Rico Chiapparelli in his late MMA debut, in 2003. Photo by Marcelo Alonso ( Jungle Fight Publicity ).
Lyoto Machida, 32, began his march to stardom during his days fighting in Japan, where he amassed five wins.
During that time, in 2004, the Brazilian karate stylist lived in Tokyo with wrestling coach Rico Chiappareli, an Olympic wrestling wizard who trained with Randy Couture and Dan Henderson.
Now, the partnership is back in full swing. Looking to make his base all the more solid for his fight with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, 32, Lyoto is now training with Rico in Los Angeles, California. The aim is to keep the November 20 fight at UFC 123 against B.A. from the movies standing, to punish the American. But with training going at the pace that it is, don’t be surprised if Rampage ends up with his back to the ground.
“Lyoto is training a lot in California because a lot of gyms invite him because of his different style of fighting,” Lyoto’s father and mentor,Yoshizo Machida, told GRACIEMAG.
“It’s time for him to train in a more professional manner, at the same pace as his opponents. And he is managing to do so in Los Angeles, in the company of his brothers, as always. Training with Rico Chiaparelli is really important for him to hold off Rampage’s takedowns.”
Lyoto Machida (16w, 1l) is coming off a May knockout loss to Mauricio Shogun, his first and only career loss. Now Quinton (30w, 8l) dropped a judges’ decision to Rashad Evans, also in May.
Check out Rico during his days as a competitor: