Tristan Connelly (born December 12, 1985) is a Canadian

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

fighter who formerly competed 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 of 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 had previously won the Cage Sports Lightweight Championship, Unified MMA Lightweight Championship, as well as the Rise FC Lightweight Championship.

Background

Born and raised in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

, Connelly began competing in mixed martial arts in 2010. He holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Adam Ryan. Connelly runs a gym, called Pinnacle Combat Academy, in suburban

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

. Connelly spent much of his childhood skateboarding and playing hockey, which he credits with preparing him to take hard hits. After taking a BJJ class, Connelly fell in love with the sport and the wider world of mixed martial arts.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Connelly competed in smaller promotions, earning himself a record of 13–6. During that span, he managed to capture lightweight championships in three different promotions: Rise FC, CageSport, Unified MMA.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Replacing Sergey Khandozhko on 5 days notice, Connelly made his promotional debut on September 14, 2019, against

Michel Pereira Michel Fagner Lima Pereira (born 6 October 1993) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2011, he formerly competed ...

at UFC Fight Night 158. At the weigh-ins, Pereira missed weight by a pound and forfeited 20 percent of his purse to Connelly. Despite a flashy start from Pereira he quickly gassed allowing Connelly to dominate the remainder of the fight and winning via unanimous decision. The bout was awarded a '' Fight of the Night'' bonus, but due to Pereira's weight miss, his bonus was forfeited to Connelly. Connelly was scheduled to make his sophomore appearance in the organization against

Alex da Silva Coelho Alex da Silva Coelho (born February 4, 1996) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division. A professional since 2014, he most notably competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Mixed martial arts car ...

on April 11, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Harris. However, the event was initially rescheduled and eventually cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and the bout was scrapped. Connelly spent the next year on the sidelines recovering from a disc injury in his neck that he acquired in a car crash in 2019 before his UFC debut. In his sophomore appearance in the UFC, Connelly faced Pat Sabatini at

UFC 261 ''UFC 261: Usman vs. Masvidal 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 24, 2021 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Background The promoti ...

on April 24, 2021. He lost the fight via unanimous decision after being knocked down early in the fight. Connelly was then scheduled to face Makwan Amirkhani on October 30, 2021 at

UFC 267 ''UFC 267: Błachowicz vs. Teixeira'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 30, 2021, at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Background This event took place ...

. However, Connelly withdrew in early September due to a neck injury and was replaced by

Lerone Murphy Lerone Murphy (born 22 July 1991) is an English professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of 8 April 2025, he is #8 in UFC featherweight rankings. Back ...

. Connelly faced

Darren Elkins Darren Elkins (born May 16, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist who is currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he fights in the Featherweight division. Background Elkins was born in Hobart, Indiana and competed four y ...

on April 30, 2022 at UFC on ESPN: Font vs. Vera. He lost the bout via unanimous decision. On June 9, 2022 it was announced that Connelly was released from the UFC.

Post UFC

Connelly faced Xavier Nash on October 12, 2022 at BFL 74. He lost the bout via unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments

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

** Fight of the Night (One Time) vs.

**UFC.com Awards ***2019: Ranked #2 Upset of the Year *Rise Fighting Championship **Rise FC Lightweight Championship (one time; former) *CageSport MMA **CS Lightweight Championship (one time; former) ***One successful title defense *Unified MMA **Unified MMA Lightweight Championship (one time; former) * MMAjunkie.com **2019 Upset of the Year vs.

Sherdog Sherdog is an American website devoted to the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It also has many forums and discussion pages on the many topics of MMA like records, promotions, etc. The site is a member of the CraveOnline network and provides MM ...

**2019 Upset of the Year vs.

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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Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

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Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

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Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

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Shane Campbell Shane Darryl Campbell is a Canadian Welterweight Muay Thai kickboxer, mixed martial artist, and a former W.K.A. Muay Thai World Champion. Campbell is also the current WMA World Pro Muay Thai Champion, Aggression MMA World Champion, and Unified ...

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Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

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Fredericton, New Brunswick Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River (Bay of Fundy), Saint John River, ...

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Medicine Hat, Alberta Medicine Hat is a city in southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff to the northwest are within ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 6–5 , Ash Mashreghi , TKO (punches) , BFL 45 Ascension , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:24 ,

Coquitlam, British Columbia Coquitlam ( ) is a city in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly suburban, Coquitlam is the sixth-largest city in the province, with an estimated population of 174,248 in 2024, and one of the 21 municipalities comprising Metr ...

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, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 3–3 , Corey Houston , Submission (rear naked choke) , AFC 11: Takeover , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:47 ,

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 2–3 , Matt Trudeau , TKO (shoulder injury) , Armageddon FC 7 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Colwood, British Columbia Colwood is a city on Vancouver Island to the southwest of Victoria, capital of British Columbia, Canada. Colwood was incorporated in 1985 and has a population of approximately 19,000 people. Colwood lies within the boundaries of the Greater Vi ...

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, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–2 , Dan Ring , Decision (unanimous) , Armageddon FC 4 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

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Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Connelly, Tristan Canadian male mixed martial artists Living people Martial artists from British Columbia 1985 births Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Canadian male sport wrestlers Amateur wrestlers Canadian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu 21st-century Canadian sportsmen