Christopher William Cope (born March 5, 1983) is a former American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

who competed in the

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

division. He was a competitor on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Lesnar vs. Team dos Santos, and has also competed for the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

as well as

Strikeforce Strike Force may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game *'' Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game *'' Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game *''Marvel Strike Force'', ...

Background

Born and raised in

Carmel Valley, California Carmel Valley is an unincorporated community in Monterey County, California, United States. The term "Carmel Valley" generally refers to the Carmel River watershed east of California State Route 1, and not specifically to the smaller Carmel V ...

, Chris Cope began training in

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

when he was eight years old before progressing into

Taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. T ...

and then Kempo. While at Carmel High School, he added

kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...

to his game and began to fight on the local mixed martial arts circuit. Cope was one of only four juniors to earn a spot on the 1999–2000 Carmel High Varsity basketball team, which featured several future college players. He also played

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

all four years of high school. In April 2000, Cope participated in a week-long trip to the California high desert at Anza Borrego and Joshua Tree. This trip, which combined intense physical training with deep spiritual reflection, was to have a profound effect on Cope's athletic and philosophical development. Following high school, Cope graduated from The University of California at Santa Barbara where he earned a degree in sociology.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

He fought on the amateur circuit and earned the International Kickboxing Federation California cruiserweight title in 2004. Soon after, Cope committed himself to further developing his mixed martial arts repertoire and began grappling with jiu-jitsu expert Jeff Glover to further round out his overall skills. He earned his brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and black belt in tae-kwon-do. Upon completion of his courses in 2005, Cope joined AKA MMA and trained with the likes of

Josh Koscheck Edinboro Fighting Scots Josh D. Koscheck (born November 30, 1977) is an American retired mixed martial artist who fought at Welterweight for the UFC and Bellator MMA. Koscheck made his debut with the UFC on the first season of the realit ...

Phil Baroni Philip George Baroni (April 16, 1976) is a retired American mixed martial artist, professional wrestler and former kickboxer. A professional MMA competitor since 2000, Baroni has competed for the UFC, PRIDE, Strikeforce, Cage Rage, DREAM, EliteX ...

and

Mike Swick Michael Timothy Swick (born June 19, 1979) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist, who spent most of his career competing for the UFC's middleweight division. Swick, who trains at American Kickboxing Academy alongside fellow welt ...

. Three months later he drove south to San Diego and began training with

K. J. Noons Karl James "K.J." Noons (born December 7, 1982) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist, as well as a former professional boxer and kickboxer. Noons competed for UFC, Strikeforce, DREAM and EliteXC. He is the former EliteXC ...

and Tyrone Glover and, shortly after, turned pro where he amassed a 4–1 overall record. The self-proclaimed gym rat has settled into Arena MMA after bouncing around several gyms in California. Cope currently works at a local San Diego law firm but still manages to train two times a day, six days a week.

The Ultimate Fighter

Cope had signed with the UFC in 2011 to compete on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Lesnar vs. Team dos Santos. Cope was the fifth pick on Team Lesnar and tenth overall. dos Santos had selected Cope to face the heavy favorite, Javier Torres, for the second preliminary bout. After a three-round battle, Cope was declared the winner by unanimous decision. Cope's quarter-final match was against Team dos Santos'

Shamar Bailey Shamar Bailey is a retired American mixed martial artist who competed in the Lightweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2006, Bailey has formerly competed for the UFC, Strikeforce, Bellator, M-1 Global, and was a competitor on T ...

. Cope defeated Bailey after two rounds via unanimous decision. Cope showed good takedown defense along with immediately following his corner's advice throughout the fight. In the semifinals Cope was defeated by

Ramsey Nijem Pedro Ramsey Nijem ( ar, رامزي نجم, born April 1, 1988) is an American retired mixed martial artist. A professional MMA competitor from 2008 to 2021, Nijem is perhaps best known for his 10-fight stint in the Ultimate Fighting Championshi ...

via TKO in the second round, knocking him out of the tournament.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Even though he lost in the semifinals, Cope remained signed after the show. He made his official UFC debut June 4, 2011 on

The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale ''The Ultimate Fighter: Team Lesnar vs. Team dos Santos'' is the thirteenth installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship produced reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter''. The UFC and Spike TV held open tryouts on November 4, 2010, ...

card, fighting against fellow semifinalist and teammate, Chuck O'Neil. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Cope faced promotional newcomer

Che Mills Ché Mills (born 29 October 1982) is an English mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Welterweight division of Cage Warriors. A professional competitor since 2003, he has also competed for the UFC, Cage Rage, BAMMA, and M-1 Gl ...

on November 5, 2011 at

UFC 138 ''UFC 138: Leben vs. Muñoz'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 5, 2011 at LG Arena in Birmingham, United Kingdom. The event aired on the same day, via tape delay, on Spike TV in the United S ...

. He lost the fight via TKO . Cope next fought Matt Brown on February 4, 2012 at

UFC 143 ''UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit'' was a mixed martial arts event organized by Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 4, 2012 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background An episode of UFC Primetime returned to promote the mai ...

. He lost the fight via TKO in the second round. Following his loss to Brown, Cope was released from the UFC.

Post UFC

Cope had signed with Native Fighting Championship, a region organization, close to his home. Chris Cope currently resides in New Hyde Park, Long Island, New York. He lives behind a cemetery with an old war veteran. He currently ranks as the #17 Membership Specialist at the UFC Gym Long Island. Chris Cope faced Elijah Harshburger for the vacant ROC Welterweight Championship at Ring of Combat 47 on January 24, 2014. Though Cope was the heavy favorite coming into the fight, he lost the fight via rear-naked choke. Since retiring from fighting Cope has moved to Long Island, New York. He coaches a variety of martial arts including kickboxing, Thai boxing and wrestling with his "Team Xtreme" fighters for both Kickboxing and Mixed Martial Arts at Unique Fitness Xtreme in Shirley, New York.

Championships and Accomplishments

*Native Fighting Championship **NFC Welterweight Championship (One time, current)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 8–4 , Elijah Harshbarger , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Ring of Combat 47 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:33 ,

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

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Ron Keslar Ron Keslar (born April 17, 1980) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division. A professional competitor since 2006, he has also formerly competed for Bellator, Strikeforce and King of the Cage. Backgr ...

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Josh Samman Joshua Kaleb Samman (March 14, 1988 – October 5, 2016) was an American mixed martial artist who, at the time of his death, competed in the Middleweight (MMA), Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and also competed for Be ...

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References

External links

*
Official UFC Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cope, Chris Living people American male taekwondo practitioners American male mixed martial artists Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing taekwondo Mixed martial artists utilizing American Kenpo Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu 1983 births American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People from Carmel Valley Village, California Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters