Kurt Joseph Pellegrino (born May 7, 1979) is an American retired mixed martial artist. He competed in the lightweight division for Bellator Fighting Championships and Ultimate Fighting Championship. He’s a former WEC champion.
| Kurt Pellegrino | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | May 7, 1979 Point Pleasant, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Other names | Batman |
| Nationality | American |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
| Weight | 155 lb (70 kg; 11.1 st) |
| Division | Lightweight Welterweight |
| Reach | 71.5 in (182 cm) |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Fighting out of | Point Pleasant, New Jersey |
| Team | Kurt Pellegrino Mixed Martial Arts Academy |
| Rank | black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Marcelo Garcia |
| Years active | 2002–2011 |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 23 |
| Wins | 16 |
| By knockout | 2 |
| By submission | 10 |
| By decision | 4 |
| Losses | 7 |
| By knockout | 1 |
| By submission | 3 |
| By decision | 3 |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Early life
editPellegrino wrestled for Point Pleasant Borough High School and placed second in the state in his junior and senior year.[1] Pellegrino was a two-time wrestling state finalist.[2]
Career
editPellegrino trained with Ricardo Almeida, a world-famous Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competitor at a Renzo Gracie affiliate school. He later trained with Kenny Florian's camp in Boston, Massachusetts, and at the Armory in Jupiter, Florida with Justin Haskins, Eduardo Guedes, and Raphael Chaves. He subsequently moved to New Jersey, where he opened Kurt Pellegrino's MMA School in Belmar, New Jersey in 2008.[3]
Ultimate Fighting Championship
editThe Italian-American Pellegrino fought Alberto Crane at UFC Fight Night on January 23, 2008, who he defeated via second round TKO. The fight was notable as the only preliminary bout aired on the televised card. He received Fight of the Night award for this fight. Also, Pellegrino had a tooth knocked out early in the fight, which actually ripped a hole in his mouth, under his lip, and still went on to win, impressing fans and commentators alike.
Despite a strong first round, Pellegrino was defeated by TUF 5 winner Nate Diaz via triangle choke at UFC Fight Night 13 on April 2, 2008, in Broomfield, Colorado. As Diaz locked up the choke, he had time to flex for the crowd and throw up double middle fingers before Pellegrino submitted.
He defeated Thiago Tavares, in a preliminary bout at UFC 88: Breakthrough. Pellegrino bloodied Tavares' face in the first round and went on to win by a unanimous decision (29–28, 29–27, 29–27). There was a small controversy in the fight, as it appeared that Tavares submitted to an armbar in the second round, but the referee did not stop the bout, causing boos from the audience. The fight was awarded Fight of the Night honors and was voted by UFC as the #2 best fight of 2008.
Pellegrino next fought at UFC Fight Night 17 on February 7, 2009. He defeated Rob Emerson by submission due to a rear naked choke in the third round.
At UFC 101, Pellegrino defeated Josh Neer by unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27). It was his first win on a UFC main card.
He was expected to face Frankie Edgar on December 5, 2009 at The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale,[4] but has been forced off the card due to an injury.[5]
Pellegrino defeated Fabrício Camões at UFC 111 by rear naked choke earning him Submission of the Night.
Pellegrino's next fight was against Australian standout, George Sotiropoulos in which he lost by unanimous decision [6] at UFC 116 on July 3. Pellegrino tore his ACL and meniscus in the 1st round. Two weeks after the fight he underwent two surgeries to repair his meniscus and to replace his ACL.
Pellegrino faced Gleison Tibau on March 19, 2011 at UFC 128 and lost via split decision.[7]
On May 31, 2011, Pellegrino decided not to renew his contract with the UFC and to leave MMA for the time being.[8]
Bellator Fighting Championships
editPellegrino made his return to MMA and by signing with Bellator Fighting Championships. He fought Patricky Freire at Bellator 59 on November 26 and lost via TKO in the first round. During his post-fight interview, Pellegrino once again announced his retirement from MMA.[9]
Pellegrino was expected to come out of retirement to face Marcin Held at Bellator 68 on May 11, 2012.[10] However, Pellegrino was forced out of the bout due to injury.[11]
He was then expected to face Saul Almeida at Bellator 108.[12] However, Pellegrino was forced out of the bout due to injury once again, and Almeida was pulled from the card as a result.[13]
Personal life
editPellegrino and his wife Tara have a daughter named Millie James Pellegrino. Pellegrino also has two other kids Priscilla Pellegrino and Kurt Jr. Pellegrino.[14][15]
Accomplishments
editMixed Martial Arts
- WEC
- Lightweight Champion
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Fight of the Night (One time)
- Submission of the Night (Two time)
- Reality Fighting
- Reality Fighting Lightweight Championship (One time)
- Amateur Wrestling:
- New Jersey State Wrestling Finalist (Two time)
Mixed martial arts record
edit| 23 matches | 16 wins | 7 losses |
| By knockout | 2 | 1 |
| By submission | 10 | 3 |
| By decision | 4 | 3 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 16–7 | Patricky Freire | TKO (punches) | Bellator 59 | November 26, 2011 | 1 | 0:50 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | |
| Loss | 16–6 | Gleison Tibau | Decision (split) | UFC 128 | March 19, 2011 | 3 | 5:00 | Newark, New Jersey, United States | |
| Loss | 16–5 | George Sotiropoulos | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 116 | July 3, 2010 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 16–4 | Fabrício Camões | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC 111 | March 27, 2010 | 2 | 4:20 | Newark, New Jersey, United States | Submission of the Night |
| Win | 15–4 | Josh Neer | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 101 | August 8, 2009 | 3 | 5:00 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | |
| Win | 14–4 | Rob Emerson | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC Fight Night: Lauzon vs. Stephens | February 7, 2009 | 2 | 3:14 | Tampa, Florida, United States | |
| Win | 13–4 | Thiago Tavares | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 88 | September 6, 2008 | 3 | 5:00 | Atlanta, Georgia, United States | Fight of the Night |
| Loss | 12–4 | Nate Diaz | Submission (triangle choke) | UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Lauzon | April 2, 2008 | 2 | 3:06 | Broomfield, Colorado, United States | |
| Win | 12–3 | Alberto Crane | TKO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Swick vs. Burkman | January 23, 2008 | 2 | 1:55 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 11–3 | Joe Stevenson | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 74 | August 25, 2007 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 11–2 | Nate Mohr | Submission (achilles lock) | UFC Fight Night: Stevenson vs. Guillard | April 5, 2007 | 1 | 2:58 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Submission of the Night |
| Win | 10–2 | Junior Assunção | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC 64: Unstoppable | October 14, 2006 | 1 | 2:04 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 9–2 | Jesse Chilton | Submission (guillotine choke) | Absolute Fighting Championships 18 | August 26, 2006 | 1 | 3:35 | Boca Raton, Florida, United States | |
| Loss | 8–2 | Drew Fickett | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC 61: Bitter Rivals | July 8, 2006 | 3 | 1:20 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 8–1 | Vadim Kulchitskiy | Submission (guillotine choke) | Reality Fighting 11 | February 11, 2006 | 1 | N/A | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | |
| Win | 7–1 | Kazuki Okubo | TKO (doctor stoppage) | Euphoria: USA vs. Japan | November 5, 2005 | 1 | 0:38 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | |
| Win | 6–1 | Steve Kinnison | Submission (rear naked choke) | Freestyle Combat Challenge 20 | September 24, 2005 | N/A | N/A | Racine, Wisconsin, United States | |
| Win | 5–1 | Sergey Golyaev | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | Euphoria: USA vs. Russia | May 14, 2005 | 1 | 3:24 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | |
| Win | 4–1 | Jay R. Palmer | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Ring of Combat 7 | November 20, 2004 | 1 | 3:16 | Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States | |
| Loss | 3–1 | Satoru Kitaoka | Submission (guillotine choke) | Pancrase: 2004 Neo-Blood Tournament Semifinals | July 25, 2004 | 2 | 0:34 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 3–0 | Muhsin Corbbrey | Decision (unanimous) | Reality Fighting 6 | April 3, 2004 | 3 | 5:00 | Wildwood, New Jersey, United States | Won Reality Fighting Lightweight Championship |
| Win | 2–0 | Jay Isip | Submission (armbar) | Reality Fighting 5 | November 1, 2003 | 1 | 3:38 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | Mac Danzig | Decision (unanimous) | WEC 4 | August 31, 2002 | 3 | 5:00 | Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | For the inaugural WEC Lightweight Championship. |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Staff. "Sports Shorts: Edgar drops 1st MMA fight" Archived 2012-11-05 at the Wayback Machine, Asbury Park Press, April 4, 2008. Accessed February 27, 2011. "Also on that same card Kurt Pellegrino, a former Point Pleasant Boro High School wrestling star, was defeated by a submission choke hold by Nate Diaz in a 155-pound fight."
- ^ http://www.kurtpellegrino.com
- ^ Pellegrino MMA. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
- ^ "Frankie Edgar vs. Kurt Pellegrino likely for The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale". MMAjunkie.com. Archived from the original on September 13, 2009. Retrieved September 10, 2009.
- ^ "Kurt Pellegrino injured, forced out of The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale bout with Frankie Edgar". MMAjunkie.com. Archived from the original on October 31, 2009. Retrieved October 30, 2009.
- ^ "UFC 116: Kurt Pellegrino vs George Sotiropoulos on tap for July 3". April 17, 2010.
- ^ "Pellegrino vs. Tibau slated for UFC 129 in New Jersey". mmajunkie.com. December 15, 2010. Archived from the original on December 18, 2010.
- ^ "Pellegrino Stepping away from MMA". KurtPellegrino.com. May 31, 2011.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Following Bellator 59 loss, Kurt Pellegrino retires for second time". mmajunkie.com. November 26, 2011.
- ^ "Kurt Pellegrino back in action at Bellator 68 against Poland's Marcin Held on May 11". mmadiehards.com. February 18, 2012.
- ^ "Kurt Pellegrino Injured, Out of Planned Bellator 68 Scrap with Marcin Held in Atlantic City". sherdog.com. March 13, 2012.
- ^ "MMA Archives".
- ^ "Injured Kurt Pellegrino scratched from Bellator 108 bout against Saul Almeida". mmatorch.com. October 18, 2013.
- ^ "Batman Forever". Ultimatefighter.com. July 27, 2010. Retrieved March 14, 2011.
- ^ "Pellegrino to take break from MMA". UFC.com. May 31, 2011. Retrieved May 31, 2011.
External links
edit- Kurt Pellegrino Official Website
- Professional MMA record for Kurt Pellegrino from Sherdog
- Kurt Pellegrino at UFC
