A shot at returning to the Ultimate Fighting Championship is not on the line for the winner of the upcoming heavyweight bout between Pedro Rizzo (19-9) and Tim Sylvia (27-6).
Rizzo told GracieMag.com that “Dana White mentioned that the winner should get another chance in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.”
Rizzo and Sylvia are expected to meet at an upcoming Powerhouse World Promotions event in early 2011.
MMAjunkie.com posed the question to the UFC president who responded with this comment.
“Where the [expletive] did that come from?” White asked with a laugh.
“Pedro Rizzo is a great dude. I have a good relationship with him. I’ve always had respect for him. In no way, shape or form do I want to disrespect Pedro because I really do like him, but he needs to retire. I’d like to see Pedro retire.”
Rizzo has won his last three bouts having TKO’d Ken Shamrock at Impact FC 2 in July, defeated Gary Goodridge at a Washing Combat event when his opponent failed to answer the bell, and earned a unanimous decision over Jeff Monson at a Bitetti Combat MMA event in Sept. 2009.