Attonito's interest in mixed martial arts was piqued when he saw his teammate from college, Phil Baroni, take the UFC by storm.
However, he did not jump headlong into the sport until 2004, when, while working as a personal trainer in New Jersey, one of his coworkers and former heavyweight boxing title-contender Leo Loiacono, challenged him to make the most of his athletic abilities by competing in MMA.
After his fifth fight, in 2006, members of the American Top Team camp approached Attonito to see if he would be interested in training with them down in Florida.
The fight ended due to Uscola throwing two illegal knees in round one, giving Rich the DQ win.
Rich's spot in the quarter-finals of the competition was taken by Court McGee, after perceived controversy over his loss to Nick Ring.
[10] However, Martin Kampmann was forced out of his bout with John Howard with an injury and Brown was chosen as his replacement, while Attonito faced Daniel Roberts.
[17] However, Attonito had reservations about taking the short notice bout due to the weight cut requirements and DaMarques Johnson took on Nelson instead.