Christian Wellisch (born September 13, 1975) is a Hungarian-American former 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 around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

. A professional competitor from 2001 until 2009, he competed for 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 ...

, WEC, and

King of the Cage King of the Cage (KOTC) is a mixed martial arts promotion based in Southern California, United States. History KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock Jr. KOTC features mostly amateur as well as up and coming MMA stars and former mainstre ...

. He was the first Hungarian fighter ever in the

Early life

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 (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

Mixed martial arts career

Wellisch began his professional career in 2001 as a

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

fighting in smaller promotions. In 2006, he scored a stoppage victory over the undefeated

Dan Evensen Dan Tore Evensen (born June 1, 1974) is a Norwegian mixed martial artist and former K-1 Kickboxer. Evensen has fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Bellator Fighting Championships, and the now defunct BodogFIGHT. Background He was a ...

. With a record of 6–2, Wellisch made his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut against

Cheick Kongo Cheick Kongo (born May 17, 1975) is a French mixed martial artist and former kickboxer who fights in the Heavyweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2001, he has also competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Bellator. ...

at ''

UFC 62 ''UFC 62: Liddell vs. Sobral'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 26, 2006. The event took place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada and was broadcast live on pay-per-view in the ...

''. He lost by knockout due to a knee strike in the first round. Wellisch followed up with two victories against

Anthony Perosh Anthony Perosh (born 5 October 1972) is a retired Australian professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Perosh was born and raised in Sydney, Australia and ...

and Scott Junk at ''

UFC 66 ''UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 30, 2006 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada. Background ''UFC 66s main ...

'' and ''

UFC 76 ''UFC 76: Knockout'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The event took place on September 22, 2007, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Although the event was advertised with the s ...

'' respectively. His streak ended at ''

UFC 84 ''UFC 84: Ill Will'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on May 24, 2008, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada. Background The card featured the return of Sean Sherk ...

'', where undefeated rising star

Shane Carwin Shane Bannister Carwin (born January 4, 1975) is an American former mixed martial artist who competed in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion. He is considere ...

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 Jon Fitch (born February 24, 1978) is an American retired mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He has competed in the Welterweight (MMA), Welterweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the Professional Fighters League ...

and other

American Kickboxing Academy The American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) is a mixed martial arts gym based in San Jose, California. It is one of the pioneering schools of mixed martial arts (MMA). In 2014, AKA opened the ''AKA Thailand'' gym in Phuket, Thailand. Prominent traine ...

(AKA) fighters as a result of a dispute over the exclusive license rights for a video game between AKA and UFC President

Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who is the CEO and president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at . Out ...

. The dispute was resolved a day later and Wellisch, along with the other AKA fighters, were re-signed. In his next appearance, Wellisch made his

Light Heavyweight Light heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight. The light heavyweight class has ...

debut at ''

UFC 94 ''UFC 94: St-Pierre vs. Penn 2'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) pay-per-view event promoted by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on January 31, 2009. The card featured five televised MMA bouts, as well as five un-aired preliminary bouts. I ...

'', 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.

Life after MMA

Having graduated from the

McGeorge School of Law University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law is a private, American Bar Association (ABA)-approved law school in the Oak Park neighborhood of the city of Sacramento, California. It is part of the University of the Pacific and is located on ...

, Wellisch decided to retire from MMA and now runs his own law practice outside

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

. 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 The California Army National Guard (CA ARNG) is one of three components of the California National Guard, a reserve of the United States Army, and part of the United States National Guard, National Guard of the United States. The California Army ...

and currently holds the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

.WELLISCH v. PENNSYLVANIA HIGHER EDUCATION ASSISTANCE AGENCY
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Mixed martial arts record

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

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Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

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, TKO (corner stoppage) , IFC: Caged Combat , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

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Brooks, California Brooks is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Yolo County, California, located in the Capay Valley in the northwest of the county. Brooks' ZIP Code is 95606 and its area code 530. The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation is head ...

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Soa Palelei Soa Palelei (born 12 July 1977) is an Australian retired mixed martial artist. A professional from 2002 until 2015, he most notably competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship and PRIDE Fighting Championships. Background Born in 1977, Newc ...

, TKO (punches) , Shooto Australia: NHB , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:33 ,

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Vince Lucero , TKO (punches) , CFM: Octogono Extremo , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

, Mexico , , - , Loss , align=center, 3–1 ,

Kensuke Sasaki is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his numerous runs in the top three Japanese wrestling promotions; New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), and Pro Wrestling Noah. He was the founder and o ...

, Submission (guillotine choke) , X-1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:35 ,

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Jay White , TKO (punches) ,

WEC 4 ''WEC 4: Rumble Under The Sun'' was a mixed martial arts event held on August 31, 2002, at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut, USA. The main event was a fight between Aaron Brink and Jeremy Horn. Results See also * W ...

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:42 ,

Uncasville, Connecticut Uncasville is a village in the town of Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is located in southeastern Montville, at the mouth of the Oxoboxo River where it flows into the Thames River. The name is now applied more generally to all of the ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Sam Sotello , Submission (rear-naked choke) , KOTC 16: Double Cross , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:20 ,

San Jacinto, California San Jacinto ( , ; ) is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. It is located at the north end of the San Jacinto Valley, with Hemet, California, Hemet to its south and Beaumont, California, Beaumont to its north. The mountains ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Dennis Taddio , TKO (punches) , Shogun 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:23 ,

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

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References

External links

* *
Christian Wellisch - UFC Fans
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wellisch, Christian 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