Ricardo Arona
 |
Name | Ricardo Arona |
| Nickname | The Brazilian Tiger | |
| Association | Brazilian Top Team | |
| Weight Class | Light Heavyweight (205 lbs.) | |
| Height | 5' 11" (181cm) | |
| Style | Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu | |
| Birth Date | July 17, 1978 | |
| Fighting Out Of | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |
| Country | Brazil | |
| Ricardo Arona Pictures | Official Website |
Ricardo Arona is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and PRIDE FC Middleweight Grand Prix finalist. He has competed in PRIDE Fighting Championships and RINGS in his mixed martial arts career. Arona is known for his strength, and is considered one of the best light heavyweights in MMA. He has been criticized, however, by some MMA fans for not attempting to finish fights, instead settling for decision wins by controlling his opponents on the ground from top position. He holds notable wins over Wanderlei Silva, Alistair Overeem, Kazushi Sakuraba, Dan Henderson, Guy Mezger, Dean Lister, Murilo Rua and Jeremy Horn. He is a member of Brazilian Top Team.
Contents |
[edit] Professional Record
| Record | 14 - 5 - 0 (Win – Loss – Draw) |
| Wins | 2 (T)KOs 3 Submissions 9 Decisions |
| Losses | 3 (T)KOs 2 Submissions 0 Decisions |
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event Title | Date | Round | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | Marvin Eastman | Decision (Unanimous) | BCN 4: Bitetti Combat Nordeste 4 | 9/12/2009 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Loss | Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou | KO (Punch) | PRIDE 34: Kamikaze | 4/08/2007 | 1 | 1:59 | |
| Win | Alistair Overeem | Submission (Punches) | PRIDE: Final Conflict Absolute | 9/10/2006 | 1 | 4:28 | |
| Loss | Wanderlei Silva | Decision (Split) | PRIDE: Shockwave 2005 | 12/31/2005 | 3 | 5:00 | For Pride Middleweight Championship |
| Loss | Mauricio Rua | KO (Punches) | PRIDE: Final Conflict 2005 | 8/28/2005 | 1 | 2:54 | PRIDE 2005 205 lb. Grand Prix Finals |
| Win | Wanderlei Silva | Decision (Unanimous) | PRIDE: Final Conflict 2005 | 8/28/2005 | 2 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Kazushi Sakuraba | TKO (Corner Stoppage) | PRIDE: Critical Countdown 2005 | 6/26/2005 | 2 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Dean Lister | Decision (Unanimous) | PRIDE: Total Elimination 2005 | 4/23/2005 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Sergey Ignatov | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | PRIDE 28: High Octane | 10/31/2004 | 1 | 9:05 | |
| Loss | Quinton Jackson | KO (Slam) | PRIDE: Critical Countdown 2004 | 6/20/2004 | 1 | 7:32 | |
| Win | Murilo Rua | Decision (Unanimous) | PRIDE 23: Championship Chaos 2 | 11/24/2002 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Dan Henderson | Decision (Split) | PRIDE 20: Armed and Ready | 4/28/2002 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Guy Mezger | Decision (Split) | PRIDE 16: Beasts from the East | 9/24/2001 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Gustavo Machado | TKO (Punches) | Rings: 10th Anniversary | 8/11/2001 | 1 | 1:29 | |
| Win | Jeremy Horn | Decision (Majority) | Rings: 10th Anniversary | 8/11/2001 | 2 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Hiromitsu Kanehara | Submission (Kneebar) | Rings: World Title Series 2 | 6/15/2001 | 2 | 0:53 | |
| Loss | Fedor Emelianenko | Decision (Unanimous) | Rings: King of Kings 2000 Block B | 12/22/2000 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Jeremy Horn | Decision (Split) | Rings: Millennium Combine 3 | 8/23/2000 | 2 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Andrei Kopylov | Decision (Unanimous) | Rings: Millennium Combine 1 | 4/20/2000 | 2 | 5:00 | |
[edit] Mixed Martial Arts Career
[edit] Abu Dhabi and RINGS
Ricardo Arona's popularity came from competing in the Abu Dhabi Combat Club submission wrestling competitions, where he won an open weight tournament as well as the 92kg (202 pound) tournament. Arona is the only competitor in Abu Dhabi to have won a championship and to be undefeated so far. ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship.
Soon after Abu Dhabi Combat Club, Arona joined RINGS, a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion. Arona's only loss in RINGS came at the hands of Fedor Emelianenko, who later went on to become PRIDE Fighting Championships' Heavyweight Champion. After losing to Fedor, Arona won his last three fights in RINGS.
[edit] PRIDE Fighting Championships
After getting noticed in RINGS, Arona was offered a contract to join PRIDE Fighting Championships. Arona started his career in PRIDE strong winning his first three fights against Guy Mezger, Dan Henderson and Murilo Rua. He then lost his fourth fight to Quinton Jackson in a spectacular knockout from a slam. Arona claimed that an illegal headbutt he received by Jackson at the end of the slam was what knocked him out. Four months later, Arona returned to PRIDE and won his next 3 fights. On April 23 2005, Arona entered PRIDE's Middleweight (205 lbs) Grand Prix. Arona won his first fight in the tournament against Dean Lister by unanimous decision. In the 2nd round of the Grand Prix, he won his fight against the famous Japanese fighter Kazushi Sakuraba via TKO (Doctor Stoppage).
His semifinal match, against rival Wanderlei Silva, was held on August 28, 2005. Arona surprised everyone when he defeated Silva, who was the PRIDE Middleweight Champion at the time, by decision handing Silva his first middleweight defeat in Pride. After defeating Silva, Arona advanced to finals where he faced rising MMA fighter Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. In a dominant performance, Rua defeated Arona by knockout in the first round.
On December 31, 2005 Ricardo Arona fought Wanderlei Silva for a second time, this time for the Middleweight Championship. Ricardo Arona lost the match in a split decision.
On September 10, 2006 Arona faced Alistair Overeem. After withstanding the initial attack from Overeem, Arona landed an inside leg kick, injuring his opponent's leg and making him drop to the ground. Arona quickly overwhelmed Overeem on the ground and showed complete domination throughout the bout. He continued his assault until Overeem tapped out from a barrage of strikes.
Arona claims he suffered from a dengue fever, before a KO loss to Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou at PRIDE 34: Kamikaze on April 8, 2007. Arona's Comeback fight against UFC Veteran Marvin Eastman was cancelled due to an Injury that Eastman suffered during training.
[edit] Return to MMA
Arona made his long-awaited return to MMA at an event called Bitetti Combat IV that took place on September 12, 2009 in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. His opponent was Marvin Eastman, and his return to the sport was a success, as he defeated his opponent via unanimous decision.
[edit] Ranks and Titles
- Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
- PRIDE 2005 Middleweight (205 lbs.) Grand Prix Finalist
[edit] Grappling Credentials
- ADCC World Submission Wrestling Championships
- ADCC 2003 Superfight championship: Defeated Mark Kerr.
- ADCC 2001 88 - 98kg: 1st Place Openweight: 1st Place
- ADCC 2000 88 - 98kg: 1st Place
- Record of opponents:
- Won: Mark Kerr (pts), Ruslan Mashurenko (pts), Renato Sobral Da Cunha (pts), John Olav Einemo (pts), Ricardo Almeida (pts), Roger Neff (sub), Saulo Ribeiro (pts), Vitor Belfort (pts), Jean Jacques Machado (pts), Hiromitsu Kaehara (pts), Kareem Barkalev (pts), Tito Ortiz (pts), Jeff Monson (pts)
- CBJJ World Championships
- 2000 Black Belt Pesado : 2nd Place
- 1999 Brown Belt Pesado : 1st Place Brown Belt Open Weight: 2nd Place
- 1998 Purple Belt Pesado : 1st Place
- CBJJ Brazilian Championships
- 1999 Brown Belt Pesado: 1st Place
