Kurt Pellegrino
Born	May 7, 1979 (1979-05-07) (age 31) Point Pleasant, New Jersey
Other names	Batman
Nationality	American
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight	155 lb (70 kg; 11.1 st)
Style	Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Wrestling
Fighting out of	Point Pleasant, New Jersey
Team	Kurt Pellegrino MMA
MMA record
Total	19
Wins	15
By knockout	1
By submission	10
Losses	4

Kurt Joseph Pellegrino (born May 7, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist, currently competing in the lightweight division of the UFC. Pellegrino also runs his own MMA Academy in Belmar NJ.He lives and trains in NJ and also trains with Kenny Florian's camp in Boston, MA. Pellegrino trained previously at the Armory in Jupiter, Florida with Justin Haskins, Eduardo Guedes, and Raphael Chaves. Prior to the Armory, he trained with Ricardo Almeida, a world famous Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competitor at a Renzo Gracie affiliate school. He wrestled for Point Pleasant High School and placed 2nd in the state of NJ in his junior and senior year. Pellegrino was a two time wrestling state finalist. Opened Kurt Pellegrino's MMA School in Belmar, New Jersey in 2008.

MMA career

Pellegrino fought Alberto Crane at UFC Fight Night on January 23, 2008, which he won by a 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.

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. The judges scored the fight 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" and was voted by UFC as the #2 best fight of 2008.

Pellegrino next fought at Ultimate Fight Night 17 on February 7, 2009. He defeated Rob Emerson by submission due to a rear naked choke in the third round. In his most recent bout 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, but has been forced off the card due to an injury.

Pellegrino recently defeated Fabricio Camoes at UFC 111 by rear naked choke earning him Submission of the Night.

Pellegrino's next fight is expected to be against Australian standout, George Sotiropoulosat UFC 116 on July 3.

Personal life

Pellegrino and his wife Melissa have a daughter named Priscilla.

Mixed Martial Arts record

Result	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location
		George Sotiropoulos		UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin	02010-07-03 3 July 2010			Las Vegas, Nevada, US
Win	15-4	Fabricio Camoes	Submission (Rear Naked Choke)	UFC 111: St-Pierre vs. Hardy	02010-03-27 27 March 2010	2	4:20	Newark, New Jersey, US
Win	14–4	Josh Neer	Decision (Unanimous)	UFC 101: Declaration	02009-08-08 8 August 2009	3	5:00	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
Win	13–4	Rob Emerson	Submission (Rear Naked Choke)	UFC Fight Night: Lauzon vs. Stephens	02009-02-07 7 February 2009	2	3:14	Tampa, Florida, US
Win	12–4	Thiago Tavares	Decision (Unanimous)	UFC 88: Breakthrough	02008-09-06 6 September 2008	3	5:00	Atlanta, Georgia, US
Loss	11–4	Nate Diaz	Submission (Triangle Choke)	UFC Fight Night 13	02008-04-02 2 April 2008	2	3:06	Broomfield, Colorado, US
Win	11–3	Alberto Crane	TKO (Punches)	UFC Fight Night 12	02008-01-23 23 January 2008	2	1:55	Las Vegas, Nevada, US
Loss	10–3	Joe Stevenson	Decision (Unanimous)	UFC 74: Respect	02007-08-25 25 August 2007	3	5:00	Las Vegas, Nevada, US
Win	10–2	Nate Mohr	Submission (Ankle lock)	UFC Fight Night 9	02007-04-05 5 April 2007	1	2:58	Las Vegas, Nevada, US
Win	9–2	Junior Assuncao	Submission (Rear Naked Choke)	UFC 64: Unstoppable	02006-10-14 14 October 2006	1	2:04	Las Vegas, Nevada, US
Win	8–2	Jesse Chilton	Submission (Guillotine Choke)	AFC 18-Absolute Fighting Championships 18	02006-08-26 26 August 2006	1	3:35	Boca Raton, Florida, US
Loss	7–2	Drew Fickett	Submission (Rear Naked Choke)	UFC 61: Bitter Rivals	02006-07-08 8 July 2006	3	1:20	Las Vegas, Nevada, US
Win	7–1	Vadim Kulchitskiy	Submission (Guillotine Choke)	RF 11-Reality Fighting 11	02006-02-11 11 February 2006	1	N/A	Atlantic City, New Jersey, US
Win	6–1	Kazuki Okubo	TKO (Doctor Stoppage)	Euphoria-USA vs. Japan	02005-11-05 5 November 2005	1	0:38	Atlantic City, New Jersey, US
Win	5–1	Steve Kinnison	Submission (Rear Naked Choke)	FCC 20-Freestyle Combat Challenge 20	02005-09-24 24 September 2005	N/A	N/A	Racine, Wisconsin, US
Win	4–1	Sergey Golyaev	Submission	Euphoria-USA vs. Russia	02005-05-14 14 May 2005	1	3:24	Atlantic City, New Jersey, US
Win	3–1	Jay R. Palmer	Submission (Rear Naked Choke)	ROC 7-Ring of Combat 7	02004-11-20 20 November 2004	1	3:16	Elizabeth, New Jersey, US
Loss	2–1	Satoru Kitaoka	Submission (Guillotine Choke)	Pancrase-2004 Neo-Blood Tournament, Semifinals	02004-07-25 25 July 2004	2	0:34	Tokyo, Japan
Win	2–0	Jay Isip	Submission (Armbar)	RF 5-Reality Fighting 5	02003-11-01 1 November 2003	1	3:38	Atlantic City, New Jersey, US
Win	1–0	Mac Danzig	Decision (Unanimous)	WEC 4-Rumble Under The Sun	02002-08-31 31 August 2002	3	5:00	Uncasville, Connecticut, US

External links

• Kurt Pellegrino Official Website
• Professional MMA record for Kurt Pellegrino from Sherdog