Pedro Rizzo

Pedro Augusto Rizzo (; born 3 May 1974) is a Brazilian retired mixed martial artist and kickboxer who competed for the UFC, PRIDE, M-1 Global, and Affliction. Although he never captured the UFC Heavyweight Championship, Rizzo competed for it three times and was regarded as a top contender for many years. Coming from a Muay Thai background, Rizzo competed in Vale Tudo before transitioning into mixed martial arts. Often regarded as one of the most dangerous strikers in heavyweight history, Rizzo holds notable victories over former UFC champions Mark Coleman, Dan Severn, Josh Barnett, Andrei Arlovski, Ricco Rodriguez and Ken Shamrock.

Mixed martial arts career Early in his career Rizzo adopted brutal leg kicks from his master trainer Marco Ruas and also from training at the Amsterdam-based Chakuriki gym. Pedro developed a strong stand-up style early on—and used this to great effect throughout his career.

Rizzo is a former World Vale Tudo Championship (WVC) Heavyweight Champion and former contender for the UFC heavyweight belt. Rizzo was almost an unstoppable force in his early UFC run, which culminated in a highly controversial loss at the hands of Randy Couture. The UFC heavyweight title fight between these fighters took place in Atlantic city on 4 May 2001, and Rizzo dominated the pace of the fight and punished Couture with heavy leg kicks; which at the conclusion of the bout left Couture unable to exit the arena without assistance. After the judges read out the scores, even Couture's expression of disbelief assisted the public's reaction of a fight in which Rizzo was clearly robbed. Rizzo then had a chance to rematch Couture but was soundly beaten by Couture in this rematch, and after this fight Rizzo's performances were mixed. Rizzo never seemed to recover from the controversial loss to Couture in that first fight, and this is what is believed to have taken the wind out of Rizzo's sails; as his hunger and drive were never the same as a consequence.

A stint in PRIDE FC did not go too well for the former UFC Heavyweight title contender, and Rizzo suffered quick losses at the hands of Sergei Kharitonov and Roman Zentsov.

Rizzo returned to his winning ways on 9 March 2007, when he beat UFC veteran Justin Eilers by unanimous decision at the début show of Art of War Undisputed Arena Fighting Championship, which was held in Dallas, Texas.

He defeated Jeff Monson on 1 September 2007. This fight took place on the first pay-per-view event promoted by the Art of War Undisputed Arena Fighting Championship organization. Rizzo was defeated at Affliction: Banned by Josh Barnett, via knockout in round 2.

He was defeated by Gilbert Yvel at Ultimate Chaos: Lashley vs. Sapp via knockout in round 1. In his rematch with Jeff Monson, Rizzo won a decision at Bitetti Combat. He revealed in the post-fight interview that he had an elbow problem 10 days before the fight and that was why he could not push for the knockout that "the Brazilian fans deserved".

Rizzo also won his last two fights, against Gary Goodridge at Washington Combat and against eventual UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock at Impact Fighting Championships in Australia.

He was expected to face former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia on 14 August at War on the Mainland but it was discovered that Sylvia broke his foot in his fight with Mariusz Pudzianowski.

Rizzo was expected to be the main event against Tim Sylvia at ProElite 2 in November, However he pulled out of the bout due to an injury.

On 21 June 2012, Rizzo faced former PRIDE Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko, at M-1 Global ring in St. Petersburg, Russia. Rizzo got caught by a right hand from Fedor that knocked him down; Fedor then proceeded with punches that left Rizzo motionless at 1:24 of the first round.

On 26 May 2013, Pedro faced Japanese heavyweight Satoshi Ishii at IGF: GENOME 26. He lost via unanimous decision.

On 12 September 2015, Pedro returned to face Andrew Flores at Face to Face 12. He won via leg kicks, forcing Flores to quit in between rounds, and Rizzo announced his retirement shortly after the fight.

Personal life Rizzo has a daughter.

Championships and accomplishments Mixed martial arts Ultimate Fighting Championship UFC Encyclopedia Awards Fight of the Night (Three times) Knockout of the Night (Two times) Art of War Undisputed Arena Fighting Championship IFA Heavyweight Championship (1 Time) World Vale Tudo Championship WVC Superfight Championship (1 Time) WVC 2 Tournament Winner Wrestling Observer Newsletter Fight of the Year (2001) vs. Randy Couture on 4 May

Mixed martial arts record Win

Andrew Flores Smith TKO (leg kicks) Face to Face 12

Espírito Santo, Brazil Loss

Satoshi Ishii Decision (unanimous) IGF: Genome 26

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Fedor Emelianenko KO (punches) M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Rizzo

St. Petersburg, Russia Win

Ken Shamrock TKO (leg kicks and punches) Impact FC 2

Sydney, Australia Win

Gary Goodridge TKO (doctor stoppage) Washington Combat: Battle of the Legends

Washington D.C. United States Win

Jeff Monson Decision (unanimous) Bitetti Combat MMA 4

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Loss

Gilbert Yvel KO (punches) Ultimate Chaos: Lashley vs. Sapp

Biloxi, Mississippi, United States Loss

Josh Barnett KO (punch) Affliction: Banned

Anaheim, California, United States Win

Jeff Monson TKO (punches) Art of War 3

Dallas, Texas, United States Win

Justin Eilers Decision (unanimous) Art of War 1

Dallas, Texas, United States Loss

Roman Zentsov KO (punch) PRIDE 31

Saitama, Japan Loss

Sergei Kharitonov TKO (soccer kick and punches) PRIDE Critical Countdown 2005

Saitama, Japan Win

Ricco Rodriguez Decision (unanimous) UFC 45

Uncasville, Connecticut, United States Win

Tra Telligman TKO (doctor stoppage) UFC 43

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Vladimir Matyushenko Decision (unanimous) UFC 41

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Loss

Gan McGee TKO (corner stoppage) UFC 39

Uncasville, Connecticut, United States Win

Andrei Arlovski KO (punches) UFC 36

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Randy Couture TKO (punches) UFC 34

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Randy Couture Decision (Unanimous) UFC 31

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Win

Josh Barnett KO (punch) UFC 30

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Win

Dan Severn TKO (submission to leg kicks) UFC 27

New Orleans, Louisiana, United States Loss

Kevin Randleman Decision (unanimous) UFC 26

Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States Win

Tsuyoshi Kohsaka TKO (punches) UFC 23

Tokyo, Japan Win

Tra Telligman KO (punch) UFC 20

Birmingham, Alabama, United States Win

Mark Coleman Decision (split) UFC 18

Kenner, Louisiana, United States Win

Tank Abbott KO (punch) UFC Brazil

Sao Paulo, Brazil Win

Richard Heard TKO (submission to punches) World Vale Tudo Championship 3

Brazil Win

Vernon White KO (soccer kick) World Vale Tudo Championship 2

Brazil Win

Michael Tielrooy Submission (keylock) World Vale Tudo Championship 2

Brazil Win

Nicholas Hill (as Niccolaus) TKO (submission to punches) World Vale Tudo Championship 2

Brazil Win

Eric Labaille TKO (punches) IMA: Battle of Styles

Netherlands Kickboxing record (incomplete)

Lloyd van Dams Nikko T. Press Productions: Battle of the Best 's-Hertogenbosch, North Brabant TKO (Corner Stoppage)

Rob van Esdonk Nikko T. Press Productions: Battle of the Best 's-Hertogenbosch, North Brabant TKO (Corner Stoppage)

Orlando Breienburg Nikko T. Press Productions: Battle of the Best 's-Hertogenbosch, North Brabant Decision (Unanimous)

Michael Thompson K-1 Hercules '95 Nagoya, Aichi TKO (Doctor Stoppage)