Rico Chiapparelli is an American former

wrestler 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 diffe ...

and

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

trainer. Being from

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

, Chiapparelli became known as the "Baltimore Butcher." He attended

Mount Saint Joseph High School Mount Saint Joseph High School (commonly MSJ or Mount Saint Joe) is a Catholic college preparatory school and secondary school / high school for young men from ninth to twelfth grade sponsored by the Xaverian Brothers and founded in 1876. It is ...

in Baltimore, where he was a Junior National Champion as a senior. Chiapparelli then attended the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

, where he was a standout wrestler. While at Iowa, he was an NCAA National Champion in 1987 at 177 lbs. After college, he competed in

freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling. It is one of two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games, along with Greco-Roman wrestling, Greco-Roman. scholastic wrestling, High school wrestling and men's collegiate wrestling in the U ...

in the men's senior level, and went on to become the USAW National Champion in 1989 at 180.5 lbs. He would make himself famous in MMA by founding the team Real American Wrestling. Currently, Chiapparelli is a mixed martial arts, submission wrestling, and wrestling instructor.

Mixed martial arts career

Having trained Brazilian jiu-jitsu under

Renzo Gracie Renzo Gracie (; born March 11, 1967) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and 7th degree coral belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner and coach. A third generation member of the Gracie family, he is the grandson of Gracie jiu-jitsu co-founder C ...

,Vale Tudo Relics: When Men Landed on MARS
/ref> Chiapparelli got into MMA when he was asked by his friend and wrestling colleague

Tom Erikson Tom Erikson (born July 6, 1964) is an American former amateur wrestler and mixed martial artist who competed in the super heavyweight division. Weighing between and throughout his career, "The Big Cat" began wrestling at an early age and was ...

to corner him in his debut for the 1996's MARS tournament.MMA History XVI: Rico Chiapparelli and the RAW Team
/ref> Though his participation on the event cost him his relationship with Gracie, after learning of the business and the value of wrestling in the sport, Chiapparelli formed the team RAW or Real American Wrestling. It was soon joined by Erikson,

Dan Henderson Daniel Jeffery Henderson (born August 24, 1970) is an American former mixed martial artist and Olympic wrestler, who last competed as a Middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was the last Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champi ...

Randy Couture Randall Duane Couture (; born June 22, 1963) is an American mixed martial arts commentator, actor, former United States Army sergeant, former professional mixed martial artist, and former Collegiate wrestling, collegiate and Greco-Roman wrestlin ...

Frank Trigg Frank Trigg (born May 7, 1972) is an American retired mixed martial artist, color commentator, pro wrestler, MMA referee and TV host. Trigg is a veteran of the UFC, Pride Fighting Championships, BAMMA, World Fighting Alliance, and has made prof ...

and

Vladimir Matyushenko Vladimir Vladimirovich Matyushenko (born 4 January 1971) is a Belarusian retired mixed martial artist. A professional from 1997 until 2014, he competed for Bellator MMA, the UFC, Affliction, Jungle Fight, and is the former IFL light heavyw ...

, among others. Chiapparelli had his first and only MMA match on September 13, 2003, beating Luiz Pantera in the

Jungle Fight Jungle Fight is a Brazilian mixed martial arts and kickboxing promotion. It was created in 2003. The name is derived from its origin, the Amazonas state in Brazil. History Jungle Fight was founded by pioneering MMA fighter and long-time Brazi ...

promotion in Brazil.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 1-0 , Luiz Pantera , Decision (unanimous) ,

Jungle Fight 1 The year 2003 is the first year in the history of Jungle Fight, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Brazil. In 2003 Jungle Fight held 1 event, ''Jungle Fight 1''. Events list Jungle Fight 1 Jungle Fight 1 was an event held on Septemb ...

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Manaus, Amazonas,

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, , -

References

American male sport wrestlers Iowa Hawkeyes wrestlers University of Iowa alumni Living people Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-wrestling-bio-stub