Tracy Telligman (most often billed as "Tra" Telligman ; born February 7, 1965) is a retired American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

and boxer who has fought 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 Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

PRIDE Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) wh ...

, and

Pancrase Pancrase Inc. is a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. The name was based on pankration, a fighting sport in the Ancient Olympic Games. Suzuki and Funaki ...

. He is also known for fighting despite having only one

pectoralis major muscle The pectoralis major () is a thick, fan-shaped or triangular convergent muscle, situated at the chest of the human body. It makes up the bulk of the chest muscles and lies under the breast. Beneath the pectoralis major is the pectoralis minor ...

Background

Telligman was born in Dallas, Texas. He was in a car accident when he was only one and a half years old, and as a result, he is missing his right pectoral and also his right lung, leaving a deep recess in his chest. The accident also crushed his ribs and he has lived with the deformity ever since. Telligman began training in

Karate (; ; Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the influence of Chinese martial arts, particularly Fuj ...

when he was 8 years old, continuing until he was 13 years old, and then began

Boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

until he was 15. He then began training in

Jiu-Jitsu Jujutsu ( ; ja, link=no, 柔術 , ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu, is a family of Japanese martial arts and a system of close combat (unarmed or with a minor weapon) that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subd ...

and participated in a full-contact Karate contest when he was in high school. Telligman also trained in

Taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. ...

Kung Fu Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to commo ...

Judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo") ...

, and

Wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Telligman began training with the famed Lion's Den gym after meeting

Ken Shamrock Kenneth Wayne Shamrock (''né'' Kilpatrick; born February 11, 1964) is an American bare-knuckle boxing promoter and semi-retired professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, and kickboxer. He is best known for his time in Ultimate Fighting Champ ...

and fellow-Texas native and karate practitioner,

Guy Mezger Guy Mezger (born January 1, 1968) is an American martial artist, who competed in professional combat sports including Full Contact Karate, Kickboxing, and Boxing, but is most recognized as a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter. Mezger retired from ...

. Telligman's first professional fight was in 1995, and he won his first three fights, all by strikes in the first round before being invited to compete in the UFC.

UFC

Telligman made his UFC debut at UFC 12 in the UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament against future

UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

Vitor Belfort Vítor Vieira Belfort (; born 1 April 1977) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight and Middleweight divisions. Belfort previously competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he fought in the Heavyw ...

. Telligman was handed his first professional loss only one minute into the fight and Belfort would go on to win the tournament. Two fights later, he faced Keiichiro Yamamiya in Pancrase and the fight ended in a draw. Telligman then returned to the

UFC Japan ''UFC Japan: Ultimate Japan '' (also known as ''UFC Ultimate Japan'' or ''UFC 15.5'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 21, 1997 in Yokohama, Japan. The event was seen on pay per view in the Uni ...

against

Brad Kohler Bradley Kohler (born May 26, 1964) is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Heavyweight division. A professional from 1997 until 2012, Kohler competed for the UFC, RINGS and DEEP. Career Kohler made his prof ...

and won via

armbar An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armlock that hyper-extends the arm is known as an armbar, and it includes the traditional armbar, p ...

submission in the first round. Two fights later, he returned again at UFC 20 to face

Pedro Rizzo Pedro Augusto Rizzo (; born 3 May 1974) is a Brazilian retired mixed martial artist and kickboxer who competed for the UFC, PRIDE, M-1 Global, and Affliction. Although he never captured the UFC Heavyweight Championship, Rizzo competed for it ...

and was knocked out from punches 4:30 into the fight.

PRIDE

A year later, Telligman made his

debut at Pride 9 against Carlos Barreto and lost via unanimous decision. In his next bout for the promotion, Telligman faced legendary Ukrainian

kickboxer Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, gener ...

Igor Vovchanchyn Igor Yaroslavovych Vovchanchyn (, uk, Ігор Ярославович Вовчанчин; born August 6, 1973) is a retired Ukrainian mixed martial artist and kickboxer, who competed in early no holds barred MMA contests. After making his profess ...

at Pride 13, and took the fight on two-weeks notice after teammate,

, who was originally supposed to fight Vovchanchyn, hurt his neck in training. Despite being a heavy underdog, Telligman won via unanimous decision, as his boxing technique and footwork made the fight difficult for Vovchanchyn. This win was one of the biggest upsets in the sport's history at the time and after the win, Telligman became the #10 ranked

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the W ...

in the world.

Return to the UFC

Two years later, Telligman made his return to the UFC in a rematch with

at UFC 43 and lost again via

TKO TKO may refer to: Sports * Technical knockout, a professional fighting term * Total Knock Out, a professional wrestling move Music Artists * TKO (band), a rock band from Seattle, Washington * TKO, a pop group led by Katie White Albums * ''TKO ...

due to a doctor stoppage 4:24 into the second round. Telligman then faced former UFC Heavyweight Champion

Tim Sylvia Timothy Deane Sylvia (born March 5, 1976) is an American retired mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, professional wrestler, and a former two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion. He has competed as a Super Heavyweight and Heavyweight. While he is best kn ...

and lost via head kick knockout at just under five minutes into the fight. Sylvia would go on to become UFC Heavyweight Champion a second time two fights after his win over Telligman. Telligman became semi-retired from the sport after his loss to Sylvia, but has since retired from the sport altogether. Tra was last seen coaching in the World Combat League.

Personal life

Telligman is married.

Championships and Accomplishments

*Icon Sport **SuperBrawl 1 Heavyweight Tournament Winner

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 7–5–1 ,

, KO (head kick) , UFC 54 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:59 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

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, TKO (doctor stoppage) , UFC 43 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:24 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–3–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Pride 13 - Collision Course , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–3–1 , Carlos Barreto , Decision (unanimous) , Pride 9 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 10:00 ,

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most p ...

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–2–1 ,

, KO (punches) , UFC 20 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:30 ,

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1–1 , David Rivera , TKO (punches) , World Pancration Championships 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County wi ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1–1 ,

, Submission (armbar) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 10:05 ,

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of ...

, Japan , , - , Draw , align=center, 4–1–1 , Keiichiro Yamamiya , Draw (majority) , Pancrase: Alive 9 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:00 ,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Rick Mathis , Submission (heel hook) , World Pankration Championships 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:58 ,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 3–1 ,

, TKO (cut) , UFC 12 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:17 ,

Dothan, Alabama Dothan () is a city in Dale, Henry, and Houston counties and the Houston county seat in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is Alabama's eighth-largest city, with a population of 71,072 at the 2020 census. It is near the state's southeastern corner ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Walt Darby , Submission (punches) , SuperBrawl 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:09 ,

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the islan ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Brian Matapua , Submission (punches) , SuperBrawl 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:04 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Vladimir Hoodenkih , KO (punches) , Absolute Fighting Championship 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:40 ,

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, Russia , , -

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Telligman, Tra 1965 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing karate Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing jujutsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American jujutsuka American male karateka American male boxers