Ricardo Arona
Ricardo Arona, also known as “Brazilian Tiger” is a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter from Brazil. Arona was born on July 17, 1978 in the town of Rio de Janeiro, and is one of the members of the ‘Brazilian Top Team’.
With weight 91 kg and height of 180 cm, Ricardo Arona is counted amongst the well-known MMA fighters around the world. By adopting the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighting style, he has participated in some famous fighting competitions like ‘RINGS’ and ‘Pride Fighting Championships’, in his MMA profession. Though criticized by some of his fans for not endeavoring to finish the matches and instead winning through controlling his contenders from top position on the floor; Ricardo Arona has triumphed over several prominent world wrestlers. Some of these wrestlers include Kazushi Sakuraba, Jeremy Horn, Alistair Overeem, Dan Henderson, and Wanderlei Silva.
Ricardo Arona gained reputation when he competed in the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) submission wrestling contests, where he successfully achieved victory in the 92 kg tournament as well as an open weight tournament.
Shortly, Ricardo united with a Japanese MMA promotion – RINGS, wherein he merely lost a single match against Fedor Emelianenko, who later became the heavyweight title- holder of Pride Fighting Championships.
It was due to his success in RINGS that Ricardo Arona was offered a contract to bond with Pride Fighting Championships, wherein he started with comprehensive wins against Guy Mezger, and Dan Henderson, and Murilo Ninja. Soon after, Ricardo returned to Pride and succeeded in his 3 matches.
Ricardo Arona joined Pride’s Middleweight Grand Prix on April 23, 2005, and won his very first match vs. Dean Lister via unanimous verdict. Further, he went on to win his second match against Kazushi Sakuraba, a renowned Japanese fighter. On August 28, 2005; Arona competed in a semi-final match against his close competitor, Wanderlei Silva, and astonished the audience by defeating him successfully. Thereafter, he advanced to the finals for a match against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, but got knocked out in the very first round.
With few ups and downs in his career graph, Ricardo Arona has gained tremendous control over his MMA matches. The several wins against different celebrated fighters itself proves his dominance in this popular fighting event, which has gained him incredible popularity and fame world over.
By Sherdog.com Staff
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