Seth Petruzelli

Seth Christopher Petruzelli (born December 3, 1979), nicknamed "The Silverback", is an American retired mixed martial artist, kickboxer, professional wrestler and entrepreneur. Petruzelli competed in the Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight divisions for the UFC, WEC, EliteXC, King of the Cage, BAMMA, and Bellator. On October 21, 2015, Petruzelli signed with professional wrestling promotion WWE, to work at their Performance Center as a striking coach. he was wrestling for Major League Wrestling.

Background Petruzelli was born in Cape Coral, Florida and is a native of Fort Myers, Florida. He began training in karate at the age of seven and continued on training through high school. Petruzelli attended Bishop Verot High School as a freshman before transferring to Mariner High School to take advantage of the school's elite wrestling team. He also played football and ran in track and field. Petruzelli was a three-sport letterman all four years of high school and was also all-state center in football. Petruzelli was offered a scholarship to wrestle and play football in college but ended up turning professional in mixed martial arts right out of high school. He holds a 3rd degree black belt in Shitō-ryū karate and a Black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He eventually went on to study psychology at the University of Central Florida.

Mixed martial arts career Petruzelli was a member of the cast of the Ultimate Fighting Championship's The Ultimate Fighter 2 as a Heavyweight. He was eliminated in the semi-finals by Brad Imes after having defeated Dan Christison by unanimous decision in an elimination bout. He later had the opportunity to fight in the UFC in 2006, but was cut after losses to Matt Hamill and Wilson Gouveia.

EliteXC controversy On October 4, 2008, at EliteXC: Heat, he defeated Kimbo Slice in 14 seconds by TKO. He was offered the fight on short notice after UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock received a cut over his left eye in pre-fight practice and was forced to back out. Petruzelli was also outweighed by around 30 lbs. as he weighed in at the Light Heavyweight threshold of 205.5 and Slice at 234.5 lbs.

On October 10, 2008, six days after the fight with Slice, he told the radio show The Monsters in the Morning:

EliteXC Vice President Jared Shaw immediately denied what could be perceived as them trying to fix the fight, and Petruzelli later clarified his statement telling respectively Yahoo! Sports and FiveOuncesofPain.com:

On October 23, 2008, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation concluded its investigation of the bout and found no wrongdoing.

2008–2010 In December 2008, Petruzelli opened "The Jungle MMA & Fitness" (http://jungleorlando.com) with Tom Lawlor and Mike Lee in Orlando, Fl. On August 22, 2009, Petruzelli fought in the Art Of Fighting 4 at the USF Sundome in Florida.

Petruzelli was expected to face MMA pioneer and former King of Pancrase Ken Shamrock on March 6, 2010 at an event called International Unlimited Fighting: The Return of Buluc but the fight was called off.

Return to the UFC Petruzelli returned to the UFC at UFC 116 to face UFC newcomer Ricardo Romero. Despite having dominated the initial stages of the fight, Petruzelli lost by armbar submission and was visibly hurt.

Petruzelli stated via Twitter that his arm was not broken and it had just popped. He was given another fight by the UFC, and expressed excitement to face Tito Ortiz or Matt Hamill depending on whoever loses the fight. On November 13, he faced Karlos Vemola at UFC 122 in Oberhausen, Germany. He lost the fight via TKO (strikes) at 3:46 of the first round and was released from the promotion after dropping to 0–4 in the UFC.

Post-UFC Career Petruzelli faced Dave Mewborn on April 22 serving as the Main Event for World Extreme Fighting 46 at the UCF Arena in Orlando Florida. He defeated Mewborn by TKO at 3:06 of the first round.

Bellator Fighting Championships Petruzelli made his Bellator debut against Ricco Rodriguez at Bellator 48. He won the fight via KO in the first round. After the fight Petruzelli was rewarded with a BJJ black belt under Thiago Domingues (a De La Riva Blackbelt).

He returned in 2013 as a participant in the Bellator Season 7 Light Heavyweight tournament. He lost to Jacob Noe via TKO in the opening round at Bellator 85.

Petruzelli competed in Bellator's Light Heavyweight summer series tournament on Spike. He faced Muhammed Lawal in the opening round of a 4-man tournament at Bellator 96 on June 19, 2013 and lost via knockout in the first round. Following the loss Petruzelli announced his retirement from MMA.

Championships and accomplishments Ultimate Fighting Championship Fight of the Night (Two times) Ultimate Warrior Challenge Ultimate Warrior Challenge Knockout of the Night

Kickboxing record

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Muhammed Lawal KO (punch) Bellator 96

Thackerville, Oklahoma, United States Loss

Jacob Noe TKO (punches) Bellator 85

Irvine, California, United States Win

Ricco Rodriguez KO (punches) Bellator 48

Uncasville, Connecticut, United States Win

Dave Mewborn TKO (punches) World Extreme Fighting 46

Orlando, Florida, United States Loss

Karlos Vémola TKO (punches) UFC 122

Oberhausen, Germany Loss

Ricardo Romero Submission (straight armbar) UFC 116

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Ryan White Submission (armbar) BAMMA 3

Birmingham, England Win

Chris Baten TKO (punches) Art of Fighting 4: Damage

Tampa, Florida, United States Win

Kimbo Slice TKO (punches) EliteXC: Heat

Sunrise, Florida, United States Win

Sean Sallee TKO Knight Fight

Orlando, Florida, United States Loss

Wilson Gouveia Submission (guillotine choke) UFC Fight Night: Stevenson vs. Guillard

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Bernard Rutherford KO (punches) Ultimate Warrior Challenge

Jacksonville, Florida, United States Loss

Matt Hamill Decision (unanimous) UFC: Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter

Hollywood, Florida, United States Win

Dan Severn Decision (unanimous) KOTC 32: Bringing Heat

Miami, Florida, United States Win

Brian Hawkins TKO (punches) KOTC 21: Invasion

Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States Win

Rocky Batastini TKO (punches) KOTC 18: Sudden Impact

Reno, Nevada, United States Win

Mike Ward TKO (doctor stoppage) Cage Wars 1

Portsmouth, England Win

Keith Fielder TKO (corner stoppage) RSF 6: Mayhem in Myers

Fort Myers, Florida, United States Win

Victor Majuskaus TKO (slam and punches) WVF: Battlejax

Jacksonville, Florida, United States Loss

Gan McGee Submission (heel hook) WEC 1

Lemoore, California, United States Loss

Mario Neto Submission (rear-naked choke) World Vale Tudo Championship

Recife, Brazil Win

Nate Robinson KO (punch) WVF: Battlejax

Jacksonville, Florida, United States Personal life Petruzelli was first married for around 18 months. He and his first wife divorced after conflicts over business and his continuing to fight.

Petruzelli then married Traci, and they have a daughter together.