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.

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