From the vault of Sports Illustrated

Click here to read a 1989 Sports Illustrated article about the U.S. wrestling team's defeat of the Soviets for the first time in 17 years.

"The Americans didn't beat cream puffs. The Soviet squad included four 1988 Olympic gold medal winners, plus a silver medalist and a bronze medalist. "Soviet wrestlers like to come out and get a handful of points and then just hang on," says Douglas. "But here they were running out of gas at about the four-minute mark." Indeed, two U.S. wrestlers, former Iowa Hawkeyes Randy Lewis and Rico Chiapparelli, pulled out wins in the final seconds of their matches."



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LA Newspaper covers MMA

Click here to read a recent Los Angeles newspaper article about MMA fighting in which PSL founder/R1 Gym owner Rico Chiapparelli (seen in above pic with his best friend) is quoted.





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New at FightVOD.com

Who is that person staring back at you with calculated intensity from the top of this post? Why, that is Rico Chiapparelli (World Champion wrestler, President of the Professional Submission League, and owner of R1 Training Center here in Los Angeles.) In the midst of all his other endeavors Rico also spent years jaunting between Paris and New York as a successful fashion model. Check out the recent update to Fight VOD in which award-winning director Pericles Lewnes follows Rico to Randy Couture's corner at a UFC event, to a fashion shoot, and then prompts Rico to discuss his views on wrestling, MMA fighting, and coaching.






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Excerpt from September issue of Gladiator Magazine

Here is an excerpt from the upcoming November issue of Gladiator Magazine. In this snippet Rico Chiapparelli, President of the Professional Submission League, discusses Marcelo Garcia:

" .. At L.A. Sub X, Garcia finally gained revenge on Ralph Gracie black belt Cameron Earle, submitting him with a front choke from the north/south position. This was revenge from the Alliance black belt for two lost gi matches to the American earlier in his career. Garcia's victory led to a highly anticipated match at X-Mission against MMA champion & submission star Jake Shields. Garcia had little trouble submitting ADCC bronze medalist Shields with another front choke, albeit from a different position and angle altogether. Afterwards, Garcia - who has been a trailblazer in BJJ & Submission - stated:

‘the PSL (professional Submission League) always puts on a big show, it really shows how professional these events can be & I really hope it can become a regular event.’ .. "


The November issue of Gladiator Magazine will be on the stands soon. Be sure to get your copy.





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Private Lessons from Randy Couture

Ever wished you could hire Randy Couture for some private lessons? Well, he is now available at Fight VOD! Purchase exclusive downloads of Randy (with wrestling World Champion Rico Chiapparelli) demonstrating his tried and tested maneuvers from inside the cage.




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Randy Couture in David Mamet Production

Click here to watch filmmaker/playwright David Mamet discussing his upcoming MMA-themed film. Randy Couture, jujitsu blackbelt Renato Magno of Street Sports Jujitsu, and wrestling world champion Rico Chiapparelli of R1 Gym are involved with the project.

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