5 Things You Might Not Know about Chris Wade

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the PFL and UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

Advertisement

Chris Wade has twice tried and failed to reach the Professional Fighters League mountaintop. Will the third time be the charm?

Wade will meet Bubba Jenkins in the PFL 9 co-main event on Friday at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida, their three-round battle providing the organization with one of its two featherweight tournament semifinals. The 33-year-old Long Island MMA export was a semifinalist at 155 pounds in 2018 and 2019 but failed to advance. Wade confronts his latest challenge on the strength of a two-fight winning streak, having last appeared at PFL 4 on June 10. There, he cut down Arman Ospanov with a second-round head kick and follow-up punches.

As Wade makes final preparations for his latest semifinal appearance, here are five things you might not know about him:

1. He grew up near The Big Apple.

Wade was born on Sept. 30, 1987 in Rockville Centre, New York—a village of roughly 25,000 people on the western end of Long Island and the same hometown as current New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and current Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan.

2. Success in the singlet helped pave his way.

“The Long Island Killer” excelled as a wrestler at Islip High School in Islip, New York, where he won a state championship at 140 pounds. Wade went on to wrestle collegiately at Nassau Community College—he was a national finalist—and the State University of New York at Oneonta.

3. He rose to prominence on the New England regional scene.

Wade transitioned to mixed martial arts in 2011 and went on to capture the Ring of Combat lightweight crown. He submitted Pat DeFranco with a second-round rear-naked choke to win the championship at ROC 47 on Jan. 24, 2014, then successfully defended it in a split decision over Frankie Perez four months later. Wade vacated the promotion’s 155-pound throne to sign with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

4. His skills played at the highest level.

The former Ring of Combat champion enjoyed a seven-fight run in the UFC, during which he compiled a 5-2 record. He opened his campaign inside the Octagon with consecutive victories over Cain Carrizosa, Lipeng Zhang, Christos Giagos and Mehdi Baghdad, suffered back-to-back defeats to Rustam Khabilov and Islam Makhachev, then left on a high note, as he laid claim to a unanimous decision over Perez in their UFC on Fox 25 rematch on July 22, 2017.

5. He rarely chooses a path of least resistance.

Wade’s six career losses have come to five opponents: Makhachev, Khabilov, Loik Radzhabov, Natan Schulte (twice) and Ozzy Dugulubgov. They own a combined record of 88-14-2 (.846) with 51 finishes.