Tristan Connelly

Tristan Connelly 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 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 Loss

Xavier Nash Decision (unanimous) BFL 74

Vancouver, Canada Loss

Darren Elkins Decision (unanimous) UFC on ESPN: Font vs. Vera

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Pat Sabatini Decision (unanimous) UFC 261

Jacksonville, Florida, United States Win

Michel Pereira Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Gaethje

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Win

D'Juan Owens TKO (punches) Rise FC 4

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Win

Zach Juusola Submission (guillotine) Final Fight Championship 36

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Tyrone Henderson TKO (retirement) CageSport 54

Tacoma, Washington, United States Win

Joey Pierotti Submission (armbar) CageSport 50

Tacoma, Washington, United States Loss

Shane Campbell Submission (kneebar) Unified MMA 31

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Win

Lenny Wheeler Submission (rear naked choke) Elite 1 MMA

Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada Win

Garret Nybakken Submission (rear naked choke) Unified MMA 30

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Win

Adam Assenza Submission (rear naked choke) Fight Night 2

Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada Win

Ash Mashreghi TKO (punches) BFL 45 Ascension

Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada Loss

Mario Pereira Decision (unanimous) BFL 39: Halloween Hell

Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada Win

Shawn Albrecht TKO (punches) BFL 37: Gladiator

Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada Win

Jonathan Dubois Submission (rear naked choke) AFC 18: Mayhem

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Loss

Myles Merola Decision (unanimous) AFC 13: Natural Selection

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Win

Corey Houston Submission (rear naked choke) AFC 11: Takeover

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Loss

Matt Trudeau TKO (shoulder injury) Armageddon FC 7

Colwood, British Columbia, Canada Win

Upneet Rai Submission (rear naked choke) Armageddon FC 6

Colwood, British Columbia, Canada Loss

Dan Ring Decision (unanimous) Armageddon FC 4

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada Loss

Takahiro Kajita Decision (unanimous) Deep: Cage Impact in Nagoya

Nagoya, Japan Win

Jimmy Phan Submission (rear naked choke) Armageddon FC

Colwood, British Columbia, Canada