Seth Christopher Petruzelli (born December 3, 1979) is an American retired mixed martial artist,

kickboxer Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general ...

, professional wrestler and entrepreneur. Petruzelli competed in the

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

and

Light Heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruise ...

divisions for the UFC, WEC, EliteXC, King of the Cage, BAMMA, and

Bellator Bellator, warrior in Latin, may refer to: * Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States * Bishop Bellator of Archaeological site of Sbeitla, Sufetula (5th century) Taxonomy * Bellator (fish), ''Bellator'' (fish), a fis ...

. On October 21, 2015, Petruzelli signed with professional wrestling promotion WWE, to work at their Performance Center as a striking coach. Currently, he wrestles for Major League Wrestling.

Background

Petruzelli was born in

Cape Coral, Florida Cape Coral is a city located in Lee County, Florida, United States, on the Gulf of Mexico. Founded in 1957 and developed as a planned community, the city's population has grown to 194,016 as of the 2020 Census, a rise of 26% from the 2010 Census ...

and is a native of

Fort Myers, Florida Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...

. He began training in

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

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 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. 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 Black Belt may refer to: Martial arts * Black belt (martial arts), an indication of attainment of expertise in martial arts * ''Black Belt'' (magazine), a magazine covering martial arts news, technique, and notable individuals Places * Black B ...

in Shitō-ryū

Karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

and a

Black belt Black Belt may refer to: Martial arts * Black belt (martial arts), an indication of attainment of expertise in martial arts * ''Black Belt'' (magazine), a magazine covering martial arts news, technique, and notable individuals Places * Black B ...

Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

. He eventually went on to study psychology at the University of Central 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 Daniel B. "The Sandman" Christison (born April 26, 1972) is a retired American mixed martial artist. A professional from 2001 until 2010, he fought for the San Jose Razorclaws of the International Fight League, the Ultimate Fighting Champions ...

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 TKO may refer to: Sports * Technical knockout, a professional fighting term * Total Knock Out, a professional wrestling move Music Artists * TKO (band), a rock band from Seattle, Washington * TKO, a pop group led by Katie White Albums * ''TKO ...

. He was offered the fight on short notice after UFC Hall of Famer 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 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 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 2013 in Bellator MMA was the eighth installment of the Bellator MMA, which began on January 17, 2013 and ended on April 4, 2013. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in five weight classes and all of the champions, except the heavyweight cha ...

. 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 ** 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, US , , TKO (right knee) , , 2 , , 1:17 , , 0-3 , - , - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , 2004-05-30 , , Loss , , align=left, Aleksandr Pitchkounov , ,

Kyokushin vs K-1 2004 All Out Battle This is a list of events held and scheduled by the K-1, a kickboxing promotion based in Hong Kong. The first event, K-1 Sanctuary I, took place on March 30, 1993 at Korakuen Hall, Kōrakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. 2023 events 2022 events ...

, , Tokyo, Japan , , TKO (corner stoppage) , , 2 , , 2:18 , , 0-2 , - , - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , 2004-03-27 , , Loss , , align=left,

Bob Sapp Robert Malcolm Sapp (born September 22, 1973) is an American mixed martial artist, kickboxer, professional wrestler, actor, and former American football player. He is currently under contract with Rizin Fighting Federation. Sapp has a combine ...

, , K-1 World Grand Prix 2004 in Saitama , , Saitama, Japan , , 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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–7 , Jacob Noe , TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:51 , Irvine, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–6 , Ricco Rodriguez , 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 the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–6 ,

Karlos Vémola Karel "Karlos" Vémola (born July 1, 1985) is a Czech-British professional mixed martial artist, former bodybuilder, amateur wrestling, wrestler and member of Sokol. A professional competitor since 2008, he became historically the first Ultimate ...

, TKO (punches) , UFC 122 , , 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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–4 , Ryan White , Submission (armbar) , BAMMA 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:07 , Birmingham, England , , - , Win , align=center, 11–4 , Chris Baten , TKO (punches) , Art of Fighting 4: Damage , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:23 , Tampa, Florida, 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, United States, and is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 97,335. Sunrise was incorporated in 1961 and founded ...

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

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–4 , Wilson Gouveia , Submission (guillotine choke) , UFC Fight Night: Stevenson vs. Guillard , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:39 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–3 , Bernard Rutherford , KO (punches) , Ultimate Warrior Challenge , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:47 , Jacksonville, Florida, 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 southern Broward County, Florida, United States, located between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. As of July 1, 2019, Hollywood had a population of 154,817. Founded in 1925, the city grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, and is now ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–2 , Dan Severn , Decision (unanimous) , KOTC 32: Bringing Heat , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Miami, Florida, 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 ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–2 , Rocky Batastini , TKO (punches) , KOTC 18: Sudden Impact , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:04 , Reno, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–2 , Mike Ward , TKO (doctor stoppage) , Cage Wars 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:50 , Portsmouth, England , , - , Win , align=center, 3–2 , Keith Fielder , TKO (corner stoppage) , RSF 6: Mayhem in Myers , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:10 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–2 , Victor Majuskaus , TKO (slam and punches) , WVF: Battlejax , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:29 , Jacksonville, Florida, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–2 , Gan McGee , Submission (heel hook) , WEC 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:25 ,

Lemoore, California Lemoore (formerly, La Tache and Lee Moore's) is a city in Kings County, California, United States. Lemoore is located west-southwest of Hanford, at an elevation of . It is part of the Hanford-Corcoran Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA Code 2 ...

, 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, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Nate Robinson , KO (punch) , WVF: Battlejax , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:29 , Jacksonville, Florida, United States ,

Personal life

Petruzelli was married for around 4 years. He and his first wife divorced after conflicts over business and his continuing to fight. When he retired from fighting in 2013, he became engaged to Analia Romero.

References

External links

Seth Petruzelli Official Bio
*https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1849444048 *https://www.facebook.com/pages/Silverback-Seth-Petruzelli/146795278672784 *https://www.twitter.com/silverbackseth

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Petruzelli, Seth 1979 births Living people American male mixed martial artists American sportspeople 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