Ricardo Alves Almeida (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʁiˈkaʁdu awˈmejdɐ]; born November 29, 1976)[3] is a Brazilian-American former mixed martial artist and current Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu grappler residing in Bordentown, New Jersey.

Almeida trains with and teaches former UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar at his longtime Gracie system gym in Robbinsville, NJ.

Referee Mario Yamasaki ended the fight in the third round after repeated illegal upkicks from Almeida, giving him a loss via disqualification.

Almeida lost the fight via TKO in the second round after Semenov landed hard punches in his UFC debut.

Almeida retired for a four-year period after a six-fight win streak to focus on running his Jiu-Jitsu school in Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey.

Almeida returned at UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann, this time on the preliminary card, to face Matt Horwich, winning by unanimous decision.

Almeida won by outgrappling his opponent for the majority of the bout and controlling the fight to earn a unanimous decision victory.

He was scheduled to fight Jon Fitch at UFC 106 but had to withdraw due to a knee injury suffered while training.

Almeida retired for the second time on March 30, 2011, saying that he could not focus 100 percent on fighting, citing his family, his son (who was diagnosed with autism), and teaching at his academies as other areas of his life that needed attention.

[22] He added that he would continue to support the UFC and teammates such as Frankie Edgar, Kris McCray, Eddie Alvarez, and Corey Anderson.

[23] On May 5, 2012, he made his major-event debut as a judge at the UFC on FOX 3 card at the Izod Center at the Meadowlands Sports Complex.

He is the head instructor and owner at Ricardo Almeida Brazilian jiu-jitsu School located in Robbinsville Township, New Jersey, and in Lakewood Ranch, Florida.