Ricardo Alves Almeida (; born November 29, 1976) is a

Brazilian-American Brazilian Americans ( pt, brasileiros americanos or ) are Americans who are of full or partial Brazilian ancestry. The Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimates the Brazilian American population to be 1,775,000, the largest of any Brazilia ...

former

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

and current

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting ( ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

grappler residing in

Bordentown, New Jersey Bordentown is a city in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 3,924.Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

PRIDE Fighting Championships PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts eve ...

, Grapplers Quest, and a former Middleweight King of Pancrase. In Pancrase he had notable wins over Nate Marquardt and

Kazuo Misaki Kazuo Misaki (born April 25, 1976) is a retired Japanese professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 2001 until 2013, he was the 2006 PRIDE Welterweight (183 lbs) Grand Prix Champion, and also competed in Sengoku, Pancr ...

. Almeida trains with and teaches former UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar at his longtime Gracie system gym in Robbinsville, NJ. He also trains former UFC Lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez and The Ultimate Fighter 19 winner Corey Anderson

Background

Almeida is a fourth degree black belt in

under

Renzo Gracie Renzo Gracie (; born March 11, 1967) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A member of the Gracie family of Brazil, Renzo is a 7th Degree Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Carlos Gracie Jr. He is the ...

, and part of the Gracie Barra combat and competition team.

Mixed martial arts career

PRIDE

Almeida made his professional MMA debut on December 9, 2000 at PRIDE 12 against Akira Shoji. Almeida won his debut fight via unanimous decision. Almeida made a one-off return to

PRIDE Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) wh ...

on May 23, 2004 against Ryo Chonan at Pride:Bushido 3. Almeida won via unanimous decision.

UFC

Almeida made his UFC debut on May 4, 2001 at UFC 31 against Matt Lindland in a

light heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruis ...

match. Referee Mario Yamasaki ended the fight in the third round after repeated illegal upkicks from Almeida, giving him a loss via disqualification. His next fight was against

Eugene Jackson Eugene W. Jackson II (December 25, 1916 – October 26, 2001) was an American child actor who was a regular of the ''Our Gang'' short series during the silent Pathé era. Career When he joined the gang, Jackson replaced the series' first ...

on September 28, 2001 at

UFC 33 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

in his middleweight debut. Almeida won the fight via triangle choke in the first round. His next fight would be his last with the UFC for 6 years, fighting Andrei Semenov at UFC 35 on January 11, 2002. Almeida lost the fight via

TKO TKO may refer to: Sports * Technical knockout, a professional fighting term * Total Knock Out, a professional wrestling move Music Artists * TKO (band), a rock band from Seattle, Washington * TKO, a pop group led by Katie White Albums * ''TKO ...

in the second round after Semenov landed hard punches in his UFC debut. Almeida left the UFC in 2002 for Pancrase.

Pancrase

In his Pancrase debut, Almeida fought Osami Shibuya on November 30, 2002 at Pancrase: Spirit 8. He won the fight via rear naked choke in the first round. His next fight was against Ikuhisa Minowa on February 16, 2003 at Pancrase: Hybrid 2. He won the fight via unanimous decision. His next fight was against Yuki Sasaki on April 12, 2003 at Pancrase: Hybrid 4. He won the fight via unanimous decision. His next fight was against

on August 31, 2003 at Pancrase: 10th Anniversary Show. He won the fight via majority decision. After winning 4 fights in a row with Pancrase, Almeida was booked for a title fight against Nate Marquardt to become the next Middleweight King Of Pancrase. They fought on November 30, 2003 at Pancrase: Hybrid 10. Almeida tackled Marquardt and was able to lock in a guillotine choke and submit Marquardt in the first round, becoming the new Middleweight King Of Pancrase. Controversy began after Almeida did not release the choke for a few seconds after Marquardt tapped and the referee stepped in. This frustrated Marquardt which caused him to throw a punch at Almeida. Almeida's cornermen intervened in the conflict, with

kicking Marquardt in the face. Both men reconciled and apologised shortly after the incident. He vacated the title in July 2004 and announced his retirement.

Hiatus

Almeida retired for a four-year period after a six-fight win streak to focus on running his Jiu-Jitsu school in

Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey Hamilton Township is a township in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is the largest suburb of Trenton, the state's capital, which is located to the township's west. The township is within the New York metropolitan area as defined ...

Return to UFC

Almeida came out of retirement and returned to the UFC in 2008. His return bout in the UFC occurred at UFC 81, where he won by submitting Rob Yundt via guillotine choke at 1:08 in the first round. Almeida's next fight was against top fighter Patrick Cote at UFC 86, where he lost a close split decision. Almeida returned at UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann, this time on the preliminary card, to face Matt Horwich, winning by unanimous decision. His next fight took place on August 8 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

against Kendall Grove at UFC 101. Almeida won by outgrappling his opponent for the majority of the bout and controlling the fight to earn a unanimous decision victory. He was scheduled to fight

Jon Fitch Jonathan Parker Fitch (born February 24, 1978) is an American retired mixed martial artist. He has competed in the Welterweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the Professional Fighters League (PFL), and most recently f ...

at UFC 106 but had to withdraw due to a knee injury suffered while training. Almeida faced Matt Brown on March 27, 2010, at UFC 111 in his welterweight debut. Almeida defeated Brown by rear naked choke at 2:30 in round 2. Almeida faced former UFC Welterweight Champion and UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes on August 7, 2010, at UFC 117 and lost via technical submission due to a Dave Schultz front headlock. Almeida faced T. J. Grant on December 11, 2010, at UFC 124. Almeida defeated Grant by unanimous decision. Almeida faced Mike Pyle on March 19, 2011, at

UFC 128 ''UFC 128: Shogun vs. Jones'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 19, 2011, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Background This event was expected to take place in Abu Dhab ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Retirement

Almeida retired for the second time on March 30, 2011, saying that he could not focus 100 percent on fighting, citing his family, his son (who was diagnosed with autism), and teaching at his academies as other areas of his life that needed attention. He added that he would continue to support the UFC and teammates such as Frankie Edgar, Kris McCray, Eddie Alvarez, and Corey Anderson.

MMA Judge

A week after his retirement, Almeida became a professional MMA judge in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

. On May 5, 2012, he made his major-event debut as a judge at the UFC on FOX 3 card at the Izod Center at the Meadowlands Sports Complex.

Personal life

Ricardo resides between Robbinsville, NJ and Sarasota, FL with his family. He is the head instructor and owner at Ricardo Almeida Brazilian jiu-jitsu School located in Robbinsville Township, New Jersey and in Lakewood Ranch, FL.

Grappling credentials

ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship ADCC 2003 88–98 kg: 4th place ADCC 2001 88–98 kg: 2nd place Openweight: 4th place ADCC 2000 Openweight: 3rd place ADCC 1999 88–98 kg: 3rd place ADCC 1998 88–98 kg: 2nd place CBJJ Pan American Championships 1999 Brown Belt pesado: 1st Place CBJJ Brazilian Championships 1997 Brown Belt Pesado: 1st Place 1996 Purple Belt Médio: 1st Place Purple Belt Open Weight: 3rd Place IBJJF Pan American No-Gi Championship 2012 Black belt Meio-Pesado: 1st Place IBJJF No-Gi Worlds Championship 2013 Black Belt Masters: 1st Place

Mixed martial arts record

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Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat, seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and the second largest city within the New Yo ...

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Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

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Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–3 , Matt Horwich , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 , Ryo Chonan , Decision (unanimous) , Pride Bushido 3 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of ...

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Tokyo, Japan Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.4 ...

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Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

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Uncasville, Connecticut Uncasville is an area in the town of Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is a village in southeastern Montville, at the mouth of the Oxoboxo River where it flows into the Thames River. The name is now applied more generally to all of the ...

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Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...

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References

External links

Ricardo Almeida Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy
* *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Almeida, Ricardo Living people 1976 births Sportspeople from New York City People from Weehawken, New Jersey People from Bordentown, New Jersey American sportspeople of Brazilian descent American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu American male mixed martial artists Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Mixed martial artists from New Jersey Sportspeople from Burlington County, New Jersey People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters