On the eve of his first fight back since ACL surgery and overcoming the destruction of Hurricane Katrina, Rich "No Love" Clementi jokes about life, love and the pursuit of happiness.

Rich Clementi
By Traci Ratzloff

It was nearly a year ago, February 26, 2005 to be exact, when Rich Clementi felt the pop of a torn ACL. Anyone who has experienced a knee injury, and probably those who have just seen one occur, will vouch for the excruciating pain that immediately twists and turns through the body.

"It happened at 1:20 in the first," Clementi remembers. "He had me in half guard. I was on top, and my leg got caught. I felt it rip and pop out of the socket. I think he did, too. He said something to the ref in Japanese, but he didn't hear."

Clementi continues, "After the second round, I was ready to give up. I never had an injury like that." Discussing the matter with his manager and corner, Monte Cox, it was decided that if Clementi could continue, he should. He had already, after all, won the first two rounds, and a three-fight deal with MFC Euphoria was waiting on the other end of the W. So, in his MFC Euphoria-USA vs. World bout with Japan's Daisuke Hanazawa, Clementi forged through a very painful two and a half rounds to win a unanimous decision, torn ACL and all.

The injury caused Clementi to do something he had never even considered, let alone done, since he decided to make MMA his career: take time off. It's been 8 months since the injury and only recently was he able to begin working out again.

"I used my hamstring tendon for my ACL replacement," Clementi reveals. Choosing to use his own tendon rather than an artificial one, Clementi felt more comfortable knowing where the surrogate came from. What he didn't know, however, was the difference in recovery time. He confesses, "If I had knee surgery alone, recovery would have been okay, but using my hamstring hindered me way more than I thought." Perhaps what came as a shock most was the toll the recovery took on him mentally. "Psychologically, it wore on me. I can remember cornering one of my guys, and I had to drag my crutches up to the cage with me. It was hard for me to rely on them for everything."

Still, the positive Italian food lover persevered. "I tried to listen to what my doctor said. When the day came that marked six months, and my doctor gave me the 'okay,' I took a 21/2 mile hike."

ACL surgery wasn't the only thing setting him back this year. Hurricane Katrina definitely took her toll, as well. Recovering from the destruction (see the October issue of FCF for Clementi's story of the devastation, among others), Clementi, his fiancée Amanda and her daughter, Laikyn, stay positive. "Everyday it's something new. Sometimes it takes us 40 minutes just to get down the street, but I try to make the best of it."

Saturday marks Clementi's official return to the cage in Cox' Extreme Challenge 64. He looks to this EC Lightweight title bout with Chris Mickle different than. "Usually, I study the guy and develop a fight plan accordingly. This training camp, I have concentrated on my knee," Clementi states. "I'm gonna make him fight my fight."

Fighting professionally since late 1999, the New Jersey native got his start wrestling on and off in high school. Though he maintained a record of 15-2 his senior year, Clementi admits, "I wasn't very technical."

After high school, Clementi joined the military and got married to boot. "We were high school sweethearts," he reveals. "I was being sent to Bosnia so it was either get married or breakup." Three years later, after being stationed overseas for months at a time with no form of communication, the two called it quits. (Clementi served for a total of eight years.)

In 1999, Clementi found himself stationed in Mississippi where he started training American kickboxing under Lawrence Patrick and began to set roots in other martial art forms, as well. "[Patrick] would teach some ground techniques, but had never competed. He got videos and would teach from there." Eventually, Clementi learned enough to begin teaching on his own.

During this time, an opportunity to fight came. Through some locals signed to fight on the World Extreme Fighting (WEF 7, October 9, 1999) card, Clementi was brought in as a last minute replacement to fight Chris Seifert. Seifert was set to fight Steve Judson, who was put on medical suspension from a first round KO loss to Brad Kohler in UFC 22 just weeks before. At this time, the now lightweight Clementi was fighting at 225-pounds.

Clementi laughs as he reveals, "It wasn't until my third fight that I finally learned what butterfly guard was!" Though his technique may still have been somewhat green, his skill wasn't. "My first three fights went to decision," he recalls. "And my second fight went into a double over time!" Realizing his love for the game, he continued to train and take fights when and where he could. "I was the guy that would fight anyone." That's evident as 13-months into his career he began to fight athletes like Steve Berger and Pete Spratt. Clementi remembers, "At one time, I was 3-6!"

In September 2001, tables began to turn for Clementi and his new career. Matched against Cedric Stewart in Cox' EC 44, Clementi came out with the W by submitting Stewart with his rear naked choke at 2:23 in round one. He remembers, "Stewart was a tough guy and at a good point in his career. This was the first fight at 155-pounds for me, and I walked right through him."

Clementi continues, "It was a pivotal point in my career. I was approached by Monte after that fight. Actually, I think I was one of the few guys Monte approached to manage, at least at that time. I remember feeling that with Monte, now I can excel." During this time, Clementi had also teamed up with Jon Dixon to open a school, of which has now grown to include a satellite school in San Antonio, Texas.

Of his 41 fights, the 28-year-old remembers his tag-team matchup with Jeff Curran against Japan's Kotani brothers as one of two most memorable bouts. "Curran broke his arm 30 seconds into the fight, so basically it was me verses the Kotani brothers. We didn't really even know the rules!"

Ironically enough, his other most memorable fight was his unanimous decision win over Naoyuki Kotani in ZST Grand Prix (January 2004), which paved his path to the tournament finals. "I beat Kotani and made it to the finals," he proudly remembers, but laughs as he continues, "Actually, getting caught with a punch in the eye—that cost me $30,000! That's pretty memorable!" He is, of course, referring to his final match in the ZST tournament, where he submitted because of a broken nose at 40 seconds in round one to Marcus Aurelio.

In his free time, what little he has of it (Clementi also runs a demolition/reconstructing company in Louisiana, not to mention being co-promoter of Reality Combat, a fight organization he and Jim Cunningham took on in 2003.), Clementi happily says, "spending intimate time with my honey," is what he enjoys most. (The two are opening a tanning salon together in January and plan to set a wedding date after.) And don't forget the MMA fighter fave, video games! He proudly announces, "Maybe besides Jens [Pulver] I have more than anyone! I have 150-160 games."

After Saturday's bout, Clementi looks forward to facing Gesias "JZ" Cavalcanti in the headlining bout for the AFC on October 29th (Ft. Lauderdale, Florida) as a last minute replacement for Paul Rodriguez, who was recently injured. After that, he has a tentative bout scheduled in February's Euphoria—USA vs. Brazil, not to mention his Reality Combat promotion has just signed a four-fight deal with a venue in northern Mississippi, and they hope to put on a total of eight shows next year.

The very enthusiastic, upbeat Clementi concludes, "If something happened where I couldn't fight, I realize that I have already done what I wanted to do. I wanted to fight in the UFC, and I did. I wanted to fight in Japan, and I did." He continues, "Monte is such a great guy. He helps me to accomplish my goals… I guess the only one I really have left is Pride."

With calls from Bushido and Heroes coming in during his rehabilitation period, it's only a matter of time. Though the past year has been obstacle upon obstacle, Clementi takes it in stride, and Saturday just may be the kickoff of his return!

Extreme Challenge 64
Oct. 15, 2005 * Terrible's Lakeside Casino, Osceola, Iowa

Branden Anderson (1-0) vs. Nick Brown (2-1)
Mike Van Meer vs. Rory Markham (6-1)
Sean Wilson (9-4) vs. John Strawn (28-6)
Sean Huffman (6-5) vs. John Halverson (9-2)
Chad Reiner (2-1) vs. Victor Moreno (13-4)
Nick Thompson (20-8-1) vs. Josh Neer (14-2-1)
Ex. Challenge lightweight title: Rich Clementi (23-9) vs. Chris Mickle (12-3-2)
Ex. Challenge welterweight title: Kyle Jensen (32-8) vs. Jason Black (18-0-1)
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