Jordan Rinaldi (born September 25, 1987) is an American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

. He was the welterweight Complete Devastation champion. Rinaldi competed in

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

(UFC).

Background

Rinaldi was born in Olean, New York. His family would later move to

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

, where Rinaldi grew up with his two older brothers and three stepsisters. He graduated from David W. Butler High School in nearby

Matthews, North Carolina Matthews is a town in southeastern Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, United States. It is a suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte. The population was 29,435 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

. Even though he played

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

at a young age, as a late bloomer with only a 93-pound body weight frame, he followed his brother and started

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

during his freshman year in high school. Rinaldi attended the

University of North Carolina at Charlotte The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte, or simply Charlotte) is a public research university in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. UNC Charlotte offers 24 doctoral, 66 master's, and 79 bachelor's degree programs thr ...

after high school and worked at a car wash station part-time. His coworker at the car wash, who was a BJJ practitioner, introduced him to BJJ and since then he has transitioned from wrestling to MMA.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Rinaldi fought in a number of promotions including

World Series of Fighting The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) promot ...

(WSOF) and Resurrection Fighting Alliance (RFA) during his early MMA career. He picked up eight stoppages in 12 professional career wins since his 2010 debut, noticeably held wins over former UFC veterans

Dennis Bermudez Dennis Ross Bermudez (born December 13, 1986) is a retired American mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competed in the Featherweight (MMA), Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC. Bermudez has been a professi ...

, Diego Saraiva and Clay Harvison. He held a 5 fight winning streak prior to signing with the UFC. Rinaldi competed for the featherweight title for Resurrection Fighting Alliance (now known as

Legacy Fighting Alliance The Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Houston, Texas. It was created as a result of the Legacy Fighting Championship and Resurrection Fighting Alliance merg ...

) in 2012 and lost the fight to Jared Downing. He was the former Welterweight champion for Complete Devastation promotion where he submitted Tenyeh Dixon who missed the welterweight upper limit of 22 lbs on that fight.

The Ultimate Fighter

Rinaldi was one of the contestants for the UFC TV MMA fighting competition, The Ultimate Fighter 15 (TUF 15) also known as The Ultimate Fighter: Live in 2012. He faced Joe Proctor during the entry round and lost the fight via submission on round 1 and failed to be accepted into the TUF house.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Rinaldi made his promotional debut as a short notice replacement, filling in for Carlos Diego Ferreira who was pulled out from the fight due to a potential USADA violation, against Abel Trujillo on May 29, 2017 at UFC Fight Night: Almeida vs. Garbrandt. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Rinaldi next faced Álvaro Herrera on August 5, 2017 at UFC Fight Night: Pettis vs. Moreno. He won this fight via submission ( Von Flue choke) in round one. The submission victory was Rinaldi's first in the UFC. He is also the fourth fighter in UFC history to have defeated an opponent with a Von Flue Choke submission. Rinaldi faced Gregor Gillespie on January 27, 2018 at UFC on Fox: Jacaré vs. Brunson 2. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round. Rinaldi faced Jason Knight on November 3, 2018 at UFC 230. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Rinaldi faced Arnold Allen on March 16, 2019 at UFC Fight Night 147. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. On May 16, 2019 it was reported that Rinaldi was released by UFC.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

*Complete Devastation **Complete Devastation Welterweight Champion (One time) vs. Tenyeh Dixon

Personal life

Rinaldi works as a corporate financial analyst and he earned his BS in Accounting and BSBA in Finance degrees from

Mixed martial arts record

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London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

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New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

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Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the List of municipalities in North Carolina, fifth-most populous ...

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Brian Ortega Brian Martin Ortega (born February 21, 1991) is an American professional Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Featherweight (MMA), Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professiona ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rinaldi, Jordan Living people 1987 births American male mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu People from Olean, New York Sportspeople from Charlotte, North Carolina Mixed martial artists from North Carolina Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu David W. Butler High School alumni