Rich Attonito (born June 16, 1977) is a retired American

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 ...

. A professional from 2004 until 2011, he fought in the

UFC 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 ...

Cage Warriors Cage Warriors (CW) is an Irish owned mixed martial arts promotion, based in London, England. The promotion was established in 2001 and staged its first MMA event in London in July, 2002. Many MMA stars have made their names under the Cage Warri ...

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 ...

, and was contestant on the 11th season of ''

The Ultimate Fighter ''The Ultimate Fighter'' is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pilgrim Media Group currently airing on ESPN+. It previously aired for fourteen ...

''.

Background

Born and raised 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 ...

, Attonito was a 2001 graduate of Hofstra University in Long Island. Attonito wrestled several different weight classes as a member of the Pride wrestling team including the 167 lbs. and 197 lbs. divisions, picking up the team's award for "Most Improved Wrestler" in 2000.

Mixed martial arts

Early career

Attonito's interest in mixed martial arts was piqued when he saw his teammate from college,

Phil Baroni Philip George Baroni (April 16, 1976) is a retired American mixed martial artist, professional wrestler and former kickboxer. A professional MMA competitor since 2000, Baroni has competed for the UFC, PRIDE, Strikeforce, Cage Rage, DREAM, Eli ...

, take the UFC by storm. However, he did not jump headlong into the sport until 2004, when, while working as a personal trainer in New Jersey, one of his coworkers and former heavyweight boxing title-contender Leo Loiacono, challenged him to make the most of his athletic abilities by competing in MMA. Attonito began training in boxing and jiu jitsu and soon took his first fight six months later. After his fifth fight, in 2006, members of the American Top Team camp approached Attonito to see if he would be interested in training with them down in Florida.

The Ultimate Fighter

In March 2010, Attonito was announced as part of the eleventh season of ''

''. In his first fight, to gain entry into the TUF house, Attonito defeated Lyle Steffens via unanimous decision (20–18, 20–18, 20–18). Chuck Liddell selected Attonito as his second pick, making him the 4th overall pick out of 14 competitors. Rich's second fight came was against

Kyacey Uscola ''The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz'' (also known as ''The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Franklin'' for the final episode of the season) is the eleventh installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)-produced rea ...

. The fight ended due to Uscola throwing two illegal knees in round one, giving Rich the DQ win. After an MRI, it was revealed that Rich had broken his hand during the fight and will be unable to continue in the tournament. Rich's spot in the quarter-finals of the competition was taken by

Court McGee Courtney Scott "Court" McGee (born December 12, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional MMA competitor since 2007, McGee mostly fought in local prom ...

, after perceived controversy over his loss to

Nick Ring Nick Ring (born February 10, 1979) is a Professional boxer and mixed martial artist who is best known for competing in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional MMA competitor since 2002, Ring fought in var ...

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Rich made his UFC debut at TUF 11 Finale against Team Ortiz fighter, Jamie Yager. He won the fight via TKO in the second round. At UFC Fight Night: Marquardt vs. Palhares, Attonito faced debuting Brazilian

Rafael Natal Rafael Natal Diniz Franca () is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist. A professional from 2005 until 2017, he is best known for his 17-fight stint competing for the UFC. Mixed martial arts career Background Natal started Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ...

. Attonito won the fight via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27). During the first round of the fight, Attonito dropped Natal with a right hook which almost prompted the referee to stop the fight. The rest of the fight was close, however the knockdown was enough for Attonito to take the decision. Attonito fought David Branch on December 4, 2010 at

The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale ''The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck'' is the twelfth installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship produced reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter''. The UFC and Spike TV held open tryouts on April 1, 2010, in Charlot ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision, getting dominated for all three rounds by Branch's superior ground skills. Attonito was expected to drop to welterweight and face Matt Brown on June 26, 2011 at

UFC on Versus 4 ''UFC Live: Kongo vs. Barry'' (also known as ''UFC on Versus 4'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 26, 2011, at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The event was broadcast on Versus ...

. However,

Martin Kampmann Martin Kampmann Frederiksen (born April 17, 1982) is a retired Danish professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is a former Cage Warriors World Middleweight Champion. Background Originally from Aar ...

was forced out of his bout with

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the ...

with an injury and Brown was chosen as his replacement, while Attonito faced Daniel Roberts. He won the fight via unanimous decision (29-27, 30-27, 29-28). Attonito faced promotional newcomer

Jake Hecht Jake Hecht (born ) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2006, Hecht fought mostly in regional promotions across the midwestern and southeastern United States before si ...

on December 10, 2011 at

UFC 140 ''UFC 140: Jones vs. Machida'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 10, 2011 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was the penultimate event for the UFC in 2011. The event feat ...

. He lost the fight via TKO in the second round. Attonito was expected to face

Rick Story Rick Thomas Story (born August 28, 1984) is a retired American mixed martial artist. A professional from 2007-2018, he last competed for the Professional Fighters League, but is better known for his 19-fight tenure with the UFC. Background Stor ...

on June 22, 2012 at

UFC on FX 4 The year 2012 was the 20th year in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. 2012 started with UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes and ended with UFC 155: dos Santos vs. Velasquez 2 ...

. However, Attonito was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by

Papy Abedi Mwimbi Papy Abedi (born June 30, 1978) is a Congolese-Swedish mixed martial artist who last competed in 2017. A professional competitor since 2006, he formerly fought for the UFC. Biography Abedi was born in 1978 in Kinshasa, Zaire (now Democrat ...

. Attonito was briefly linked to a bout against promotional newcomer Gunnar Nelson in a catchweight bout, contested at 175 lb. on September 29, 2012 at

UFC on Fuel TV 5 ''UFC on Fuel TV: Struve vs. Miocic'' (also known as ''UFC on Fuel TV 5'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 29, 2012, at Capital FM Arena in Nottingham, United Kingdom. Background Jörg ...

, replacing an injured Pascal Krauss. However, Attonito had reservations about taking the short notice bout due to the weight cut requirements and

DaMarques Johnson DaMarques Johnson (born June 28, 1982) is a retired American mixed martial artist. He competed for the UFC and King of the Cage and was the Welterweight runner-up on '' The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom''. Background Johnso ...

took on Nelson instead. After turning down the fight with Nelson at both 170 lbs. and at 175 lb.

catchweight A catchweight is a term used in combat sports, such as boxing or mixed martial arts, to describe a weight limit that does not adhere to the traditional limits for weight classes. In boxing, a catchweight is negotiated prior to weigh-ins, which are ...

, Attonito was released from the UFC.

Mixed martial arts record

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Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

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Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

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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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The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale ''The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz'' (also known as ''The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Franklin'' for the final episode of the season) is the eleventh installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)-produced rea ...

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:25 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–3 , Gregory Babene , Decision (unanimous) , XC-1: Xtreme MMA Championship , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, Italy , , - , Win , align=center, 6–3 , Uber Gallegos , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , KOTC: Hurricane , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:31 , Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, United States , Return to Middleweight. , - , Loss , align=center, 5–3 , Isidro Gonzalez , Submission (armbar) , Cage Warriors 36: USA Destruction , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:21 , Orlando, Florida, United States ,

debut. , - , Win , align=center, 5–2 , Ryan Hodge , TKO (punches) , WFC 6: Battle in the Bay , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:23 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 3–2 ,

Bristol Marunde Bristol Marunde (born April 20, 1982) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division. He was a contestant on '' The Ultimate Fighter: Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson'', and has competed for the UFC, Strikeforce, ...

, TKO (punches) , Euphoria: USA vs. Russia , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:57 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Lance Everson , Decision (unanimous) , Reality Fighting 9 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , Won the vacant Reality Fighting Light Heavyweight Championship. , - , Win , align=center, 2–1 , Mark Raposa , TKO (punches) , Mass Destruction 18 , , align=center, N/A , align=center, N/A , Boston, Massachusetts, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–1 , Mike Marshall , Decision (split) , Mass Destruction 16 , , align=center, N/A , align=center, N/A , Boston, Massachusetts, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Mike Mitchell , TKO (punches) , Mass Destruction 15 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:26 , Boston, Massachusetts, United States ,

References

External links

*
Official UFC Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Attonito, Rich American male mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Living people Mixed martial artists from New Jersey American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu American male sport wrestlers Amateur wrestlers American sportspeople of Italian descent 1977 births Sportspeople from Elizabeth, New Jersey Hofstra University alumni People from Coconut Creek, Florida Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters