Seth Christopher Petruzelli (born December 3, 1979), nicknamed "The Silverback", is an American retired

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 ...

, kickboxer, professional wrestler and entrepreneur. Petruzelli competed in the

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

and

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 ...

divisions for the UFC, WEC, EliteXC,

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

, BAMMA, and Bellator. On October 21, 2015, Petruzelli signed with professional wrestling promotion WWE, to work at their Performance Center as a striking coach. he was wrestling 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 Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 86,395; it was estimated to have grown to 95,949 in 2022, making it the List o ...

. He began training in

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

at the age of seven and continued on training through high school. Petruzelli attended Bishop Verot High School as a freshman before transferring to Mariner High School to take advantage of the school's elite

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 ...

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 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 ...

. 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 The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in unincorporated area, unincorporated Orange County, Florida, United States. It is part of the State University System of Florida. ...

Mixed martial arts career

Petruzelli was a member of the cast of the Ultimate Fighting Championship's '' The Ultimate Fighter 2'' as a

. 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.

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 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 Ken Shamrock 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 Ken Shamrock 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 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 or Matt Hamill depending on whoever loses the fight. On November 13, he faced Karlos Vemola at

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 ...

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 former mixed martial artist who competed in the Heavyweight (MMA), heavyweight division. A professional competitor from 1999 to 2019, he competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC, ...

at Bellator 48. 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. He faced Muhammed Lawal in the opening round of a 4-man tournament at Bellator 96 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) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

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

Kickboxing record

, - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , 2012-09-08 , , Loss , , align=left, Xavier Vigney , , K-1 World Grand Prix 2012 in Los Angeles , ,

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

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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 ...

, , TKO (corner stoppage) , , 2 , , 2:18 , , 0-2 , - , - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , 2004-03-27 , , Loss , , align=left, Bob Sapp , , K-1 World Grand Prix 2004 in Saitama , ,

Saitama, Japan is the capital and largest city of Saitama Prefecture, Japan. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance. , the city had an estimated population of 1,324,854 ...

, , TKO (arm injury) , , 1 , , 0:57 , , 0-1 , - , colspan=9 , ''Legend'':

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 14–8 , Muhammed Lawal , KO (punch) , Bellator 96 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:35 ,

Thackerville, Oklahoma Thackerville is a town in Love County, Oklahoma, United States. It is located near the Texas state border. The population was 400 at the 2020 census. Geography Thackerville is situated near the intersection of U.S. Highway 77 and State High ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–7 , Jacob Noe , TKO (punches) , Bellator 85 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:51 ,

Irvine, California Irvine () is a Planned community, planned city in central Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was named in 1888 for the landowner James Irvine. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the ...

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, KO (punches) , Bellator 48 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:21 , Uncasville, Connecticut, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–6 , Dave Mewborn , TKO (punches) , World Extreme Fighting 46 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:06 ,

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–6 , Karlos Vémola , TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:46 ,

Oberhausen Oberhausen (, ) is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen ( ). The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Rout ...

, Germany , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–5 , Ricardo Romero , Submission (straight armbar) , UFC 116 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:05 ,

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, 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, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, 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. Tampa'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 t ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–4 , Kimbo Slice , TKO (punches) , EliteXC: Heat , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:14 ,

Sunrise, Florida Sunrise is a city in central-western Broward County, Florida, Broward County, Florida, United States, and is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area. The population was 97,335 at the time of the 2020 census. History Early history In ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–4 , Sean Sallee , TKO , Knight Fight , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:58 ,

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, 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 the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

, 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 Hollywood is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb in the Miami metropolitan area. The population of Hollywood was 153,067 as of 2020, making it the Broward County#Communities, third-largest city in Broward County, th ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–2 ,

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

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Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–2 , Brian Hawkins , TKO (punches) , KOTC 21: Invasion , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:21 ,

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

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Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–2 , Mike Ward , TKO (doctor stoppage) , Cage Wars 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:50 ,

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–2 , Victor Majuskaus , TKO (slam and punches) , WVF: Battlejax , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:29 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–2 , Gan McGee , Submission (heel hook) , WEC 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:25 , Lemoore, California, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–1 , Mario Neto , Submission (rear-naked choke) , World Vale Tudo Championship , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 17:36 ,

Recife Recife ( , ) is the Federative units of Brazil, state capital of Pernambuco, Brazil, on the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of South America. It is the largest urban area within both the North Region, Brazil, North and the Northeast R ...

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Personal life

Petruzelli was first married for around 18 months. He and his first wife divorced after conflicts over business and his continuing to fight. Petruzelli then married Traci, and they have a daughter together.

References

External links

*
Seth Petruzelli Interview
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Petruzelli, Seth 1979 births Living people American male mixed martial artists American people 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 Bishop Verot High School alumni