Rico DiSciullo Record: 11-2-0

The CES run and Contender Series

Among his early statement results was an April 2014 decision win over future UFC and ONE flyweight Jordan Espinosa at CES 23, a quality scalp that flagged him as a prospect to watch. He kept winning through the mid-2010s, mixing knockouts and submissions on the regional circuit. That momentum earned him a Dana White's Contender Series spot in June 2018, where he ran into unbeaten powerhouse Montel Jackson and was stopped by punches in the third round. After a multi-year layoff, DiSciullo returned with back-to-back regional wins and then landed on The Ultimate Fighter 31 as a member of Team McGregor. There he delivered the season's signature moment for his squad, a second-round knockout of Hunter Azure that stood as the lone win for McGregor's team in the early going. His tournament run ended in the next round, when veteran Cody Gibson caught him in a first-round arm-triangle choke.

Fighting style

DiSciullo is a versatile finisher with a 64% finish rate, balanced across five knockouts and two submissions. His Sityodtong base gives him sharp, varied striking, but his record shows he is equally comfortable hunting finishes on the mat, having tapped opponents with creative chokes like the Peruvian necktie and rear-naked choke. He is at his best controlling the pace and capitalizing on openings, as the TUF knockout of Azure demonstrated. The clear lesson of his two losses is that elite-level power and grappling pressure – Jackson's punches, Gibson's arm-triangle – can expose him when he is forced onto the back foot against top competition.

Career highlights

• TUF 31 knockout of Hunter Azure — scored Team McGregor's only win in the early stretch of the season with a second-round finish on the UFC's developmental show.
• Decision win over Jordan Espinosa — beat a future UFC and ONE flyweight at CES 23 in 2014, an early sign of his prospect ceiling.
• Multi-time regional champion — built an 11–2 record with a 64% finish rate as one of New England's most reliable bantamweights out of Team Sityodtong.