Ricardo Alves Almeida (; born November 29, 1976) is a Brazilian-American former

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 ...

and current Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu grappler residing in

Bordentown, New Jersey Bordentown is a City (New Jersey), city in Burlington County, New Jersey, Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 3,993, an increase of 69 (+1.8%) from the 2010 United ...

. Almeida is a veteran 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 ( ...

, PRIDE Fighting Championships, Grapplers Quest, and a former Middleweight King of Pancrase. In

Pancrase is a Japanese mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Tokyo. It was founded in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. The name was based on pankration, a fighting sport in the An ...

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 sixth degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Renzo Gracie, 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 Akira Shoji (小路晃) (born January 31, 1974) is a retired Japanese mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. He is most known as being a regular in almost all the beginning Pride Fighting Championship Shoji was in Pri ...

. Almeida won his debut fight via unanimous decision. Almeida made a one-off return to

PRIDE Pride is a human Emotion, secondary emotion characterized by a sense of satisfaction with one's Identity (philosophy), identity, performance, or accomplishments. It is often considered the opposite of shame or of humility and, depending on conte ...

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 ''UFC 31: Locked and Loaded '' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey on May 4, 2001. The event was seen live on pay-per-view in the United States, and later ...

against Matt Lindland in a

light heavyweight Light heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight. The light heavyweight class has ...

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 on September 28, 2001, at UFC 33 in his

middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have beg ...

debut. Almeida won the fight via

triangle choke A triangle choke, or sankaku-jime (三角絞) in judo, is a type of figure-four chokehold that encircles the opponent's neck and one arm with the legs in a configuration similar to the shape of a triangle. Applying pressure using both legs and ...

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

Pancrase

In his

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 is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler currently competing in IGF as . A professional MMA competitor since 1996, he was a longtime veteran of PRIDE and Pancrase and has also competed in other mixed martial arts promotion ...

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

, 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 Renzo Gracie 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 (New Jersey), township and the most populous municipality in Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is the largest suburb of Trenton, New Jersey, Trenton, the state's capi ...

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 ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

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 Jon Fitch (born February 24, 1978) is an American retired mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He has competed in the Welterweight (MMA), Welterweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the Professional Fighters League ...

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 Fame The UFC Hall of Fame is a List of halls and walks of fame, 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 a ...

r 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. 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 located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

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

Izod Center Meadowlands Arena (formerly Brendan Byrne Arena, Continental Airlines Arena and Izod Center) is a closed indoor sports and concert venue located in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. Since closing, ...

at the

Meadowlands Sports Complex The Meadowlands Sports Complex is a sports complex located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. The facility is owned and operated by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA). It is named for the New Jersey Meadowlands ...

Personal life

Ricardo resides between Robbinsville, New Jersey, and Sarasota, Florida, 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, Florida.

Career accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** UFC Encyclopedia Awards *** Submission of the Night (One time)

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

, - , Loss , align=center, 13–5 , Mike Pyle , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 128 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

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Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–4 , Matt Hughes , Technical Submission (anaconda choke) , UFC 117 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:15 ,

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–3 , Kendall Grove , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 101 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, 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, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–3 , Patrick Côté , Decision (split) , UFC 86 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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 ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 , Rob Yundt , Submission (guillotine choke) , UFC 81 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:08 ,

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

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 7–2 , Nate Marquardt , Submission (guillotine choke) , Pancrase - Hybrid 10 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:53 ,

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, , - , Win , align=center, 6–2 ,

, Decision (majority) , Pancrase - 10th Anniversary Show , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, Decision (unanimous) , Pancrase - Hybrid 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 3–2 , Osami Shibuya , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Pancrase - Spirit 8 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:25 ,

, Japan , Return to Light Heavyweight. , - , Loss , align=center, 2–2 , Andrei Semenov , TKO (punches) , UFC 35 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:01 ,

Uncasville, Connecticut Uncasville is a village in the town of Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is located 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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, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:21 ,

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

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References

External links

Ricardo Almeida Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Almeida, Ricardo Living people 1976 births Martial artists from New York City People from Weehawken, New Jersey People from Bordentown, New Jersey American mixed martial artists 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 Pancrase champions