivera/Sakara was expected to take place on November 13, 2010, at UFC 122. The fight was scrapped the day of the fight due to a "flu-like" illness from Sakara.

On February 27, 2011, at UFC 127 Rivera lost to Michael Bisping by way of TKO at 1:54 in the 2nd round. Weeks before he was set to fight Bisping, Rivera made some videos mocking and insulting Bisping and his family.

The bout between Rivera and Sakara had been rescheduled again for August 6, 2011 at UFC 133. Before Rivera's fight against Sakara, Rivera mentioned that he may retire from the sport after his next fight due to his age. Rivera instead faced Costas Philippou. He lost the fight via split decision.

Rivera faced Eric Schafer on January 20, 2012, at UFC on FX 1. After a dominant first round from Schafer due to takedowns and ground control, Rivera turned the fight around in the second round and won by TKO due to punches. Following the fight, Rivera retired from mixed martial arts competition.

Personal life Rivera has a son and four daughters, one of whom, Janessa Marie, his oldest daughter, died unexpectedly from a reaction to prescription medication on August 5, 2008.

Championships and accomplishments Ultimate Fighting Championship UFC.com Awards 2008: Ranked #6 Upset of the Year

Mixed martial arts record Win

Eric Schafer TKO (punches) UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller

Nashville, Tennessee, United States Loss

Costas Philippou Decision (split) UFC 133

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States Loss

Michael Bisping TKO (punches) UFC 127

Sydney, Australia Win

Nate Quarry TKO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Gomi

Charlotte, North Carolina, United States Win

Rob Kimmons TKO (punches) UFC 104

Los Angeles, California, United States Win

Nissen Osterneck Decision (split) UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann

Nashville, Tennessee, United States Loss

Martin Kampmann Submission (guillotine choke) UFC 85

London, England Win

Kendall Grove KO (punches) UFC 80

Newcastle, England Loss

Terry Martin KO (punches) UFC 67

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Edwin Dewees TKO (punches) The Ultimate Fighter: The Comeback Finale

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Timothy Williams TKO (punches) WFL – Real: No Fooling Around

Revere, Massachusetts, United States Loss

Chris Leben TKO (punches) UFC Fight Night 3

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Dennis Hallman Decision (unanimous) UFC 55

Uncasville, Connecticut, United States Win

Marcelo Azevedo Decision (unanimous) Cage Rage 13

London, England Win

Danny Vega Technical submission (arm-triangle choke) WFL: Unleashed

Revere, Massachusetts, United States Loss

Anderson Silva TKO (knees and punches) Cage Rage 11

London, England Win

Alex Reid KO (punches) Cage Rage 10

London, England Loss

Rich Franklin Submission (armbar) UFC 50

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Win

Mark Weir TKO (doctor stoppage) Cage Rage 7

London, England Win

James Gabert TKO (punches) MMA: Eruption

Lowell, Massachusetts, United States Loss

Lee Murray Submission (triangle armbar) UFC 46

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

David Loiseau Decision (unanimous) UFC 44

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Solomon Hutcherson KO (punches) USMMA 3: Ring of Fury

Boston, Massachusetts, United States Win

Andy Lagden Submission (rear naked choke) CWFC 2 - Fists of Fury

London, England Win

Travis Lutter TKO (punches) USMMA 2: Ring of Fury

Lowell, Massachusetts, United States Win

Joe Nye TKO (punches) USMMA 1: Ring of Fury

Lowell, Massachusetts, United States Win

Brian Hawkins KO (punches) TFC FightZone: Back in the Zone

Toledo, Ohio, United States Win

Elias Rivera TKO (punches) Mass Destruction 3

Springfield, Massachusetts, United States Loss

Branden Lee Hinkle TKO (corner stoppage) RSF 2: Attack at the Track

Chester, West Virginia, United States