Kurt Pellegrino

Kurt Joseph Pellegrino (born May 7, 1979) is an American retired mixed martial artist. He competed in the lightweight division for Bellator Fighting Championships and Ultimate Fighting Championship. He’s a former WEC champion.

Early life Pellegrino wrestled for Point Pleasant Borough High School and placed second in the state in his junior and senior year. Pellegrino was a two-time wrestling state finalist.

Career Pellegrino trained with Ricardo Almeida, a world-famous Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competitor at a Renzo Gracie affiliate school. He later trained with Kenny Florian's camp in Boston, Massachusetts, and at the Armory in Jupiter, Florida with Justin Haskins, Eduardo Guedes, and Raphael Chaves. He subsequently moved to New Jersey, where he opened Kurt Pellegrino's MMA School in Belmar, New Jersey in 2008.

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Italian-American Pellegrino fought Alberto Crane at UFC Fight Night on January 23, 2008, who he defeated via second round TKO. The fight was notable as the only preliminary bout aired on the televised card. He received Fight of the Night award for this fight. Also, Pellegrino had a tooth knocked out early in the fight, which actually ripped a hole in his mouth, under his lip, and still went on to win, impressing fans and commentators alike.

Despite a strong first round, Pellegrino was defeated by TUF 5 winner Nate Diaz via triangle choke at UFC Fight Night 13 on April 2, 2008, in Broomfield, Colorado. As Diaz locked up the choke, he had time to flex for the crowd and throw up double middle fingers before Pellegrino submitted.

He defeated Thiago Tavares, in a preliminary bout at UFC 88: Breakthrough. Pellegrino bloodied Tavares' face in the first round and went on to win by a unanimous decision (29–28, 29–27, 29–27). There was a small controversy in the fight, as it appeared that Tavares submitted to an armbar in the second round, but the referee did not stop the bout, causing boos from the audience. The fight was awarded Fight of the Night honors and was voted by UFC as the #2 best fight of 2008.

Pellegrino next fought at UFC Fight Night 17 on February 7, 2009. He defeated Rob Emerson by submission due to a rear naked choke in the third round.

At UFC 101, Pellegrino defeated Josh Neer by unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27). It was his first win on a UFC main card.

He was expected to face Frankie Edgar on December 5, 2009 at The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale, but has been forced off the card due to an injury.

Pellegrino defeated Fabrício Camões at UFC 111 by rear naked choke earning him Submission of the Night.

Pellegrino's next fight was against Australian standout, George Sotiropoulos in which he lost by unanimous decision at UFC 116 on July 3. Pellegrino tore his ACL and meniscus in the 1st round. Two weeks after the fight he underwent two surgeries to repair his meniscus and to replace his ACL.

Pellegrino faced Gleison Tibau on March 19, 2011 at UFC 128 and lost via split decision.

On May 31, 2011, Pellegrino decided not to renew his contract with the UFC and to leave MMA for the time being.

Bellator Fighting Championships Pellegrino made his return to MMA and by signing with Bellator Fighting Championships. He fought Patricky Freire at Bellator 59 on November 26 and lost via TKO in the first round. During his post-fight interview, Pellegrino once again announced his retirement from MMA.

Pellegrino was expected to come out of retirement to face Marcin Held at Bellator 68 on May 11, 2012. However, Pellegrino was forced out of the bout due to injury.

He was then expected to face Saul Almeida at Bellator 108. However, Pellegrino was forced out of the bout due to injury once again, and Almeida was pulled from the card as a result.

Personal life Pellegrino and his wife Tara have a daughter named Millie James Pellegrino. Pellegrino also has two other kids Priscilla Pellegrino and Kurt Jr. Pellegrino.

Accomplishments Mixed Martial Arts World Extreme Cagefighting WEC Lightweight Champion Ultimate Fighting Championship Fight of the Night (One time) Submission of the Night (Two time) UFC.com Awards 2008: Ranked #2 Fight of the Year & Ranked #7 Fight of the Year Reality Fighting Reality Fighting Lightweight Championship (One time) Amateur Wrestling: New Jersey State Wrestling Finalist (Two time)

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Patricky Freire TKO (punches) Bellator 59

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Loss

Gleison Tibau Decision (split) UFC 128

Newark, New Jersey, United States Loss

George Sotiropoulos Decision (unanimous) UFC 116

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Fabrício Camões Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 111

Newark, New Jersey, United States Win

Josh Neer Decision (unanimous) UFC 101

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States Win

Rob Emerson Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC Fight Night: Lauzon vs. Stephens

Tampa, Florida, United States Win

Thiago Tavares Decision (unanimous) UFC 88

Atlanta, Georgia, United States Loss

Nate Diaz Submission (triangle choke) UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Lauzon

Broomfield, Colorado, United States Win

Alberto Crane TKO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Swick vs. Burkman

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Joe Stevenson Decision (unanimous) UFC 74

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Nate Mohr Submission (achilles lock) UFC Fight Night: Stevenson vs. Guillard

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Junior Assunção Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 64: Unstoppable

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Jesse Chilton Submission (guillotine choke) Absolute Fighting Championships 18

Boca Raton, Florida, United States Loss

Drew Fickett Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 61: Bitter Rivals

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Vadim Kulchitskiy Submission (guillotine choke) Reality Fighting 11

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Win

Kazuki Okubo TKO (doctor stoppage) Euphoria: USA vs. Japan

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Win

Steve Kinnison Submission (rear naked choke) Freestyle Combat Challenge 20

Racine, Wisconsin, United States Win

Sergey Golyaev Submission (arm-triangle choke) Euphoria: USA vs. Russia

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Win

Jay R. Palmer Submission (rear-naked choke) Ring of Combat 7

Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States Loss

Satoru Kitaoka Submission (guillotine choke) Pancrase: 2004 Neo-Blood Tournament Semifinals

Tokyo, Japan Win

Muhsin Corbbrey Decision (unanimous) Reality Fighting 6

Wildwood, New Jersey, United States Win

Jay Isip Submission (armbar) Reality Fighting 5

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Win

Mac Danzig Decision (unanimous) WEC 4

Uncasville, Connecticut, United States Won the inaugural WEC Lightweight Championship.