Ryan Rizco: Hard work pays off, and I'm here to collect at CFFC 102
Ryan Rizco is excited about the opportunity to compete in a co-main event on UFC FIGHT PASS, but he's not remotely satisfied by simply making it to this point.
"To be honest, I kind of kind of have a little bit of a chip on my shoulder," Rizco said. "I feel like I kind of haven't been getting the recognition I deserve, you know? So I'm like, you know what, if they're not going to give me my credit where credit's due, I'm just going to keep fighting."
Rizco didn't always plan on following this path. While he wrestled all the way through high school, he actually only began training MMA as a means of getting himself in shape for a military career.
"I was like, you know, I feel like if I can hang with fighters and go through these practices that boot camp will be a breeze," Rizco said. "I trained for an entire year and ended up not passing the medical evaluation."
A slight loss of hearing in his right ear was enough to end Rizco's military hopes, and he was at a loss in terms of his next move. He went back home to New Jersey and back to the Strategic Combat Academy where he had been training prior. Coach John Narleski had an idea.
"I was devastated," Rizco admitted. "When I came back to the gym, the owner was like, 'Well, do you want to take a short-notice fight?' He's like, 'You've been training like a fighter, so why don't you hop in there and see how it goes?'
"Ever since that moment, there's really nothing else I want to do in my life, and I quit my job and have just pursued it wholeheartedly from that point."
It's been a successful run so far, with Rizco currently standing at 4-1 in his fist five professional contests. Even in his lone loss, Rizco showed glimpses of the skills that have him tagged as a blue chip prospect.
"I was pretty upset about that fight because if you go back and watch that film, it was probably one of my best performances to date," Rizco said. "I'm serious. I landed more standing strikes than I ever had – more significant strikes. I was taking him down, and I pretty much felt like the fight was going to be over.
"I thought I was TKOing him, and then they called an illegal blow to the back of the head. It was a weird situation, too, because he stood us back up to give him five minutes to recover, which was just kind of like a weird circumstance, and then I ended up getting caught. But even through that loss, I was just like, you know, I deserve to be here, and it's just like a kind of made me grind harder."
Rizco spent significant time training with Renzo Gracie in New York, but as travel got more difficult during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, he started working in New Jersey at Nick Catone MMA.
On Saturday, Rizco (4-1) gets to show his evolution when he welcomes undefeated promotional newcomer Yanal Ashmoz (5-0) to the cage in the co-main event of CFFC 102, which streams live on UFC FIGHT PASS from Philadelphia's 2300 Arena.
Rizco said he's relied on his team to handle the scouting and instead simply focused on his own personal improvement ahead of the contest.
"We're obviously aware of what he does good," Rizco said. "I feel I'm just better, you know, so I don't like to focus too much on what he's going to do. I just focus on what I'm going to do to him.
"I don't underestimate anybody by any means, but you know, I know he throws a little wild. He's a little bit of a wild striker, and I just think that plays perfectly into my game."
With another win, Rizco will certainly find himself in an even bigger matchup next time out. A title shot is clearly within reach, especially with a spectacular result, and Rizco said he's ready for it all.
"My whole life, I heard that hard work pays off, and I know for a fact that nobody's working harder than me," Rizco said. "I'm just here to collect now at this point.
"I feel like a lot of guys out there do this for Instagram. I'm doing this to change my life, you know? And the only way to do that is to stay busy, fight tough guys, and get yourself recognized."
