Rich Clementi

Richard Thomas Clementi (born March 31, 1977) is a former American mixed martial artist. Clementi has fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championships, Bellator, K-1 Hero's DREAM, King of the Cage, and Titan FC.

Background Clementi was born in Edison, New Jersey but moved frequently during his childhood along with his mother, as a result of her divorcing Clementi's stepfather. His passion from an early age was in wrestling but most of the schools that he attended did not have programs for the sport. Clementi enjoyed watching the UFC, which was in its early stages while he was growing up. He moved out of the house at age 15 and eventually settled back in New Jersey for his senior year of high school where he began wrestling again, going 15–2 in his senior year, but admits that he "wasn't very technical." Though he was a standout prep wrestler, Clementi joined the military out of high school and served in the United States Navy's Construction Battalion. He served in the military for eight years.

Mixed martial arts career

Ultimate Fighting Championship Clementi began his professional career in 1999 and amassed a 13–6 record before making his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut at UFC 41, where he lost by submission to Yves Edwards. Clementi continued to fight in smaller promotions before appearing as a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 4 reality show, which focused on promising fighters that had not succeeded in their UFC careers. With the namesake of "Team No Love" Clementi lost his preliminary bout against Shonie Carter by unanimous decision. He appeared on the undercard of the season finale as a lightweight, but lost by rear naked choke submission to Din Thomas.

Despite his losses, Clementi continued to appear in the UFC. He secured his first victory in the promotion via rear naked choke submission against Ross Pointon at UFC Fight Night 8, although the fight was not aired during the broadcast. After losing to Roan Carneiro at UFC Fight Night 9, Clementi alternated between appearing in the UFC and smaller promotions. He took a fight with Anthony Johnson at UFC 76 on two weeks' notice and won by rear naked choke submission. With the win, Clementi improved his official UFC record to 2–3.

Clementi followed up with a win at UFC 79 against Melvin Guillard. Guillard tapped from a rear naked choke. Prior to the match, Clementi and Guillard engaged in a war of words.

In the span of a month, Clementi racked up two more victories against Sam Stout and Terry Etim at UFC 83 and UFC 84 respectively. By this time, Clementi was riding a four-win streak in the UFC and a six-win streak in his career. The streak ended at UFC 90, where he lost to Gray Maynard by unanimous decision. Clementi followed up with an appearance at UFC Fight Night: Lauzon vs. Stephens, where he lost to Gleison Tibau by guillotine choke. With his second consecutive loss in the UFC, Clementi was cut from the promotion's roster.

Independent Promotions On June 27, 2009, Clementi was in the main event for the first ever MMA fight in Pennsylvania. The promotion company UCFC held its "Rumble on the Rivers" event in Pittsburgh's Mellon Arena. Clementi was unable to continue the fight after only 40 seconds into the first round because of a broken collar bone after a takedown and the ringside doctor stopped the fight.

On November 29, 2009, Clementi headlined the event "Cage Wars: Nightmare" in Belfast, Northern Ireland and fought local prospect Chris Stringer, defeating him by triangle choke in the second round, after dominating the fight. Clementi followed that win by headlining the Team 3:16 – Season's Beatings Event in Shreveport, Louisiana, defeating Derrick Krantz in the first round via armbar.

On January 16 at the 5150 Fight League's "The New Year's Revolution" show Clementi defeated WEC veteran Mike Budnik via rear naked choke to win the 5150 Combat League Lightweight Championship and improving his record upon being cut from the UFC to 4–1.

Bellator Fighting Championships Clementi was signed by Bellator and made his debut at Bellator 28 against Carey Vanier in a Bellator Lightweight tournament Qualifying bout, He lost by split decision.

On May 25, 2012, Clementi returned to Bellator at Bellator 70, he defeated Derek Campos by guillotine choke in round one.

Clementi faced Alexander Sarnavskiy on October 19, 2012 at Bellator 77 in a Lightweight Tournament Quarter Final bout. He won the fight by split decision.

Clementi faced Marcin Held in the Semifinals on November 16, 2012 at Bellator 81 and lost via toe hold submission in the second round.

On November 19, 2012 Clementi announced his retirement after competing in MMA for 13 years.

On July 24, 2013, Clementi announced he has come out of retirement and returned to Bellator to complete in the promotions Season Nine Lightweight Tournament, He was set to face UK Fighter Rob Sinclair on September 27, 2013 at Bellator 101 in the Quarterfinals. But on September 10, 2013, it was announced that Sinclair had to pull out of the fight due to a knee injury and was replaced by Ricardo Tirloni. He lost via unanimous decision.

Personal life Clementi spent eight years in the military with the Navy Seabees and was mobilized as a reservist after 9/11. He also runs "Rich Clementi's Gladiator Gym" in his hometown of Slidell, Louisiana. Clementi is divorced from his first wife and has two sons and a daughter with his second wife, Mandi.

Championships and accomplishments 5150 Combat League / Xtreme Fighting League 5150 Combat League Lightweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Ricardo Tirloni Decision (unanimous) Bellator 101

Portland, Oregon, United States Loss

Marcin Held Submission (toe hold) Bellator 81

Kingston, Rhode Island, United States Win

Alexander Sarnavskiy Decision (split) Bellator 77

Reading, Pennsylvania, United States Win

Robert Washington Submission (guillotine choke) Rogue Warrior Championships

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Derek Campos Submission (guillotine choke) Bellator 70

New Orleans, Louisiana, United States Loss

Chris Clements TKO (punches) Score Fighting Series 3: Meltdown in the Valley

Sarnia, Ontario, Canada Win

Ronnie Rogers Submission (rear-naked choke) Victory Promotions: Clementi vs. Rogers

Lowell, Massachusetts, United States Loss

Shinya Aoki Submission (neck crank) Dream: Fight for Japan!

Saitama, Saitama, Japan Loss

Reza Madadi Decision (unanimous) Superior Challenge 7

Stockholm, Sweden Win

Josh Hinkle Decision (unanimous) TCF: Rogue Warrior Championships

El Paso, Texas, United States Loss

Aaron Derrow Technical Submission (triangle choke) Titan FC 16: Sylvia vs. Wagner

Kansas City, Kansas, United States Win

Felipe Enomoto Submission (armbar) Cage Wars 13: Validation

Belfast, Northern Ireland Loss

Carey Vanier Decision (split) Bellator 28

New Orleans, Louisiana, United States Win

Lenny Nelson Submission (rear-naked choke) SFC: Hostile Validation

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States Win

Glen Cordoza Submission (armbar) CFC: Full Force

Lafayette, Louisiana, United States Loss

Quinn Mulhern TKO (punches) KOTC: Vengeance

Mescalero, New Mexico, United States Win

Mike Budnik Submission (rear-naked choke) Xtreme Fighting League: New Year's Revolution

Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States Win

Derrick Krantz Submission (armbar) Team 3:16 MMA: Season's Beatings

Shreveport, Louisiana, United States Win

Chris Stringer Submission (triangle choke) CWC: Nightmare

Belfast, Northern Ireland Loss

Kyle Jensen TKO (injury) UCFC Rumble on the Rivers

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States Win

Omar Zapata Submission (arm-triangle choke) Adrenaline MMA 3: Bragging Rights

Birmingham, Alabama, United States Loss

Gleison Tibau Submission (guillotine choke) UFC Fight Night: Lauzon vs. Stephens

Tampa, Florida, United States Loss

Gray Maynard Decision (unanimous) UFC 90

Rosemont, Illinois, United States Win

Terry Etim Decision (unanimous) UFC 84

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Sam Stout Decision (split) UFC 83

Montreal, Quebec, Canada Win

Melvin Guillard Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 79

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Antoine Skinner TKO (submission to punches) NLE: Punishment at the PMAC

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States Win

Anthony Johnson Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 76

Anaheim, California, United States Win

Kyle Gibbons Submission (rear-naked choke) IFO: Wiuff vs. Salmon

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Roan Carneiro Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Stevenson vs. Guillard

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Ross Pointon Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC Fight Night: Evans vs. Salmon

Hollywood, Florida, United States Loss

Din Thomas Submission (rear-naked choke) The Ultimate Fighter: The Comeback Finale

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Caol Uno Decision (unanimous) Hero's 4

Tokyo, Japan Win

Brian Dunn TKO (punches) Battle at the Boardwalk

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Win

Fabio Holanda TKO (punches) TKO 24: Eruption

Montreal, Quebec, Canada Win

Ryan Schultz Submission (armbar) Absolute Fighting Championships 14

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States Win

Chris Mickle TKO (punches) Extreme Challenge 64

Osceola, Iowa, United States Win

Daisuke Hanazawa Decision (unanimous) Euphoria: USA vs World

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Win

Henry Matamoros Decision (unanimous) Euphoria: Road to the Titles

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Win

Tom Kirk Submission (rear-naked choke) RCF: Showdown

Biloxi, Mississippi, United States Win

Eddie Yagin TKO (doctor stoppage) PXC 2: Chaos

Mangilao, Guam Win

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

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Loss

David Gardner Decision (unanimous) Freestyle Fighting Championships 8

Biloxi, Mississippi, United States Loss

Marcus Aurélio TKO (eye injury) ZST: Grand Prix Final Round

Tokyo, Japan Win

Tomomi Iwama Decision (unanimous) ZST: Grand Prix Final Round

Tokyo, Japan Win

Naoyuki Kotani Decision (unanimous) ZST: Grand Prix Final Round

Tokyo, Japan Win

Aloisio Barros Decision (unanimous) ZST: Grand Prix Opening Round

Tokyo, Japan Draw

Hiroki Kotani Draw ZST 4: The Battle Field 4

Tokyo, Japan Win

Jon Weidler KO (knee) FFC 6: No Love

Biloxi, Mississippi, United States Loss

Yves Edwards Submission (rear naked choke) UFC 41

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Win

James Meals TKO (punches) Tuesday Night Fights

Davenport, Iowa, United States Win

Isaias Martinez TKO (broken nose) RFC 1: The Beginning

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Joe Jordan Submission (armbar) Freestyle Fighting Championships 2

Biloxi, Mississippi, United States Win

Justin James Submission (rear-naked choke) Rock 'N' Rumble 1

United States Win

Cedric Stewart Submission (rear naked choke) Extreme Challenge 44

Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States Win

Warren Donley KO (punches) RCF 11

United States Win

Danny Payne Submission (neck crank) RCF 10

Houma, Louisiana, United States Drops to Lightweight Win

Edwin Allseitz Submission (kimura) DFC: Submission Grappling Championships

Houston, Texas, United States Win

Jeremy Jiminez Submission (armbar) DFC: Submission Grappling Championships

Houston, Texas, United States Loss

Pete Spratt TKO (doctor stoppage) RCF 9

Houma, Louisiana, United States Win

Charles Bennett TKO (submission to punches) WEF: Rumble at the Rodeo 1

United States Loss

Steve Berger Submission (armbar) Dangerzone: Insane In Ft. Wayne

Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States Loss

Rick McCoy Decision Dangerzone: Night of the Beast

Lynchburg, Virginia, United States Loss

Ben Earwood Submission (armbar) EC 36: Extreme Challenge 36

Davenport, Iowa, United States Win

Dymitrius Wilson TKO (punches) WVF: Cage Brawl

Chalmette, Louisiana, United States Win

Aristides Britto TKO (submission to punches) RCF 6: Reality Combat Fighting 6

Thibodaux, Louisiana, United States Win

Scott Melia TKO (submission to punches) RCF 6: Reality Combat Fighting 6

Thibodaux, Louisiana, United States Loss

Rick Thompson Decision RCF 3: Return of the Rage

Metairie, Louisiana, United States Loss

Chris Seifert Decision (unanimous) WEF 7: Stomp in the Swamp

Kenner, Louisiana, United States Professional boxing record Result Record Opponent Method Round, time Date Location