Christian Wellisch
| Christian Wellisch | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | September 13, 1975 Budapest, Hungary |
| Nationality | Hungarian American |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight | 234 lb (106 kg; 16.7 st) |
| Division | Heavyweight Light Heavyweight |
| Reach | 77.5 in (197 cm) |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Fighting out of | Sacramento, California, United States |
| Team | American Kickboxing Academy |
| Years active | 2001-2009 |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 13 |
| Wins | 8 |
| By knockout | 4 |
| By submission | 3 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Losses | 5 |
| By knockout | 3 |
| By submission | 1 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Christian Wellisch (born September 13, 1975) is a Hungarian-American former professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 2001 until 2009, he competed for the UFC, WEC, and King of the Cage. He was the first Hungarian fighter ever in the UFC.
Early life
[edit]Christian Wellisch was born in Budapest in 1975, and lived in Hungary for 12 years. Because of the political repressions at the time, his parents decided to leave Hungary and moved to America so that he and his siblings could have better opportunities abroad. One such opportunity was the chance to start a career in MMA.
Mixed martial arts career
[edit]Wellisch began his professional career in 2001 as a Heavyweight fighting in smaller promotions. In 2006, he scored a stoppage victory over the undefeated Dan Evensen. With a record of 6–2, Wellisch made his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut against Cheick Kongo at UFC 62. He lost by knockout due to a knee strike in the first round. Wellisch followed up with two victories against Anthony Perosh and Scott Junk at UFC 66 and UFC 76 respectively. His streak ended at UFC 84, where undefeated rising star Shane Carwin knocked him out with a punch in 44 seconds of the first round, knocking his mouthguard out as well.
In November 2008, the UFC released Wellisch from his contract along with Jon Fitch and other American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) fighters as a result of a dispute over the exclusive license rights for a video game between AKA and UFC President Dana White.[1] The dispute was resolved a day later and Wellisch, along with the other AKA fighters, were re-signed.[2]
In his next appearance, Wellisch made his Light Heavyweight debut at UFC 94, where he lost to Jake O'Brien by split decision. With his second consecutive loss, and the UFC facing a glut of fighters due to recent acquisitions of WEC contracts, Wellisch was released from the UFC roster.[3]
Life after MMA
[edit]Having graduated from the McGeorge School of Law,[4] Wellisch decided to retire from MMA and now runs his own law practice outside San Jose, California. Speaking on his decision to retire, Wellisch said "I told myself when I got into this sport that I wasn't going to take any steps backwards", he also said "I'm not going to go fight in the small shows, I think I made the right decision".
He enlisted in the California Army National Guard and currently holds the rank of Captain.[5][6]
Mixed martial arts record
[edit]| 13 matches | 8 wins | 5 losses |
| By knockout | 4 | 3 |
| By submission | 3 | 1 |
| By decision | 1 | 1 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 8–5 | Jake O'Brien | Decision (split) | UFC 94 | January 31, 2009 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Light Heavyweight debut. |
| Loss | 8–4 | Shane Carwin | KO (punch) | UFC 84 | May 24, 2008 | 1 | 0:44 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 8–3 | Scott Junk | Submission (heel hook) | UFC 76 | September 22, 2007 | 1 | 3:19 | Anaheim, California, United States | |
| Win | 7–3 | Anthony Perosh | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz | December 30, 2006 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 6–3 | Cheick Kongo | KO (knee) | UFC 62: Liddell vs. Sobral | August 26, 2006 | 1 | 2:51 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 6–2 | Dan Evensen | TKO (corner stoppage) | IFC: Caged Combat | April 1, 2006 | 2 | 5:00 | Sacramento, California, United States | |
| Win | 5–2 | Tom Howard | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Valor Fighting: Showdown At Cache Creek | February 3, 2006 | 1 | 2:11 | Brooks, California, United States | |
| Loss | 4–2 | Soa Palelei | TKO (punches) | Shooto Australia: NHB | February 12, 2004 | 2 | 4:33 | Melbourne, Australia | |
| Win | 4–1 | Vince Lucero | TKO (punches) | CFM: Octogono Extremo | September 27, 2003 | 1 | N/A | Monterrey, Mexico | |
| Loss | 3–1 | Kensuke Sasaki | Submission (guillotine choke) | X-1 | September 6, 2003 | 1 | 2:35 | Yokohama, Japan | |
| Win | 3–0 | Jay White | TKO (punches) | WEC 4 | August 31, 2002 | 3 | 3:42 | Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | |
| Win | 2–0 | Sam Sotello | Submission (rear-naked choke) | KOTC 16: Double Cross | August 2, 2002 | 1 | 4:20 | San Jacinto, California, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | Dennis Taddio | TKO (punches) | Shogun 1 | December 15, 2001 | 1 | 1:23 | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States |
References
[edit]- ^ "Jon Fitch, Christian Wellisch and possibly others cut by UFC". MMAMania.com. November 19, 2008. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
- ^ Martin, Damon (November 20, 2008). "24 HOURS LATER; JON FITCH BACK WITH UFC". MMAWeekly.com. Archived from the original on 2009-04-29. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
- ^ Caplan, Sam (February 10, 2009). "Christian Wellisch and Eddie Sanchez added to list of recent UFC cuts". FiveOuncesOfPain.com. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
- ^ California State Bar Membership Records
- ^ Face of Defense: ‘Hungarian Nightmare’ Joins California Guard
- ^ WELLISCH v. PENNSYLVANIA HIGHER EDUCATION ASSISTANCE AGENCY
External links
[edit]
- 1975 births
- American male mixed martial artists
- Hungarian male mixed martial artists
- Living people
- McGeorge School of Law alumni
- Martial artists from Budapest
- Martial artists from Sacramento, California
- United States Army officers
- Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters
- Hungarian emigrants to the United States
- 20th-century American sportsmen