# Tristan Connelly

Tristan Connelly (born December 12, 1985) is a Canadian mixed martial arts fighter who formerly competed in the featherweight division of the UFC 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, 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.
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 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 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 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 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. However, Connelly withdrew in early September due to a neck injury and was replaced by Lerone Murphy.
Connelly faced Darren Elkins 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
** Fight of the Night (One Time) vs. Michel Pereira
** UFC.com Awards
*** 2019: Ranked #2 Upset of the Year vs. Michel Pereira
* 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. Michel Pereira
* Sherdog
** 2019 Upset of the Year vs. Michel Pereira

## Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown :
| 23 matches | 14 wins | 9 losses |
| By knockout | 4 | 1 |
| By submission | 9 | 1 |
| By decision | 1 | 7 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
| Loss | 14–9 | Xavier Nash | Decision (unanimous) | BFL 74 | October 12, 2022 | 3 | 5:00 | Vancouver, Canada | Return to Lightweight. |
| Loss | 14–8 | Darren Elkins | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on ESPN: Font vs. Vera | April 30, 2022 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 14–7 | Pat Sabatini | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 261 | April 24, 2021 | 3 | 5:00 | Jacksonville, Florida, United States | Return to Featherweight. |
| Win | 14–6 | Michel Pereira | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Gaethje | September 14, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | Welterweight bout; Pereira missed weight (172 lb). Fight of the Night. |
| Win | 13–6 | D'Juan Owens | TKO (punches) | Rise FC 4 | July 27, 2019 | 5 | 1:56 | Victoria, British Columbia, Canada | Won the Rise FC Lightweight Championship. |
| Win | 12–6 | Zach Juusola | Submission (guillotine) | Final Fight Championship 36 | May 9, 2019 | 1 | 2:46 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Catchweight (160 lb) bout. |
| Win | 11–6 | Tyrone Henderson | TKO (retirement) | CageSport 54 | December 15, 2018 | 1 | 5:00 | Tacoma, Washington, United States | Defended the CS Lightweight Championship. |
| Win | 10–6 | Joey Pierotti | Submission (armbar) | CageSport 50 | April 28, 2018 | 4 | 1:06 | Tacoma, Washington, United States | Won the CS Lightweight Championship. |
| Loss | 9–6 | Shane Campbell | Submission (kneebar) | Unified MMA 31 | June 9, 2017 | 3 | 4:54 | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | Lost the Unified MMA Lightweight Championship. |
| Win | 9–5 | Lenny Wheeler | Submission (rear naked choke) | Elite 1 MMA | May 6, 2017 | 3 | 3:47 | Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada | |
| Win | 8–5 | Garret Nybakken | Submission (rear naked choke) | Unified MMA 30 | March 31, 2017 | 3 | 2:47 | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | Won the Unified MMA Lightweight Championship. |
| Win | 7–5 | Adam Assenza | Submission (rear naked choke) | Fight Night 2 | November 28, 2016 | 2 | 1:11 | Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada | |
| Win | 6–5 | Ash Mashreghi | TKO (punches) | BFL 45 Ascension | September 17, 2016 | 1 | 1:24 | Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada | |
| Loss | 5–5 | Mario Pereira | Decision (unanimous) | BFL 39: Halloween Hell | October 17, 2015 | 3 | 5:00 | Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada | Featherweight bout. |
| Win | 5–4 | Shawn Albrecht | TKO (punches) | BFL 37: Gladiator | July 25, 2015 | 1 | 4:21 | Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada | Return to Lightweight. |
| Win | 4–4 | Jonathan Dubois | Submission (rear naked choke) | AFC 18: Mayhem | May 19, 2013 | 1 | 2:48 | Victoria, British Columbia, Canada | Middleweight debut. |
| Loss | 3–4 | Myles Merola | Decision (unanimous) | AFC 13: Natural Selection | November 3, 2012 | 3 | 5:00 | Victoria, British Columbia, Canada | |
| Win | 3–3 | Corey Houston | Submission (rear naked choke) | AFC 11: Takeover | September 15, 2012 | 1 | 4:47 | Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada | Return to Lightweight. |
| Loss | 2–3 | Matt Trudeau | TKO (shoulder injury) | Armageddon FC 7 | November 19, 2011 | 1 | 5:00 | Colwood, British Columbia, Canada | Featherweight bout. |
| Win | 2–2 | Upneet Rai | Submission (rear naked choke) | Armageddon FC 6 | June 18, 2011 | 1 | 2:30 | Colwood, British Columbia, Canada | Catchweight (150 lb) bout. |
| Loss | 1–2 | Dan Ring | Decision (unanimous) | Armageddon FC 4 | November 6, 2010 | 3 | 5:00 | Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada | Lightweight bout. |
| Loss | 1–1 | Takahiro Kajita | Decision (unanimous) | Deep: Cage Impact in Nagoya | July 11, 2010 | 2 | 5:00 | Nagoya, Japan | |
| Win | 1-0 | Jimmy Phan | Submission (rear naked choke) | Armageddon FC | March 6, 2010 | 1 | 2:26 | Colwood, British Columbia, Canada | |