Ricardo Almeida
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Name | Ricardo Almeida |
| Nickname | Cachorrao (Big Dog) | |
| Association | Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu | |
| Weight Class | Middleweight (185 lbs.) / Welterweight (170 lbs.) | |
| Height | 6' 0" (183 cm) | |
| Style | Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu | |
| Birth Date | November 29, 1976 | |
| Fighting Out Of | Hamilton, New Jersey | |
| Country | Brazil/USA | |
| Ricardo Almeida Pictures | Official Website |
Ricardo Almeida is a retired Brazilian-American mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu grappler residing in Hamilton, New Jersey.
He is a third degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Renzo Gracie, and part of the Gracie Barra Combat Team. Almeida is a veteran of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), PRIDE Fighting Championships, and a former Middleweight King of Pancrase. In Pancrase he had notable wins over Nathan Marquardt and Kazuo Misaki.
Contents |
[edit] Professional Record
| Record | 13 - 5 - 0 (Win – Loss – Draw) |
| Wins | 0 (T)KOs 5 Submissions 8 Decisions |
| Losses | 1 (T)KOs 1 Submissions 2 Decisions 1 Other |
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event Title | Date | Round | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | Mike Pyle | Decision (Unanimous) | UFC 128: Shogun vs. Jones | 3/19/2011 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | T.J. Grant | Decision (Unanimous) | UFC 124: St. Pierre vs. Koscheck 2 | 12/11/2010 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Loss | Matt Hughes | Technical Submission (Modified Anaconda Choke) | UFC 117: Silva vs. Sonnen | 8/07/2010 | 1 | 3:15 | |
| Win | Matt Brown | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | UFC 111: St. Pierre vs. Hardy | 3/27/2010 | 2 | 3:30 | Welterweight debut; Bout featured live on SpikeTV |
| Win | Kendall Grove | Decision (Unanimous) | UFC 101: Declaration | 8/08/2009 | 3 | 5:00 | Last fight at Middlweight |
| Win | Matt Horwich | Decision (Unanimous) | UFC Fight Night 18: Condit vs. Kampmann | 4/01/2009 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Loss | Patrick Cote | Decision (Split) | UFC 86: Jackson vs. Griffin | 7/05/2008 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Rob Yundt | Submission (Guillotine Choke) | UFC 81: Breaking Point | 2/02/2008 | 1 | 1:08 | First fight after coming out of retirement |
| Win | Ryo Chonan | Decision (Unanimous) | PRIDE: Bushido 3 | 5/23/2004 | 2 | 5:00 | After the fight, Almeida retired for 3 years |
| Win | Nate Marquardt | Submission (Guillotine Choke) | Pancrase: Hybrid 10 | 11/30/2003 | 1 | 4:53 | Won King of Pancrase Middleweight Championship |
| Win | Kazuo Misaki | Decision (Majority) | Pancrase: 10th Anniversary Show | 8/31/2003 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Yuki Sasaki | Decision (Unanimous) | Pancrase: Hybrid 4 | 4/12/2003 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Ikuhisa Minowa | Decision (Unanimous) | Pancrase: Hybrid 2 | 2/16/2003 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Osami Shibuya | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | Pancrase: Spirit 8 | 11/30/2002 | 1 | 3:25 | |
| Loss | Andrei Semenov | TKO (Punches) | UFC 35: Throwdown | 1/11/2002 | 2 | 2:01 | |
| Win | Eugene Jackson | Submission (Triangle Choke) | UFC 33: Victory in Vegas | 9/28/2001 | 1 | 4:06 | |
| Loss | Matt Lindland | DQ | UFC 31: Locked & Loaded | 5/04/2001 | 3 | 4:21 | |
| Win | Akira Shoji | Decision (Unanimous) | PRIDE 12: Cold Fury | 12/09/2000 | 2 | 5:00 | |
[edit] Mixed Martial Arts Career
Almeida began competing in mixed martial arts in 2000. His first fight took place in PRIDE against Akira Shoji, winning a unanimous decison.
From there, Almeida moved to the UFC, losing to Matt Lindland in his debut. He rebounded from the loss by submitting Eugene Jackson with a Triangle Choke. He would end his stint in the UFC losing via TKO (Punches) to Russian fighter Andrei Semenov.
After this rocky start in MMA, going 2-2, Almeida began competing in Pancrase, making his debut in 2002. He went 4-0, defeating the likes of Ikuhisa Minowa, earning himself a shot at the Pancrase Middleweight Championship, held at the time by UFC veteran and former UFC title challenger Nate Marquardt. Almeida defeated Marquardt with a Rear Naked Choke late in the first round, winning the King of Pancrase Middleweight Championship.
[edit] Marquardt Incident
On November 30, 2003, Almeida was involved in a brief altercation with middleweight opponent Nate Marquardt in a Pancrase title fight. Marquardt, who was caught in a guillotine choke, tapped out; the referee, however, was unable to immediately separate the fighters, and the choke remained applied around Marquardt's neck. After he was freed, Marquardt threw a strike at Almeida's face, prompting both corners to storm into the ring – including Renzo Gracie, who was cornering Almeida. The confrontation eventually came to an end, and Marquardt approached Almeida after the bout to congratulate him. Almeida then vacated his title in July 2004.
[edit] PRIDE
He then returned to PRIDE to fight Ryo Chonan, who was coming off a three-fight win streak, including a victory over Japanese sensation Hayato Sakurai. Almeida won a unanimous decision victory, and then announced his intent to retire from MMA to focus on running his Jiu-Jitsu school in Hamilton, New Jersey.
[edit] UFC
He returned to the middleweight MMA scene after signing a six fight contract with the UFC in 2008. His return bout in the UFC occurred at UFC 81: Breaking Point, where he submitted Rob Yundt with a Guillotine Choke.
After a slit decision loss to Patrick Cote and a unanimous decision victory over the former IFL Middleweight Champion Matt Horwich, Almeida made public his intentions to drop down to compete as a Welterweight. Before moving down to Welterweight, Almeida fought against Kendall Grove as a Middleweight at UFC 101: Declaration on August 8, 2009, defeating Grove via unanimous decision.
Almeida was expected to make his Welterweight debut against Jon Fitch at UFC 106, but was forced off the event after suffering an injury during training. Instead, Almeida would make his Welterweight debut live and free on the SpikeTV portion of UFC 111: St. Pierre vs. Hardy, where he faced Matt Brown, who was on a four-fight win streak. Almeida looked for the takedown early and often in the opening round, but Brown did a solid job of stymying the attack. On the rare occasions Almeida did work the fight to the floor, Brown expertly wall-walked his way back to his feet. Unfortunately for Brown, he simply never found a way to transition into his own offensive strategy. In the second round, Almeida opened a gash near Brown's left eye on the way to the floor, and once there, he moved quickly to mount. Brown tried to scramble away, but Almeida transitioned to the back, locked in a body triangle to hold the position, and then secured the fight-ending rear-naked choke at the 3:30 mark of the frame.
His next fight took place at UFC 117: Silva vs. Sonnen, where he faced off against UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes, who in his last fight defeated Almeida's trainer in Renzo Gracie. When Hughes clipped Almeida with a left hook to the chin, that saw Almeida lose his balance and stagger to a seated position, Hughes instantly saw his opening and capitalized. As Almeida tried to work his way back to his feet, Hughes secured a head lock from the north-south position. Although bent in half while in a standing position, Almeida eventually dropped to his knees, which allowed Hughes to lock in a modified arm-triangle choke. The unique submission was more the result of sheer strength, but Hughes said that technique was involved.
[edit] Ranks and Titles
- 4x Brazilian National Champion
- 1999 Pan American Champion
- 2x Silver Medalist at the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships
