Mark Madsen (fighter)

Mark Madsen (born 23 September 1984) is a Danish retired professional mixed martial artist and former Greco-Roman wrestler. As a mixed martial artist, he competed in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

As a wrestler, Madsen won the silver medal in the 75 kg class at the 2016 Summer Olympics and was five-time medalist at the world championships, among other championships.

Wrestling career
Madsen started wrestling at six years old. At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, he lost to Russia's Varteres Samurgashev in the first preliminary round of men's Greco-Roman 74 kg, with a technical score of 1–7, and a classification score of 1–3.

At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England, Madsen was defeated by another Russian wrestler, Roman Vlasov, in the second round of the men's Greco-Roman 74 kg category. Because his opponent advanced further until the final round, Madsen qualified for the repechage bout, where he scored four points and defeated France's Christophe Guénot. In the bronze medal match, Madsen was unable to score enough points in the first two periods, and lost to Lithuania's Aleksandr Kazakevič, finishing in fifth place.

A few months after the games, Madsen signed a contract with European MMA.

At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Madsen won silver in men's Greco-Roman 75 kg, losing the final match against Roman Vlasov, who previously beat him in the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Early career
Madsen competed in two professional bouts in 2013 and 2014 but because he was receiving salary from the Danish Wrestling Federation for his commitment, Madsen was subsequently essentially forbidden to compete in mixed martial arts. Due to his retirement from wrestling, he was allowed to start training and competing in mixed martial arts.

After amassing four straight professional victories in the regional circuit, Madsen signed with Cage Warriors. Madsen made his promotional debut against Alexandre Bordin at Cage Warriors Academy's inaugural event on September 23, 2018. The fight was largely contested on the ground, leading Madsen to a unanimous decision victory by dominant grappling.

After the bout with Bordin, Madsen has been training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. Madsen headlined Cage Warriors Academy Denmark2 against Mathew Bonner on December 15, 2018 and won the bout via unanimous decision.

Madsen made his Cage Warriors debut against Thibaud Larchet at Cage Warriors 103 on March 9, 2019. Madsen won the fight via unanimous decision.

Madsen faced Danish boxer Patrick Nielsen in an MMA bout at Olympian Fight Night1 on June 8, 2019. Madsen won the fight in the first round via rear-naked choke.

Ultimate Fighting Championship
Madsen made his promotional debut against Danillo Belluardo on September 28, 2019 at UFC on ESPN+ 18. He won the fight via TKO in the first round.

After recovering from shoulder injury and staph infection, Madsen returned to face Austin Hubbard on March 7, 2020 at UFC 248. He used his superior wrestling to win the fight by unanimous decision despite suffering a broken jaw during the course of the bout.

Madsen faced Clay Guida on August 21, 2021 in the co-main event in UFC on ESPN: Cannonier vs. Gastelum. He won the fight via split decision.

Madsen was scheduled to face Vinc Pichel on February 12, 2022 at UFC 271. However, they were pushed back to April 9, 2022 at UFC 273 due to unknown reasons. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Madsen was scheduled to face Drakkar Klose on October 29, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 213. However, Klose pulled out in mid-October due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury. He was replaced by Grant Dawson. In turn, the bout was moved to UFC Fight Night 214 on November 5, 2022. At the weigh-ins, Dawson weighed in at 157.5 pounds, one and a half pounds over the lightweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at catchweight and Grant was fined 30% of his individual purse, which went to Madsen. Madsen lost the fight via a rear-naked choke submission in the third round.

Madsen faced Jared Gordon on November 11, 2023, at UFC 295. He lost the bout at the end of the first round via TKO stoppage, getting dropped with an elbow and finished with ground and pound.

On January 31, 2024, Madsen announced that he is retiring from MMA.

Mixed martial arts

 * Nordic MMA Awards - MMAviking.com
 * 2018 Knockout of the Year vs. Dez Parker
 * 2019 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year

Amateur wrestling

 * Olympic Games
 * 2016 Rio de Janeiro - Greco-Roman, 75 kg, 2nd place [[Image:Med 2.png|Silver]]
 * 2012 London - Greco-Roman, 74 kg, 5th place
 * International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles
 * World Wrestling Championships
 * 2005 Budapest - Greco-Roman, 74 kg 2nd place [[Image:Med 2.png|Silver]]
 * 2006 Guangzhou - Greco-Roman, 74 kg, third place [[Image:Med 3.png|Bronze]]
 * 2007 Baku - Greco-Roman, 74 kg, 2nd place [[Image:Med 2.png|Silver]]
 * 2009 Herning - Greco-Roman, 74 kg, 2nd place [[Image:Med 2.png|Silver]]
 * 2015 Las Vegas - Greco-Roman, 75kg, 2nd place [[Image:Med 2.png|Silver]]
 * European Wrestling Championships
 * 2004 Murska Sobota - Greco-Roman, junior level, 74 kg, 1st place [[Image:Med 1.png|Gold]]
 * 2014 Vantaa - Greco-Roman, 75 kg, 3rd place [[Image:Med 3.png|Bronze]]
 * Nordic Wrestling Association
 * 2005 Nordic Championships Greco-Roman, 74 kg, 1st place [[Image:Med 1.png|Gold]]
 * 2006 Nordic Championships Greco-Roman, 74 kg, 1st place [[Image:Med 1.png|Gold]]
 * 2008 Nordic Championships Greco-Roman, 74 kg, 1st place [[Image:Med 1.png|Gold]]
 * 2010 Nordic Championships Greco-Roman, 74 kg, 1st place [[Image:Med 1.png|Gold]]
 * 2015 Nordic Championships Greco-Roman, 80 kg, 1st place [[Image:Med 1.png|Gold]]
 * 2016 Nordic Championships Greco-Roman, 75 kg, 1st place [[Image:Med 1.png|Gold]]
 * 2017 Nordic Championships Greco-Roman, 80 kg, 2nd place [[Image:Med 2.png|Silver]]
 * Danish Wrestling Federation
 * 1999 Danish Championships Greco-Roman, 54 kg, 3rd place [[Image:Med 3.png|Bronze]]
 * 2001 Danish Championships Greco-Roman, 69 kg, 1st place [[Image:Med 1.png|Gold]]
 * 2002 Danish Championships Greco-Roman, 74 kg, 1st place [[Image:Med 1.png|Gold]]
 * 2004 Danish Championships Greco-Roman, 74 kg, 1st place [[Image:Med 1.png|Gold]]
 * 2005 Danish Championships Greco-Roman, 84 kg, 1st place [[Image:Med 1.png|Gold]]
 * 2007 Danish Championships Greco-Roman, 84 kg, 1st place [[Image:Med 1.png|Gold]]
 * 2008 Danish Championships Greco-Roman, 84 kg, 1st place [[Image:Med 1.png|Gold]]
 * 2009 Danish Championships Greco-Roman, 84 kg, 1st place [[Image:Med 1.png|Gold]]
 * 2010 Danish Championships Greco-Roman, 96 kg, 1st place [[Image:Med 1.png|Gold]]
 * 2015 Danish Championships Greco-Roman, 80 kg, 1st place [[Image:Med 1.png|Gold]]
 * 2016 Danish Championships Greco-Roman, 80 kg, 1st place [[Image:Med 1.png|Gold]]
 * 2017 Danish Championships Greco-Roman, 80 kg, 1st place [[Image:Med 1.png|Gold]]