Seth Christopher Petruzelli (born December 3, 1979) is an American retired

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 ...

, kickboxer, professional wrestler and entrepreneur. Petruzelli competed in the Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight divisions for the UFC, WEC,

EliteXC Elite Xtreme Combat, also known as EliteXC, was a United States-based mixed martial arts (MMA) organization owned and operated by ProElite. It was founded as a partnership between Showtime Networks and ProElite and officially announced on Decemb ...

King of the Cage King of the Cage (KOTC) is a mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion based in Southern California, United States. History KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock. KOTC features mostly amateur as well as up and coming MMA stars and former mainstr ...

BAMMA BAMMA (British Association of Mixed Martial Arts) was a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United Kingdom. It premiered on June 27, 2009, and was shown on the television channel Bravo. BAMMA events were shown live on ITV4 in the UK and I ...

, and Bellator. On October 21, 2015, Petruzelli signed with professional wrestling promotion

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vari ...

, to work at their Performance Center as a striking coach. Currently, he wrestles for

Major League Wrestling Major League Wrestling (MLW), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in New Rochelle, New York. The promotion was founded in 2002 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by former WWE writer Court Bauer. The promotion markets its product as ...

Background

Petruzelli was born in Cape Coral, Florida and is a native of Fort Myers, Florida. He began training in martial arts at the age of seven and continued on training through high school. Petruzelli attended

Bishop Verot High School Bishop Verot High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Fort Myers, Florida. It is located in the Diocese of Venice, Florida. History Bishop Verot Catholic High School was established in 1962 as Fort Myers Central Catholic High Scho ...

as a freshman before transferring to Mariner High School to take advantage of the school's elite

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

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 Wilson Gouveia (born October 3, 1978) is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist. Gouveia formerly fought in the UFC. He is a 4th degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and is a member of American Top Team. Mixed martial arts career 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 Fame The UFC Hall of Fame is a hall of fame which honors mixed martial artists and MMA personalities, established and maintained by the U.S.-based mixed martial arts promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). In addition to the Ultimate Fighting ...

Ken Shamrock Kenneth Wayne Shamrock (''né'' Kilpatrick; born February 11, 1964) is an American bare-knuckle boxing promoter and semi-retired professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, and kickboxer. He is best known for his time in Ultimate Fighting Cha ...

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

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 ''UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on July 3, 2010, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The show was voted as the Best Major Show in the 2010 Wrestling Observe ...

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 Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz (; born January 23, 1975) is an American mixed martial artist and politician. He is currently signed to the Combate Americas promotion. Ortiz is best known for his stints with the Ultimate Fighting Championship ...

or Matt Hamill depending on whoever loses the fight. On November 13, he faced

Karlos Vemola Karel "Karlos" Vémola (born July 1, 1985) is a Czech-British professional mixed martial artist, former bodybuilder, wrestler and member of Sokol. A professional competitor since 2008, he became historically the first UFC fighter from the Czech ...

UFC 122 ''UFC 122: Marquardt vs. Okami'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 13, 2010 at König Pilsener Arena in Oberhausen, Germany. This event aired on the same day, via tape delay, on Spike TV in the ...

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 Ricco Rodriguez (born August 19, 1977) is an American semi-retired mixed martial artist currently competing in the heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 1999, he has competed for the UFC, PRIDE Fighting Championships, EliteXC, I ...

Bellator 48 2011 in Bellator MMA was the fourth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in multiple Mixed martial arts weight classes, weight classes, including three of the original tournament classes: We ...

. 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 Spike, spikes, or spiking may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Books * ''The Spike'' (novel), a novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave * ''The Spike'' (book), a nonfiction book by Damien Broderick * ''The Spike'', a starship in Peter F. Hamilto ...

. He faced Muhammed Lawal in the opening round of a 4-man tournament at

Bellator 96 2013 in Bellator MMA was the eighth installment of the Bellator MMA, which began on January 17, 2013 and ended on April 4, 2013. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in five weight classes and all of the champions, except the heavyweight ch ...

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 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 ...

** Fight of the Night (Two times) *Ultimate Warrior Challenge **Ultimate Warrior Challenge **Knockout of the Night

Kickboxing record

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K-1 World Grand Prix 2004 in Saitama This is a list of events held and scheduled by the K-1, a kickboxing promotion based in Hong Kong. The first event, K-1 Sanctuary I, took place on March 30, 1993 at Kōrakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. 2023 events 2022 events 2021 events ...

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Mixed martial arts record

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, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:35 ,

Thackerville, Oklahoma Thackerville is a town in Love County, Oklahoma. It is located in South Central Oklahoma. The population was 445 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Ardmore, Oklahoma Micropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Thackerville is located at (33. ...

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, KO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:21 ,

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 ea ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–6 , Dave Mewborn , TKO (punches) , World Extreme Fighting 46 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:06 , Orlando, Florida, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–6 , Karlos Vémola , TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:46 , Oberhausen, Germany , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–5 , Ricardo Romero , Submission (straight armbar) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:05 ,

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 ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–4 , Ryan White , Submission (armbar) , BAMMA 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:07 ,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 11–4 , Chris Baten , TKO (punches) , Art of Fighting 4: Damage , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:23 ,

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

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, Submission (guillotine choke) , UFC Fight Night: Stevenson vs. Guillard , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:39 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–3 , Bernard Rutherford , KO (punches) , Ultimate Warrior Challenge , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:47 ,

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–3 , Matt Hamill , Decision (unanimous) , UFC: Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Hollywood, Florida, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–2 ,

Dan Severn Daniel DeWayne Severn (born June 8, 1958), nicknamed "The Beast", is an American professional wrestler, retired mixed martial artist and amateur wrestler. A UFC Hall of Fame member, Severn is considered one of the leading pioneers of mixed mart ...

, Decision (unanimous) , KOTC 32: Bringing Heat , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–2 , Brian Hawkins , TKO (punches) , KOTC 21: Invasion , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:21 , Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–2 , Rocky Batastini , TKO (punches) , KOTC 18: Sudden Impact , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:04 ,

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

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Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

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Gan McGee Gan McGee (born November 20, 1976) is an American mixed martial artist who has competed for the UFC, PRIDE, WEC and the XFC. Background McGee was born in Bismarck, North Dakota to Marguerite McGee (nee Ohde) and Curtis Warren McGee. McGee do ...

, Submission (heel hook) ,

WEC 1 ''WEC 1: Princes of Pain'' was a mixed martial arts event held on June 30, 2001, at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, California. ''WEC 1s main event was a fight between Dan Severn and Travis Fulton. Results See also ...

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Personal life

Petruzelli was married for around 4 years. He and his first wife divorced after conflicts over business and his continuing to fight. When he retired from fighting in 2013, he became engaged to Analia Romero.

References

External links

Seth Petruzelli Official Bio
*https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1849444048 *https://www.facebook.com/pages/Silverback-Seth-Petruzelli/146795278672784 *https://www.twitter.com/silverbackseth

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Petruzelli, Seth 1979 births Living people American male mixed martial artists American sportspeople of Italian descent Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Florida Mixed martial artists utilizing Shitō-ryū Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American male karateka American male kickboxers Kickboxers from Florida Heavyweight kickboxers American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters