Aaron Riley
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Aaron Riley (born December 9, 1980) is an American professional mixed martial artist and a veteran of the PRIDE Fighting Championships.
He stands 5 ft. 8 in. (173 cm) tall and fights in the lightweight division (155 lbs.).
Riley currently competes as a lightweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Early Career
Aaron Riley made his professional mixed martial arts debut for the HOOKnSHOOT promotion on July 18, 1997. He submitted his opponent, Chris Malgieri with a heel hook to earn his first professional win.
Later that night, Riley suffered his first professional defeat when he was submitted with a kneebar by Mario Roberto.
In his next 11 bouts, Riley went a very impressive 10-0-1 with all of his victories coming via either TKO or submission in the first round.
In October, 1999, Riley suffered defeat for the second time in his career when he was on the losing end of a decision to Yves Edwards.
Riley followed that loss with another, two weeks later as he was stopped with strikes by Hawaiian, Falaniko Vitale.
Riley rebounded from the two losses and kicked off the new millenium with four successive victories which included future UFC fighter, Steve Berger.
The streak was again broken by Edwards however, as Riley went down via decision against the Bermudian at a HOOKnSHOOT event in July of 2001.
UFC Debut, PRIDE, and Other Notable Bouts
Riley bounced back with a submission victory over Mike Willus and then in May of 2002, Riley earned a call up to the UFC where he faced off against Miletich product, Robbie Lawler at UFC 37. After three rounds, Riley was defeated by Lawler via unanimous decision.
He split his next two fights, defeating Alexandre Barros via decision and then losing via KO to Chris Lytle in March, 2003.
After two more victories, Riley lost again, this time by submission (armbar) to future TUF 2 competitor, Sam Morgan.
Riley racked up three more victories and then earned a call-up to compete in the PRIDE Fighting Championships at PRIDE: Bushido 7. He faced debuting Judoka, Michihiro Omigawa and headkicked him into oblivion at the 6:00 mark of round 1.
With the win, Riley returned to the UFC for another bout at UFC Fight Night 3. He faced another Miletich product in Spencer Fisher and the doctor was forced to stop the fight after the first round due to the punishment he had sustained.
Out of the UFC again, Riley scored a submission win at a BodogFight event before dropping his next two bouts to Eddie Alvarez (KO) and Ryan Schultz (decision).
Riley halted the losing slide by scoring two more wins in 2008, which pushed his record to a respectable 26-10-1.
UFC Return
Riley earned a return to the UFC in late 2008 at UFC 91. He faced off against TUF 2's Jorge Gurgel and picked apart Gurgel en route to an entertaining decision win which earned both fighters, "Fight of the Night" honors.
At UFC 96 in March, 2009, Riley faced TUF 8's Shane Nelson on the show's undercard. In a controversial fight, Riley was dropped with a punch in the opening minute and looked to have recovered immediately however, the referee stopped the fight giving Nelson the TKO victory.
UFC president, Dana White stated that he wanted to make things right for Riley in light of the bad call and put together an immediate rematch between the two which is scheduled to take place at UFC 101.
Mixed martial arts record
| 40 matches | 28 wins | 11 losses |
| By knockout | 5 | 5 |
| By submission | 13 | 2 |
| By decision | 10 | 4 |
| Draws | 1 | |
Record
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event Title | Date | Round | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | Shane Nelson | Decision (Unanimous) | UFC 101: Declaration | 8/08/2009 | 3 | 5:00 | - |
| Loss | Shane Nelson | TKO (Punch) | UFC 96: Jackson vs. Jardine | 3/07/2009 | 1 | 0:44 | - |
| Win | Jorge Gurgel | Decision (Unanimous) | UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar | 11/15/2008 | 3 | 5:00 | Won Fight of the Night Honors |
| Win | Steve Claveau | Decision (Unanimous) | XMMA 5: It's Crow Time | 9/13/2008 | 3 | 5:00 | - |
| Win | Thiago Minu | Decision (Unanimous) | UWC: Invasion | 4/26/2008 | 3 | 5:00 | - |
| Loss | Ryan Schultz | Decision (Unanimous) | IFL: 2007 Team Championship Final | 9/20/2007 | 3 | 4:00 | - |
| Loss | Eddie Alvarez | KO (Punches) | Bodog Fight: USA vs. Russia | 12/02/2006 | 1 | 1:05 | For BodogFIGHT Welterweight Championship |
| Win | Darrell Smith | Submission (Armlock) | Bodog Fight: To the Brink of War | 8/22/2006 | 2 | 2:40 | - |
| Loss | Spencer Fisher | TKO (Doctor Stoppage) | UFC Fight Night 3 | 1/16/2006 | 1 | 5:00 | - |
| Win | Michihiro Omigawa | KO (Head Kick) | PRIDE: Bushido 7 | 5/22/2005 | 1 | 6:00 | - |
| Win | Andrew Chappelle | Decision | HOOKnSHOOT: Arnold Classic | 3/04/2005 | 3 | 5:00 | - |
| Win | Maicon Alarcao | TKO (Injury) | AFC: Brazil 1 | 8/28/2004 | 1 | 4:10 | - |
| Win | Nuri Shakir | Decision (Unanimous) | HOOKnSHOOT: Live | 3/27/2004 | 3 | 5:00 | - |
| Loss | Sam Morgan | Submission (Armbar) | Shooto USA: Warrior Spirit - Evolution | 11/14/2003 | 1 | 2:41 | - |
| Win | Cedric Marks | Submission (Armbar) | CE: Combate Extremo | 8/30/2003 | 1 | 1:40 | - |
| Win | Nick Gilardi | TKO | PPKA: Ultimate Fight Night | 6/28/2003 | 2 | N/A | - |
| Loss | Chris Lytle | KO (Punches) | HOOKnSHOOT: Boot Camp 1.1 | 3/08/2003 | 1 | 3:31 | - |
| Win | Alexandre Barros | Decision | HOOKnSHOOT: Absolute Fighting Championships 1 | 12/13/2002 | 3 | 5:00 | - |
| Loss | Robbie Lawler | Decision (Unanimous) | UFC 37: High Impact | 5/10/2002 | 3 | 5:00 | - |
| Win | Mike Willus | Submission (Armbar) | HOOKnSHOOT: Kings 1 | 11/17/2001 | 1 | N/A | - |
| Loss | Yves Edwards | Decision | HOOKnSHOOT: Showdown | 7/14/2001 | 3 | 5:00 | - |
| Win | Steve Berger | Decision | HOOKnSHOOT: Triumph | 8/19/2000 | 3 | 5:00 | - |
| Win | Aaron Stregles | Submission (Strikes) | TC 2: Talon Challenge 2 | 7/14/2000 | N/A | N/A | - |
| Win | Jeremy Bennett | KO | HOOKnSHOOT: Double Fury 1 | 3/17/2000 | N/A | N/A | - |
| Win | Colin O'Rourke | Decision (Majority) | WEF 8: Goin' Platinum | 1/15/2000 | 3 | 4:00 | - |
| Loss | Falaniko Vitale | TKO | RITC 2: Marching of the Warriors | 10/15/1999 | 1 | 7:06 | - |
| Loss | Yves Edwards | Decision | HOOKnSHOOT: Texas Heat | 10/02/1999 | 1 | 20:00 | - |
| Win | Joe Merit | Submission (Armbar) | LI: Lionheart Invitational | 9/01/1999 | 1 | 2:24 | - |
| Draw | CJ Fernandes | Draw | SFC: Submission Fighting Championships 8 | 8/07/1999 | 1 | 15:00 | - |
| Win | Billy Johnson | Submission (Strikes) | HOOKnSHOOT: Breakout | 7/24/1999 | 1 | 2:10 | - |
| Win | Rob Tallack | TKO | Kakidamisi 1: Samurai Challenge | 7/11/1999 | 1 | 2:52 | - |
| Win | Tony Apponte | Submission (Strikes) | ES: Extreme Shootout | 6/25/1999 | 1 | 7:31 | - |
| Win | James Julian | Submission (Armbar) | SFC: Submission Fighting Championships 6 | 4/30/1999 | 1 | N/A | - |
| Win | Shane Garrett | Decision (Unanimous) | HOOKnSHOOT: Horizon | 3/20/1999 | 1 | 20:00 | - |
| Win | Phil Stroffolino | Submission (Strikes) | HOOKnSHOOT: Eruption | 11/07/1998 | 1 | 3:27 | - |
| Win | Brian Boclair | Submission (Armbar) | HOOKnSHOOT: Quest | 8/14/1998 | 1 | 1:35 | - |
| Win | Chris Mounce | Submission (Keylock) | HOOKnSHOOT: N-Vision | 6/12/1998 | N/A | N/A | - |
| Win | Billy Johnson | Submission (Armbar) | HOOKnSHOOT: Elite | 9/20/1997 | 1 | 5:08 | - |
| Loss | Mario Roberto | Submission (Kneebar) | HOOKnSHOOT: When Worlds Collide | 7/18/1997 | N/A | N/A | - |
| Win | Chris Malgieri | Submission (Heel Hook) | HOOKnSHOOT: When Worlds Collide | 7/18/1997 | N/A | N/A | - |
Gallery
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External links
http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Aaron-Riley-1567 - Professional MMA Record
http://www.sherdog.com/pictures/gallery/fighter/1567/ - Sherdog Photo Gallery
--Sam Cupitt 11:42, 13 June 2009 (UTC)
