Christopher Wade (born September 30, 1987) is an American former professional mixed martial artist, who completed in the

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...

division. A professional competitor since 2011, Wade has also competed in the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

and

Professional Fighters League The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) promot ...

(PFL).

Background

Wade was born on September 30, 1987, in

Rockville Centre, New York Rockville Centre, commonly abbreviated as RVC, is an incorporated Village (New York), village located in the Hempstead, New York, Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on the South Shore (Long Island), South Shore of Long ...

. A talented

wrestler Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves diffe ...

, Wade attended

Islip High School Islip High School is the public high school in Islip Islip may refer to: Places England * Islip, Northamptonshire *Islip, Oxfordshire * Islip Manor Meadows United States *Islip, New York, a town in Suffolk County ** Islip (hamlet), New Yor ...

, where he was a state champion (140 lbs.) as well as a two-time Suffolk County finalist and a Suffolk County Champion. Wade continued his career at the collegiate level where he was a NJCAA National finalist for

Nassau Community College Nassau Community College (NCC) is a Public college, public community college in the East Garden City, New York, East Garden City section of Uniondale, New York, Uniondale, Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on Long Island, New York (state), N ...

, losing to future UFC Welterweight title challenger Colby Covington 15–3. As well, Wade was an NCAA Division III fifth-place finish for

SUNY Oneonta The State University of New York at Oneonta, also known as SUNY Oneonta, is a public university in Oneonta, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. History SUNY Oneonta was established in 1889 as the Oneonta ...

. Wade also competed in amateur

kickboxing Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid Martial arts, martial art and Boxing (disambiguation), boxing type based on punch (combat), punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, norma ...

, where was undefeated and held a title.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Wade had an amateur MMA record of 2-0 before turning professional in 2011. Wade then compiled a professional record of 5-0 and won the Ring of Combat Lightweight Championship before being signed by the

World Series of Fighting The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) promot ...

World Series of Fighting

Wade made his WSOF debut at WSOF 2 on March 23, 2013, against Russian prospect Azamat Dugulubgov. Wade lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Independent promotions

Wade returned to the local circuit and won both of his next two fights before being signed by the

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Wade made his promotional debut against Cain Carrizosa on August 30, 2014, at

UFC 177 ''UFC 177: Dillashaw vs. Soto'' was a mixed martial arts event held on August 30, 2014, at the Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento, California. Background The event was originally planned to take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev ...

. Wade won the fight via technical submission from a guillotine choke in the first round. Wade faced Zhang Lipeng on January 18, 2015, at

UFC Fight Night 59 ''UFC Fight Night: McGregor vs. Siver'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 59'') was a mixed martial arts event held on January 18, 2015, at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Background The event was headlined by a featherweight bout between ...

. Wade won the fight via unanimous decision. Wade faced

Christos Giagos Christos Giagos (born January 23, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competed in the lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Giagos was born and raised in Southern California. Giagos co ...

on June 6, 2015, at

UFC Fight Night 68 ''UFC Fight Night: Boetsch vs. Henderson'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 68'') was a mixed martial arts event held on June 6, 2015, at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. Background The event was expected to be headlined by a l ...

. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Wade was expected to face

Olivier Aubin-Mercier Olivier Aubin-Mercier (; born February 23, 1989) is a Canadian retired mixed martial artist who competed in the Lightweight division. Fighting from 2011 to 2023, Aubin-Mercier competed for the Professional Fighters League, where he won the 2022 ...

on August 23, 2015, at

UFC Fight Night 74 ''UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Oliveira'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 74'') was a mixed martial arts event held on August 23, 2015, at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Background The event was the first that the organi ...

. However, Wade pulled out of the fight in late July, after sustaining an injury, and he was replaced by Tony Sims. Wade was expected to face

Mairbek Taisumov Mairbek Vakhaevich Taisumov (Russian: Майрбек Вахаевич Тайсумов; born August 8, 1988) is a Russian-born Austrian mixed martial artist. He fights in the lightweight division. A professional mixed martial artist since 2007, ...

on January 17, 2016, at

UFC Fight Night 81 ''UFC Fight Night: Dillashaw vs. Cruz'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 81'') was a mixed martial arts event held on January 17, 2016, at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Background A UFC Bantamweight Championship bout between defending c ...

, replacing an injured

Beneil Dariush Beneil Khobier Dariush (born May 6, 1989) is an American professional mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from ...

. Subsequently, Taisumov was pulled from the fight during the week leading to the event due to alleged

visa Visa most commonly refers to: * Travel visa, a document that allows entry to a foreign country * Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Vi ...

issues, and he was replaced by promotional newcomer Mehdi Baghdad. Wade won the fight via submission in the first round. Wade was expected to face

Rashid Magomedov Rashid Magomedgadzhievich Magomedov (; born May 14, 1984) is a Russian mixed martial artist. He is a former amateur Light heavyweight and Middleweight boxer, and competed at the lightweight mixed martial artist in the Ultimate Fighting Champ ...

on May 8, 2016, at

UFC Fight Night 87 ''UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Arlovski'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 87'') was a mixed martial arts event held on May 8, 2016, at the Rotterdam Ahoy in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Background The event was the first that the organization hosted ...

. However, Magomedov pulled out of the fight in early March, and he was replaced by

Rustam Khabilov Rustam Mikailovich Khabilov (born 4 November 1986) is a Russian mixed martial artist, who last competed in the Welterweight division. He is a Combat Sambo World Champion and a former member of the Legion Sport Club fight team in Rostov-on-Don ...

. Wade lost the fight via unanimous decision. Wade next faced

Islam Makhachev Islam Ramazanovich Makhachev (; born 27 October 1991) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist and former sambo competitor. He currently competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the cu ...

on September 17, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 94. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Wade faced

Frankie Perez Frankie Perez (born May 11, 1989) is a mixed martial artist specializing in Brazilian jiu-jitsu who has competed in both the Ultimate Fighting Championship, as well as World Series of Fighting. Originally from Wallington, Perez moved to Howel ...

in a rematch on July 22, 2017, at

UFC on Fox 25 ''UFC on Fox: Weidman vs. Gastelum'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 25'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on July 22, 2017, at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. Backgroun ...

. He won the fight by unanimous decision with the score board of (29-28, 29–28, 30–27).

Professional Fighters League

Wade subsequently parted ways with UFC following the bout and signed a contract with PFL in early 2018.

PFL inaugural season

Wade made his promotional debut against Natan Schulte at PFL 2 on June 21, 2018. Wade lost the fight via unanimous decision. Wade then faced Yuki Kawana at PFL 5 on August 2, 2018. He won the fight via first-round guillotine choke submission. Wade advanced to the playoffs and faced Robert Watley in the opening round on October 13, 2018. Wade won the fight via majority decision and advanced to the semifinals. In the semifinals, Wade faced Natan Schulte again in a split decision losing effort and was eliminated from the tournament.

PFL Season 2019

In early 2019, it was announced that Wade will be participating in the PFL season 2019 lightweight tournament. Wade's first appearance of the season took place against Nate Andrews at PFL 2 on May 23, 2019. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Wade then faced Akhmet Aliev at PFL 5 on July 25, 2019. He won the fight via unanimous decision. With two wins in the regular season, Wade advanced to the playoffs where he faced Nate Andrews in a rematch at PFL 8 on October 17, 2019. He won the fight via majority decision and advanced to the semifinals. In the semifinal on the same day, Wade faced Loik Radzhabov and lost via unanimous decision and was eliminated from the tournament.

PFL Season 2021

Wade returned to PFL for the 2021 season, moving down a weight class to featherweight. Wade faced Anthony Dizy on April 23, 2021, at PFL 1. He won the bout via unanimous decision. Wade faced Arman Ospanov at PFL 4 on June 10, 2021. He won the bout via knockout after landing a head kick and finishing Ospanov with punches in the second round. Wade faced

Bubba Jenkins Bubba Jenkins (born February 5, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist and former amateur wrestler. He currently competes in the featherweight division. He has also notably competed for Bellator MMA, Absolute Championship Berkut, Professiona ...

in the Semifinals off the Featherweight tournament on August 27, 2021, at PFL 9. He won the bout via unanimous decision. Wade faced Movlid Khaybulaev in the Finals of the Featherweight tournament on October 27, 2021, at PFL 10. He lost the bout via unanimous decision.

PFL Season 2022

Wade faced

Lance Palmer Lance Palmer (born February 7, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist and former collegiate wrestler, who currently competes in the featherweight division. A professional since 2011, he is most notable for competing in Professi ...

on April 28, 2022, at PFL 2. He won the bout via unanimous decision. Wade faced

Kyle Bochniak Kyle Bochniak (born February 5, 1987) is an Americans, American mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight (MMA), Featherweight division. A professional competitor since 2014, he has competed in the Ultimat ...

on June 24, 2022, at PFL 5. He won the bout via head kick and then ground and pound TKO in the first round. Wade faced

Brendan Loughnane Brendan Loughnane (born December 5, 1989) is a British professional mixed martial artist. He competes in the Featherweight division of the Professional Fighters League (PFL). Loughnane has been a professional competitor since 2010, and competed i ...

in the Semifinals off the Featherweight tournament on August 20, 2022, at PFL 9. He lost the bout via unanimous decision.

PFL Season 2023

Wade started off the 2023 season in a rematch against

on April 1, 2023, at PFL 1. He lost the bout via unanimous decision. Wade faced Ryoji Kudo on June 8, 2023, at PFL 4. He won the fight via a technical submission due to a guillotine choke in the first round. In the Featherweight semi-finals, Wade replaced 2021 PFL champion Movlid Khaybulaev against Gabriel Alves Braga at PFL 7 on August 4, 2023, losing the fight via split decision. Wade was scheduled to rematch

on November 24, 2023 at PFL 10, however at weigh-ins, Wade came in at148.4 pounds, which was 2.4 pounds north of the non-title. Jenkins turned down the catchweight bout and the bout was scrapped. Wade was scheduled to face

in a trilogy bout on November 24, 2023, at PFL 10. At the weigh-ins, Wade came in at 148.4 pounds, 2.4 pounds over the featherweight limit. As a results, Jenkins turned down the catchweight bout and the bout was scrapped. On June 9, 2025, Wade announced his retirement from mixed martial arts competition.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 23–10 , Gabriel Alves Braga , Decision (split) , PFL 7 (2022) , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

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Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

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Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal c ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 20–7 , Movlid Khaybulaev , Decision (unanimous) ,

PFL 10 (2021) The ''PFL 10'' mixed martial arts event for the 2021 season of the Professional Fighters League was held on October 27, 2021. This was the finale of the playoffs for all divisions, with the winners getting $1 million cash prize. Background Ka ...

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Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb in the Miami metropolitan area. The population of Hollywood was 153,067 as of 2020, making it the Broward County#Communities, third-largest city in Broward County, th ...

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, Decision (unanimous) , PFL 9 (2021) , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 19–6 , Arman Ospanov , KO (head kick and punches) , PFL 4 (2021) , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:18 ,

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 18–6 , Anthony Dizy , Decision (unanimous) , PFL 1 (2021) , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 17–6 , Loik Radzhabov , Decision (unanimous) , rowspan=2 , PFL 8 (2019) , rowspan=2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , rowspan=2 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 17–5 , Nate Andrews , Decision (majority) , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , , - , Win , align=center, 16–5 , Akhmet Aliev , Decision (unanimous) , PFL 5 (2019) , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 15–5 , Nate Andrews , Decision (unanimous) , PFL 2 (2019) , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Uniondale, New York Uniondale is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in central Nassau County, New York, on Long Island, in the Town of Hempstead, within the New York metropolitan area. The population was 32,473 at the time of the 2020 United States census ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–5 , Natan Schulte , Decision (split) , rowspan=2 , PFL 9 (2018) , rowspan=2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , rowspan=2 ,

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

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, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Arlovski , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

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, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Boetsch vs. Henderson , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

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, Decision (split) , Ring of Combat 48 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Pat DeFranco , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Ring of Combat 47 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:31 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–1 , Azamat Dugulugbov , Decision (unanimous) , WSOF 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Mike Medrano , Decision (unanimous) , Ring of Combat 43 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Alfred Walker , Submission (guillotine choke) , Ring of Combat 42 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:59 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Villi Bello , Decision (unanimous) , Ring of Combat 41 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Maykon Santos , Decision (unanimous) , Ring of Combat 40 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Vinicius Agudo , Decision (unanimous) , Ring of Combat 38 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:00 ,

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References

External links

Chris Wade
at

PFL PFL may refer to: Sport * Professional Fighters League, an American mixed martial arts league * Peel Football League, an Australian rules football league * Pioneer Football League, an NCAA Division I FCS football conference * Professional Futsa ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wade, Chris 1987 births Living people American male mixed martial artists American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing kickboxing Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Nassau Community College alumni State University of New York at Oneonta alumni Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Professional Fighters League male fighters American male kickboxers American male sport wrestlers Amateur wrestlers