Pedro Rizzo kicking Ricco Rodriguez

By FCF Staff

Another of MMA’s legendary fighters has retired from the game, as Pedro Rizzo announced he’s hanging up the gloves, after scoring a win on Saturday.

The 41 year-old heavyweight stopped Andrew Flores Smith Face to Face 12, and in doing so, Rizzo moved his record to 20-11.  Rizzo reportedly stopped Smith with leg kicks.

In a follow up report from MMA Fighting.com, the Brazilian fighter and noted striker was quoted saying:

“I don’t need to fight anymore, but I wanted to fight one more time for my students and my daughter, who is eight years old and wanted to see me fight. Now is time for the new athletes and talents to shine. It all ended how it started, with low kicks in Brazil.”

Rizzo made his way to the UFC way back in 1998, and in his promotional debut, he knocked out “Tank” Abbott. Rizzo challenged Kevin Randleman for the heavyweight title in 2000, but lost by unanimous decision.

During “The Rock’s” career, he took on fellow stars like Randy Couture, Josh Barnett, Ken Shamrock, Dan Severn, Andrei Arlovski and Fedor Emelianenko, among others.