Seth Petruzelli – Interview Before Bellator 48 vs. Ricco Rodriguez
We had the pleasure of sitting down with Seth Petruzelli this week for an interview with him before his upcoming fight against Ricco Rodriguez at Bellator 48 at Mohegan Sun on August 20th. Seth shared with us some very good history on himself, his life, his training style, and some interesting questions/answers that we think you’ll love! Thank you very much to Seth for sitting down with us and taking the time out of your busy training schedule before your fight to share this information!
MARC: How did you get the nickname “The Silverback”?
SETH: 3 reasons, the first is that the silverback is the king of the pack, the leader the alpha and that’s how I like to carry myself. The second is that when I grapple i go from person to person on my hands and knees and my stomach hangs down like a fat silverback gorilla. And lastly because the silverback has the smallest penis the body ratio in the animal kingdom!!
MARC: What make Seth “The Silverback” Petruzelli tick?
SETH: “He has laughed and he has cried, He has fought and he has died, He’s just the same as all the rest, He’s not the worst and he’s not the best.”
That tattoo is in Japanese on me. It reminds me not to settle for mediocrity, not to just fit in, and just be another person who goes through life not ever really doing anything. That pushes me to try and be the best at all that I do.
MARC: How many times a week do you train and what do you recommend to people looking to build their cardiovascular endurance?
SETH: Pre-fight, I train 2x a day about 2 hours each session – 6 days a week. Keep in mind, these are intense training sessions and not jogging in the park!! Anything that gets your heart rate up will help with endurance. Something I do that not all fighters do is swim…it’s easy on the joints and great for building endurance.
MARC: Knocking out Kimbo Slice did gain you popularity but did it make your career bigger or better?
SETH: It made it both….my pay went up and I got more well known. Of course, I want to be known as a great fighter and not just the guy who KO’d Kimbo.
MARC: How many fights and years do you see yourself competing professionally?
SETH: Not too much longer, I’ve been fighting since late 2000 and that’s a long time…I currently own the Jungle MMA and fitness in Orlando, Fl. and I see myself opening more in the future after fighting!
MARC: Who was your toughest opponent in all of your professional fights?
SETH: Well, since he is really the only one who has ever finished me with a TKO I guess Vemola…but Matt Hamill was very tough too!!
MARC: Was it upsetting to be cut by the UFC?
SETH: Of course, but in this point in my career, I’m doing this for the money – not the popularity. I’m getting paid very well by Bellator, and that’s all I can ask for. Of course I’d love it if I made it back to the UFC. I just like to put on an entertaining fight, no matter where or who it’s for.
MARC: What other business ventures are you involved with besides The Jungle?
SETH: My brother and I are both into real estate. We both invest in houses, fix them up, then rent or sell them. It’s been going great, even though the market is crap. I’m also finishing my BS in Psychology. I have about 6 more classes to go. I’ve only been in college for 10 years now…haha!!
MARC: What are you doing differently in this fight against Ricco Rodriquez that you did or didn’t do in your last fight against David Mewborn and against Karlos Vemola in the UFC loss?
SETH: I always train the exact same way….hard as hell! If anything I over-trained for Vemola and I pulled it back a little bit when I fought Dave. But I feel better now than my last fight!
MARC: Who in your life has had the biggest impact on you and your professional career?
SETH: Well when I was a kid, my Sensei Benard Daugherty (Kobayashi sensei) did. He was like another father figure to me. He showed me the path of karate and I fell in love with martial arts!!
MARC: Have you ever used PED’s and are there fighters that you know of in the UFC or any other professional MMA leagues using them? Are they banned in professional MMA?
SETH: I don’t know anyone who uses Premier Elephant Dick for training, and to my knowledge it’s not illegal but gross to use!! In all seriousness, I know a lot of fighters that fight or have fought in the UFC that used PED’s, and no I have never used them. I’m too much of a hypochondriac.
MARC: The day of the fight, what is going through your mind? And are you ever nervous?
SETH: I’m sooooo nervous. Not about getting hurt, but just not performing to my full abilities.
MARC: Are you worried about having to go up to heavy weight and is this going to affect your quickness at all?
SETH: I’ll be faster, I’m just worried about his weight on top of me. I’ve been working my escapes from bottom to help me with this.
MARC: How do you expect this fight to play out (ground or stand up) and what is going to be the outcome?
SETH: I see him trying to take me down a lot, and me tagging him in the face for trying!! I see a KO for me!!!
MARC: Ricco has won his last 11 fights; can you put an end to that streak and his career?
SETH: Instead of the Kimbo Killer, I’m gonna be known as the Ricco Retirer!!!
MARC: Do you have a certain pre fight meal the day of the fight? And routine?
SETH: Lots of pasta!! They don’t call me pasta belly for no reason!!
MARC: The picture of you kissing another guy has been circulated on the Internet and questions about your sexuality preference; can you set the record straight?
SETH: Yes, it’s all in fun!!! I’m not so uptight about that stuff. Who can you laugh at, if you can’t laugh at yourself? Don’t take things so seriously.
MARC: Very true, Seth. Very true. Thank you so much for spending time with us today, we appreciate it – especially this close to fight time when I know your training keeps you very busy. Good luck on the 20th!
SETH: Appreciate it! Thanks guys!
Tom Venuto is an NSCA-certified personal trainer, lifetime natural bodybuilder, certified strength & conditioning specialist (CSCS), and author of the #1 best selling diet e-book, “Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle.” Tom has written hundreds of articles and has been featured in IRONMAN, Natural Bodybuilding, Muscular Development, Exercise for Men and Men’s Exercise. To contact Tom or get information on his e-book, visit 