Pedro Rizzo
From FightWiki
Pedro Augusto "The Rock" Rizzo (born May 3, 1974) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and professional kickboxer. Rizzo is considered to be an excellent striker among MMA athletes. He is a former WVC heavyweight champion, and former contender for the UFC heavyweight belt. Rizzo is the current UAFC Heavyweight Champion.
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Name | Pedro Rizzo |
| Nickname | The Rock | |
| Association | Ruas Vale Tudo | |
| Weight Class | Heavyweiht | |
| Style | Muay Thai | |
| Birth Date | May 3, 1974 | |
| Fighting Out Of | Rio De Janeiro | |
| Country | Brazilian |
Professional Record
| Record | 16 - 8 - 0 (Win – Loss – Draw) |
| Wins | 9 (T)KOs 4 Submissions 3 Decisions |
| Losses | 5 (T)KOs 0 Submissions 3 Decisions |
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event Title | Date | Round | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | Josh Barnett | KO (Punch) | Affliction: Banned | 7/19/2008 | 2 | 1:44 | |
| Win | Jeff Monson | TKO (Punches) | AOW: Art of War 3 | 9/01/2007 | 3 | 2:40 | |
| Win | Justin Eilers | Decision (Unanimous) | AOW: Art of War 1 | 3/09/2007 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Loss | Roman Zentsov | KO (Punch) | PRIDE 31: Dreamers | 2/26/2006 | 1 | 0:25 | |
| Loss | Sergei Kharitonov | TKO (Soccer Kick and Punches) | PRIDE: Critical Countdown 2005 | 6/26/2006 | 1 | 2:02 | |
| Win | Ricco Rodriguez | Decision (Unanimous) | UFC 45: Revolution | 11/21/2003 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Tra Telligman | TKO (Cut) | UFC 43: Meltdown | 6/06/2003 | 2 | 4:24 | |
| Loss | Vladimir Matyushenko | Decision (Unanimous) | UFC 41: Onslaught | 2/28/2003 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Loss | Gan McGee | TKO (Corner Stoppage) | UFC 39: The Warriors Return | 9/27/2002 | 1 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Andrei Arlovski | KO (Punches) | UFC 36: Worlds Collide | 3/22/2002 | 3 | 1:45 | |
| Loss | Randy Couture | TKO (Strikes) | UFC 34: High Voltage | 11/02/2001 | 3 | 1:38 | |
| Loss | Randy Couture | Decision (Unanimous) | UFC 31: Locked and Loaded | 5/04/2001 | 5 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Josh Barnett | KO (Punch) | UFC 30: Battle on the Boardwalk | 2/23/2001 | 2 | 4:21 | |
| Win | Dan Severn | Submission (Strikes) | UFC 27: Ultimate Bad Boyz | 9/22/2000 | 1 | 1:33 | |
| Loss | Kevin Randleman | Decision | UFC 26: Ultimate Field of Dreams | 6/09/2000 | 5 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Tsuyoshi Kohsaka | TKO (Strikes) | UFC 23: Ultimate Japan 2 | 11/19/1999 | 3 | 1:12 | |
| Win | Tra Telligman | KO | UFC 20: Battle for the Gold | 5/07/1999 | 1 | 4:30 | |
| Win | Mark Coleman | Decision | UFC 18: Road to the Heavyweiht Title | 1/08/1999 | 1 | 15:00 | |
| Win | David Abbott | KO | Ultimate Brazil | 10/16/1998 | 1 | 8:07 | |
| Win | Richard Heard | Submission | WVC 3: World Vale Tudo Championship 3 | 1/19/1997 | 1 | 13:12 | |
| Win | Vernon White | KO (Kick) | WVC 2: World Vale Tudo Championship 2 | 11/10/1996 | 1 | 6:30 | |
| Win | Niccolaus Niccolaus | Submission (Punches) | WVC 2: World Vale Tudo Championship 2 | 11/10/1996 | 1 | 1:49 | |
| Win | Michael Tielrooy | Submission (Keylock) | WVC 2: World Vale Tudo Championship 2 | 11/10/1996 | 1 | 0:18 | |
| Win | Eric Labaille | TKO | IMA: Battle of Styles | 10/26/1996 | 1 | 2:57 | |
Biography
Rizzo is also a four-time Brazilian Muay Thai champion, with a professional record of 31-0-1 (30 KO) in kickboxing. Most of his professional kickboxing wins came while spending a few years training Muay Thai in the Netherlands, which is considered the mecca of professional heavyweight muay Thai kickboxing. During Rizzo's time there he formed a close friendship with 3-time K-1 kickboxing champion Peter Aerts. The two still keep in contact and train together whenever possible.
Trained by Vale Tudo legend Marco Ruas, Rizzo has adopted Ruas' brutal leg kicks and has developed strong stand up fighting and used this to great effect in the cage. A stint in PRIDE FC didn't 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 the 9th March, 2007 when he beat UFC veteran Justin Eilers by unanimous decision at the début show of Art of War Undisputed Arena Fighting Championships, which was held in Dallas, Texas.
He defeated Jeff Monson on September 1, 2007. This fight took place on the first pay-per-view event promoted by the Art of War organization.
Rizzo was defeated at Affliction: Banned by Josh Barnett, via knockout in round 2.
Personal life
Rizzo has a daughter named Laila.
