Seth Petruzelli

Last updated
Seth Petruzelli
BornSeth Christopher Petruzelli
(1979-12-03) December 3, 1979 (age 46)
Cape Coral, Florida, United States
Other namesThe Silverback
Height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Division Heavyweight
Light Heavyweight
Reach75 in (191 cm)
Fighting out of Orlando, Florida, United States
Team The Jungle MMA and Fitness
Rank3rd degree Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
4th degree black belt in Shitō-ryū
Years active2000–2013 (MMA)
Kickboxing record
Total3
Losses3
By knockout3
Mixed martial arts record
Total22
Wins14
By knockout12
By submission1
By decision1
Losses8
By knockout3
By submission4
By decision1
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
Last updated on: September 8, 2012

Seth Christopher Petruzelli (born December 3, 1979), nicknamed "The Silverback", [1] is an American retired mixed martial artist, kickboxer, professional wrestler and entrepreneur. Petruzelli competed in the Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight divisions for the UFC, WEC, EliteXC, King of the Cage, BAMMA, and Bellator. On October 21, 2015, Petruzelli signed with professional wrestling promotion WWE, to work at their Performance Center as a striking coach. [2] As of October 2017 he was wrestling for Major League Wrestling. [3]

Contents

Background

Petruzelli was born in Cape Coral, Florida and is a native of Fort Myers, Florida. He began training in karate 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 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. [4]

Mixed martial arts career

Petruzelli was a member of the cast of the Ultimate Fighting Championship's The Ultimate Fighter 2 as a Heavyweight. 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 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. [5]

On October 10, 2008, six days after the fight with Slice, he told the radio show The Monsters in the Morning :

"The promoters kinda hinted to me and they gave me the money to stand and throw with him, they didn't want me to take him down. Let's just put it that way. It was worth my while to try and stand up, punch him." [6] [7]

EliteXC Vice President Jared Shaw immediately denied what could be perceived as them trying to fix the fight, [6] and Petruzelli later clarified his statement telling respectively Yahoo! Sports and FiveOuncesofPain.com:

What that meant was they offer a knockout bonus, submission bonuses, fight of the night bonuses. I think it just got misconstrued. I wanted to have an exciting fight and I wanted the knock out bonus so I wanted to keep it standing. [...] They just said, ‘we want to see an exciting fight no matter what happens.’ I took it as I wanted the knockout bonus. [6]

What was meant to be said was that I wanted to keep the fight standing for myself because I knew that was what the crowd, the promoters, and everyone wanted to see because that’s more exciting than just taking someone to the ground. That was my thing only. I wanted to keep it exciting so I decided to keep it standing. It had nothing to do with anybody else. That was all me. [8]

On October 23, 2008, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation concluded its investigation of the bout and found no wrongdoing. [9]

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. [10]

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. [11]

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. [12]

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.[ citation needed ]

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).[ citation needed ]

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.[ citation needed ]

Petruzelli competed in Bellator's Light Heavyweight summer series tournament on Spike. [13] 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. [14]

Championships and accomplishments

Kickboxing record

Kickboxing record
0 wins (0 KOs), 3 losses, 0 draws
DateResultOpponentEventLocationMethodRoundTimeRecord
2012-09-08Loss Flag of the United States.svg Xavier VigneyK-1 World Grand Prix 2012 in Los Angeles Los Angeles, California, USTKO (right knee)21:170-3
2004-05-30Loss Flag of Russia.svg Aleksandr Pitchkounov Kyokushin vs K-1 2004 All Out Battle Tokyo, Japan TKO (corner stoppage)22:180-2
2004-03-27Loss Flag of the United States.svg Bob Sapp K-1 World Grand Prix 2004 in Saitama Saitama, Japan TKO (arm injury)10:570-1
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw/No contest   Notes

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
22 matches14 wins8 losses
By knockout123
By submission14
By decision11
Res.RecordOpponentMethodEventDateRoundTimeLocationNotes
Loss14–8 Muhammed Lawal KO (punch) Bellator 96 June 19, 201311:35 Thackerville, Oklahoma, United StatesBellator 2013 Summer Series Light Heavyweight Tournament Semifinal.
Loss14–7 Jacob Noe TKO (punches) Bellator 85 January 17, 201312:51 Irvine, California, United StatesBellator Season 8 Light Heavyweight Tournament Quarterfinal.
Win14–6 Ricco Rodriguez KO (punches) Bellator 48 August 20, 201114:21 Uncasville, Connecticut, United StatesCatchweight (230 lb) bout.
Win13–6Dave MewbornTKO (punches)World Extreme Fighting 46April 22, 201113:06 Orlando, Florida, United States
Loss12–6 Karlos Vémola TKO (punches) UFC 122 November 13, 201013:46 Oberhausen, Germany
Loss12–5 Ricardo Romero Submission (straight armbar) UFC 116 July 3, 201023:05 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win12–4Ryan WhiteSubmission (armbar) BAMMA 3 May 15, 201011:07 Birmingham, England
Win11–4Chris BatenTKO (punches)Art of Fighting 4: DamageAugust 22, 200912:23 Tampa, Florida, United States
Win10–4 Kimbo Slice TKO (punches) EliteXC: Heat October 4, 200810:14 Sunrise, Florida, United States Heavyweight bout.
Win9–4Sean SalleeTKOKnight FightOctober 27, 200712:58 Orlando, Florida, United States
Loss8–4 Wilson Gouveia Submission (guillotine choke) UFC Fight Night: Stevenson vs. Guillard April 5, 200720:39 Las Vegas, Nevada, United StatesFight of the Night.
Win8–3Bernard RutherfordKO (punches)Ultimate Warrior ChallengeFebruary 2, 200711:47 Jacksonville, Florida, United StatesKnockout of the Night.
Loss7–3 Matt Hamill Decision (unanimous) UFC: Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter October 10, 200635:00 Hollywood, Florida, United States Light Heavyweight debut. Fight of the Night.
Win7–2 Dan Severn Decision (unanimous) KOTC 32: Bringing Heat January 24, 200435:00 Miami, Florida, United States
Win6–2Brian HawkinsTKO (punches) KOTC 21: Invasion February 21, 200312:21 Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
Win5–2Rocky BatastiniTKO (punches) KOTC 18: Sudden Impact November 1, 200214:04 Reno, Nevada, United States
Win4–2Mike WardTKO (doctor stoppage)Cage Wars 1December 23, 200112:50 Portsmouth, England
Win3–2Keith FielderTKO (corner stoppage)RSF 6: Mayhem in MyersDecember 29, 200112:10 Fort Myers, Florida, United States
Win2–2Victor MajuskausTKO (slam and punches)WVF: BattlejaxNovember 10, 200110:29 Jacksonville, Florida, United States
Loss1–2 Gan McGee Submission (heel hook) WEC 1 June 30, 200111:25 Lemoore, California, United States
Loss1–1Mario NetoSubmission (rear-naked choke)World Vale Tudo ChampionshipJune 9, 2001117:36 Recife, Brazil
Win1–0Nate RobinsonKO (punch)WVF: BattlejaxAugust 26, 200011:29 Jacksonville, Florida, United States

Personal life

Petruzelli was first married for around 18 months. [15] He and his first wife divorced after conflicts over business and his continuing to fight. [16]

Petruzelli then married Traci, and they have a daughter together. [17]

References

  1. ↑ Okamoto, Brett; Gross, Josh (14 June 2025). "Seth Petruzelli (Light Heavyweight) MMA Profile". ESPN. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  2. ↑ "Seth Petruzelli Signs With WWE As Striking Coach At The Performance Center • MMA News". 21 October 2015.
  3. ↑ "Seth Petruzelli MLW Profile". 5 October 2017.
  4. ↑ "Seth Petruzelli - Official UFC® Profile". www.ufc.com. 31 August 2022.
  5. ↑ "Petruzelli Shocks Slice". Sherdog. Retrieved 2008-10-05.
  6. 1 2 3 "Petruzelli in center of Elite XC storm". Yahoo. 7 October 2008.
  7. ↑ "Monsters in the Morning interview with Seth Petruzelli". WTKS-FM. October 6, 2008.
  8. ↑ Caplan, Seth (October 6, 2008). "Petruzelli disputes reports he received a bribe to keep Slice fight a standup affair". FiveOunceOfPain.com.
  9. ↑ Franklin McNeil (23 October 2008). "ProElite exonerated of wrongdoing in Slice-Petruzelli fight". ESPN.
  10. ↑ "Ken Shamrock vs Seth Petruzelli set for IUF: 'The Return of Buluc' on March 6 in Cancun". mmamania.com. 4 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
  11. ↑ "Seth Petruzelli rejoins UFC, meets Ricardo Romero on UFC 116 preliminary card". MMAjunkie. Archived from the original on 2010-06-08. Retrieved 2010-06-04.
  12. ↑ "Seth Petruzelli released by UFC". fiveouncesofpain.com. November 23, 2010.
  13. ↑ "King Mo Lawal Slated to Return as Part of Bellator Summer Series Tournament - MMAWeekly.com". www.mmaweekly.com. 10 April 2013.
  14. ↑ "Seth Petruzelli announces retirement following KO loss at Bellator 96". MMAjunkie.com. 21 June 2013. Retrieved 2013-06-21.
  15. ↑ Fighters Only (16 December 2008). "Petruzelli agrees to Kimbo Slice rematch". Archived from the original on 2021-12-21 – via YouTube.
  16. ↑ "ThatMMAGuy interviews Seth Petruzelli". 28 April 2010.
  17. ↑ "Seth Petruzelli "The Kimbo Killer" Announces Retirement From Fighting - MMAWeekly.com". www.mmaweekly.com. 21 June 2013.
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