Christophe Leininger

American Olympic Judoka and MMA fighter

Christophe Leninger

Born|  (1959-10-12) October 12, 1959 (age 64)
Scottsdale, Arizona, United States
Nationality| American
Height| 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight| 189 lb (86 kg; 13.5 st)
Fighting out of| Scottsdale, Arizona
Rank|  4th Dan Black Belt in Judo
Years active| 1994–2001 (MMA)
Mixed martial arts record
Total| 7
Wins| 3
By submission| 3
Losses| 4
By knockout| 1
By decision| 3
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Christophe Leininger (born October 12, 1959),[1] is an American former judoka who was 1984, 1988, and 1992 US Olympic Judo Team Alternate.[2] He was born in 1959.[3] His brother Bryan Leininger was also a judo competitor.[3] While his father Maurice was a French Judo champion.[3] He is a two time US National Judo Champion and a two time US Judo open champion.[4] He competed in a number of mixed martial arts fights included in Ultimate Fighting Championship.[2]

## Career[edit]

### Ultimate Fighting Championship[edit]

Leininger made his debut in Ultimate Fighting Championship's UFC 3 event, being billed as the second ranked American judoka in his weight class at the time. Going against shoot wrestler Ken Shamrock, Leininger started by trying a morote gari, but Shamrock protected against it and ended up in Christophe's guard. The judoka then tried an armbar, only for Shamrock to turn him over and stack him against the fence, raining punches and headbutts on him for the tap out.[5] Shamrock crossfaced Leininger so hard into the mat that Leininger admitted to being knocked out for a second, and he later was revealed to have suffered a mild concussion.[6]

He returned at UFC 13 against Ken Shamrock's teammate Guy Mezger. Leininger tried to take the fight to the ground, at one point scoring a tomoe nage and transitioning it into a mount position, but Mezger was able to return to his feet every time. After a restart, Mezger hit a clearly tired Leininger with kicks to the legs and head, but the affair was inconclusive and the match went to overtime. There Mezger continued punishing Leininger with strikes, finally earning a decision win.[7]

## Mixed martial arts record[edit]

Professional record breakdown  7 matches | 3 wins | 4 losses

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By knockout | 0  | 1
By submission | 3  | 0
By decision | 0  | 3
Res.  | Record  | Opponent  | Method  | Event  | Date  | Round  | Time  | Location  | Notes

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Loss  | 3–4  | Edwin Dewees | Decision (Unanimous)  | RITC 26: Rage in the Cage 26  | March 24, 2001 | 3  | 3:00  | Phoenix, Arizona, United States  |
Loss  | 3–3  | Allan Sullivan  | Decision  | RITC 24: Rage in the Cage 24  | January 7, 2001 | 3  | 3:00  | Phoenix, Arizona, United States  |
Loss  | 3–2  | Guy Mezger | Decision (unanimous)  | UFC 13 | May 30, 1997 | 1  | 15:00  | Augusta, Georgia, United States  |
Win  | 2–1  | Marc Zee  | Submission (armbar)  | FCSB: Best in the Southwest Championships  | January 15, 1997 | 1  | 4:55  | United States  |
Win  | 1–1  | Kelly English  | Submission (armbar)  | FCSB: Best in the Southwest Championships  | January 15, 1997 | 2  | 1:16  | Charlotte, North Carolina, United States  |
Win  | 3–1  | Carlos Garcia  | Submission (choke)  | FCSB: Best in the Southwest Championships  | January 15, 1997 | 1  | 6:00  | United States
Loss  | 0–1  | Ken Shamrock | TKO (submission to punches)  | UFC 3 | September 9, 1994 | 1  | 4:49  | Charlotte, North Carolina, United States  |

## References[edit]

1. ^ "JudoInside – Christophe Leininger Judoka".
2. ^ a b "Olympians in the Octagon". UFC. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
3. ^ a b c Michael Kiefer (25 August 2006). "The Flying Leiniger Brothers". Phoenixnewtimes.com. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
4. ^ "Christophe Leininger". Mmafighting.com. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
5. ^ Scott Newman (2005-06-11). "MMA Review: #52: UFC 3: The American Dream". The Oratory. Archived from the original on 2019-06-29. Retrieved 2018-01-21.
6. ^ Clyde Gentry, No Holds Barred: Evolution
7. ^ Scott Newman (2006-02-24). "MMA Review: #79: UFC 13: The Ultimate Force". The Oratory. Archived from the original on 2018-08-15. Retrieved 2018-01-21.

## External links[edit]

* Professional MMA record for Christophe Leininger from Sherdog
* Christophe Leininger at UFC