After a long but influential MMA career, 41-year old Pedro Rizzo (20-11) decided to call it quits after his win over Andrew Flores Smith at Face to Face 12 in Brazil. Prior to the fight, Rizzo had taken two years off from fighting but was able to get in one last bout before leaving the sport forever.
After leaving the UFC, Rizzo was a lot less successful, compiling a record of 6-6. In his defense, Rizzo continued to fight respectable talent after his good years were behind him. His six losses came against Sergei Kharitonov, Roman Zentsov, Josh Barnett, Gilbert Yvel, Fedor Emelianenko and Satoshi Ishii. His wins include two over Jeff Monson, one over Gary Goodridge, and another against Ken Shamrock.
Despite his lack of success outside the octagon, “The Rock” Rizzo, first true student of Marco Ruas, has been a major part of the UFC both as a fighter and as a trainer.
Rizzo’s UFC Legacy
During what was highly-considered the Randy Couture era, Rizzo played a major role in the UFC’s heavyweight division. Couture beat Vitor Belfort on October 17 1997 at UFC 15 to become the number one contender for the the heavyweight title. At UFC Japan later that year, Couture beat Maurice Smith via unanimous decision. Couture was stripped of the belt due to contract issues and left the promotion.
After Bas Ruten defeated Kevin Randleman in what some consider a highly-questionable bout for the vacated belt, Randleman was gifted another shot at the championship after Ruten dropped to light heavyweight. Randleman defeated Pete Williams and took on Rizzo in his first defense.
At the time, Rizzo was 4-0 (3 KO/TKO) in the UFC with wins over “Tank” Abbott and Mark Coleman. Randleman was the well-known protege of Coleman which set up the perfect championship bout. In an era riddled with performance enhancing substances, Rizzo entered the fight with a 4-0 UFC record after defeating Tra Telligman and Tsuyoshi Kosaka both via strikes. However, Rizzo lost the fight via unanimous decision.
After losing to Randleman, Rizzo beat both Dan Severn and Josh Barnett to re-enter the UFC title picture. After defeating Rizzo, Randleman lost the title to Couture in his return bout to the UFC. Both these events would culminate in the back-to-back showdown that featured Rizzo and Couture. Their first bout, which was a close unanimous win for Couture, was considered the 2001 Fight of the Year by Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter. It was likely the closest Rizzo would come to a UFC title, with an exhausted Couture taking a brutal beating in round two. In their second bout, Rizzo’s third and final UFC title fight, Couture won with a solid right hook finished with some ground-and-pound.
After the losses to Couture, Rizzo went on a 3-2 run in the UFC. He was clearly not the same fighter and had immense scar tissue from all the wars. After a beautiful knockout win over Andrei Arlovski, Rizzo lost to Gan McGee via doctor stoppage and Vladimir Matyushenko via unanimous decision. McGee broke Rizzo’s nose near the end of the first round and he trouble breathing. Against Matyushenko, Rizzo did quite a bit of damage in the second round but was unable to stay aggressive and lost a close decision. At the time, Rizzo was being criticized for being too much of a counter puncher and, with the UFC’s desire to be more exciting, they wanted him to be more aggressive and use his striking skills more often.
After defeating Ricco Rodriguez, Rizzo left the UFC at just 29 years old to join the much more competitive PRIDE heavyweight division in Japan. He seemed unhappy with his role and frankly, the sport was taking a different route in North America compared to Japan. However, with more time and even better training partners, Rizzo could have had a successful second-coming after winning two straight in the UFC.
He ended his UFC career with a 13-5 record but always fought top level fighters. Not only was he a major part of the UFC’s transition to the modern era of MMA, but he was one of their most celebrated international fighters of all-time. With just one Brazilian fighter, it seems all too perfect to induct Pedro Rizzo, the pioneer of Brazilian Vale Tudo under Marco Ruas, in the UFC Hall of Fame.
Leaving his Mark
When you consider the fighters Rizzo has helped train under the influence of Ruas, his legacy with the UFC grows even stronger. A true practioner of Vale Tudo, Rizzo was the head striking trainer at the once-untouchable Team Black House in Brazil. The gym is home to major household names like Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida and Jose Aldo. All three were past UFC champions in this era of the sport and Aldo is still ranked the best pound-for-pound fighter by the UFC.
Even though he left the UFC far too early to take on better heavyweight competition, he was always a top contender and easily the best Brazilian during the promotion’s early rise. During an era where performance enhancements were not as regulated, Rizzo was an all-natural, full-of-heart type of fighter that paved the way for many Brazilians to follow in his footsteps. He was exciting, technical, and introduced a punishing style of kickboxing that several fighters employ today.
Rizzo never saw UFC gold, but his five year career with the promotion, his revolutionary style of striking and his influence on successful UFC fighters today should be more than enough to earn him a spot in the UFC Hall of Fame.
