Rico Chiapparelli
Biofiles | Published March 11th, 2008
 MMA coach & former World Cup and NCAA wrestling (University of Iowa) champ
DOB: January 8, 1964 In: Baltimore, MD
Childhood Heroes: “That’s a good question. Probably for sports - Dan Gable. I didn’t really have heroes.”
Hobbies/Interests: “Nothing really. combat arts was a hobby that became a career.”
Nickname: “Rico. My real name is Ricardo.”
Favorite Movies: “I don’t watch movies. I’m not a movie guy. I don’t watch movies or much TV only MSNBC.”
Last Book Read: “Let me go look, because I read about five books at a time…it’s an autobiography of a Yogi,The E Myth Revisted and a book on how to train bully breeds, ”
Musical Tastes: “Everybody. Very eclectic taste in music. It’s hard to answer definitively. As a kid I remember I liked Bruce Spingsteen. That’s about the only one I can think of now.”
First Job: “Never had a job. Teaching wrestling camps ”
First Car: “Honda Prelude (black).”
Current Car: “A Toyota Land Cruiser (white).”
Favorite Meal: “Pizza or pasta.”
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “I don’t really eat ice cream.”
First MMA Memory: “I went to go watch some friends fight. Next thing I know I’m in the corner with one, Tom Erickson.”
Childhood Dream: “A wrestler. Amateur wrestler.”
Greatest Career Moment: “When it was over. (Why then?) Because I focused my entire life on athletics. And not becoming - not exploring other areas in my life - it opened me up to explore the world and other experiences. It was eye-opening.”
Most Painful Moment: “Anytime that I lost. Probably the worst one was when I lost the Olympic Trials to Mark Schultz.”
Embarrassing Memory: “Is not having a guaranteed contract with Vladimir Matyshenko. I thought he’d blow through Tito Ortiz. He lost in five minutes. I should have guaranteed all three fights. It was embarrassing when Tito beat him. Tito was not even a credentialed wrestler, he wrestled in junior college. Matyshenko was a highly credentialed wrestler, a USSR champ & European championships silver medalist in freestyle.”
Favorite Fighters To Watch: “BJ Penn - he’s a really really good fighter. The guys I used to train - Couture, Trigg. I did not see him tap out Henderson but Anderson Silva must have gotten a lot better.”
Best Fights You’ve Seen: “There’s tons of good fights, tons. I’ve seen some live that are better because of the drama of being there live. About ten years ago in Japan Enson Innue against Frank Shamrock. That was a crazy fight. It had everybody in the crowd going crazy. That was more of a donnybrook. Recently Trigg vs Lawler another great fight because of heart Trigg showed on that particular night.”
Toughest Man You Faced: “Myself. Everybody is the same. If you can control yourself then you can control any situation. If not then it’s a 50-50 proposition or less. Though what people don’t realize is they’re only really fighting themselves.”
Last Vacation: “To Atlantic City and home to Baltimore.”
People Qualities Most Admired: “Truthful. That’s about it. As long as people are honest. Honest to themselves as well - more than anything else.”
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