Michael Wade Wessel (born December 2, 1977) is an 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 last competed in 2016. A professional competitor since 2007, Wessel formerly competed for the

Ultimate Fighting Championship 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 ...

, Bellator, and was a contestant on '' The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights.''

Background

Born and raised in

Celina, Ohio Celina ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Mercer County, Ohio, United States about 58 miles northwest of Dayton, Ohio, Dayton. The population was 10,400 at the United States Census 2010, 2010 census. Celina is situated on the northwestern sh ...

, Wessel played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

at Celina High School as a defensive tackle and was talented, earning a scholarship to the University of St. Francis where he played nose tackle. Wessel also went to training camps for both the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

and

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

but was cut in both appearances. Wessel later competed for

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

teams in North Dakota and San Diego for three-and-a-half seasons before accepting a strength and conditioning coaching job at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

. It was during his time in Arkansas when Wessel began to train

mixed martial arts 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, inc ...

Mixed martial arts

Ultimate Fighting Championship

He made his

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 ...

debut against

Antoni Hardonk Antoni Hardonk (born February 5, 1976) is a Dutch mixed martial artist and kickboxer who competed in K-1 and the UFC. Kickboxing career Antoni made his K-1 debut at the '' K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 Preliminary Scandinavia'' on June 9, 2001 whe ...

UFC 92 ''UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on December 27, 2008 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The main event featured UFC Ligh ...

. He accepted the fight on a week notice after Hardonk's original opponent dropped out due to injury. UFC's Dana White offered the fight to Wessel and he quickly accepted, signing a four-fight deal. Wessel lost in the second round via TKO stoppage after tiring from only having a few days to train.

The Ultimate Fighter

After losing to Hardonk in his UFC debut, Wessel took a spot on the Spike TV reality show, The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights. He was the last pick for Team Rashad Evans. Wessel had his first fight on the show against Marcus Jones, losing via first round submission

armbar An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armlock that hyper-extends the arm is known as an armbar, and it includes the traditional armbar, pr ...

. Wessel was not given a chance to fight on the finale card. After losing to Jones, Wessel was released from his contract.

Post-UFC

Wessel's first fight after his stint on The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights, was against another

Ultimate Fighter ''Ultimate Fighter'' - known in Japan as , is a 1992 fighting video game developed and published by Culture Brain for the Super NES. An updated version of it titled

alumni,

Dan Christison Daniel B. "The Sandman" Christison (born April 26, 1972) is a retired American mixed martial artist. A professional from 2001 until 2010, he fought for the San Jose Razorclaws of the International Fight League, the Ultimate Fighting Championshi ...

. Wessel lost the fight via submission

kimura Kimura (written: lit. "tree village") is the 17th most common Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese novelist *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese botanist *, Japanese idol and singer *, Japanese footballer *, Japanes ...

. Wessel also faced Bellator's veteran Scott Barrett and

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'', ...

's veteran Matt Kovacs, losing against Barrett and winning against Kovacs. In the second half of 2012, Wessel signed with Bellator.

Bellator MMA

Wessel made his debut on August 24, 2012 at

Bellator 73 2012 in Bellator MMA was the sixth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships, which began on March 9, 2012. The sixth season of Bellator was originally scheduled to begin on March 2, 2012. However, the debut was pushed back a week so ...

against fellow newcomer

Ryan Martinez Ryan Martinez (born August 27, 1982) is a retired American mixed martial artist. A professional from 2009 until 2014, he competed for Bellator and ProElite. Background Martinez was born in Greeley, Colorado. He grew up wrestling and had a pr ...

. He won via split decision (29-28 Wessel, 30-27 Martinez, 29-28 Wessel). Wessel next entered the Bellator season seven heavyweight tournament, facing

Rich Hale Richard "Rich" Hale (born May 17, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Heavyweight division. A professional since 2006, he is perhaps best known for his 10-fight stint with Bellator MMA, and made it to the finals ...

on October 5, 2012 at

Bellator 75 2012 in Bellator MMA was the sixth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships, which began on March 9, 2012. The sixth season of Bellator was originally scheduled to begin on March 2, 2012. However, the debut was pushed back a week so ...

for a spot in the semifinals. Hale defeated Wessel via TKO in the first round. Wessel faced

Alexei Kudin Alexei Alexandrovich Kudin ( be, Аляксей Кудзін; born December 20, 1984) is a professional Belarusian kickboxer, nicknamed Brick. He is a world champion and European versions WBKF, King of Kings – Grand Prix K-1 tournament finali ...

on December 7, 2012 at

Bellator 83 2012 in Bellator MMA was the sixth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships, which began on March 9, 2012. The sixth season of Bellator was originally scheduled to begin on March 2, 2012. However, the debut was pushed back a week so ...

. He won via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28). Wessel then faced

Justin Frazier Justin Frazier (born June 15, 1989) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the heavyweight division. He most notably competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Bellator MMA. Background Frazier graduated from Cave City High S ...

Bellator 120 2014 in Bellator MMA was the tenth season for Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion. It began on February 28, 2014 and aired on Spike TV. The season included tournaments for the Heavyweight, Welterweight, Featherweight, Light Heavyweigh ...

on May 17, 2014. He defeated Frazier via first round TKO. Wessel faced

Josh Diekmann Josh Diekmann (born October 9, 1976) is a retired American mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 2005 until 2016, Diekmann fought in Bellator MMA, the WEC, and CES MMA. Known for being an exciting heavyweight, only one bout during ...

Bellator 123 2014 in Bellator MMA was the tenth season for Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion. It began on February 28, 2014 and aired on Spike TV. The season included tournaments for the Heavyweight, Welterweight, Featherweight, Light Heavyweigh ...

on September 5, 2014. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round. Wessel faced Frank Tate at Bellator 162 on October 21, 2016. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Mixed martial arts record

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Southaven, Mississippi Southaven is a city in DeSoto County, Mississippi, United States. It is a principal city in Greater Memphis. The 2020 census reported a population of 54,648, making Southaven the third-largest city in Mississippi and the second most populous ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–7 , Michal Kita , TKO (punches) , Pro MMA Challenge 1: Drwal vs. Heleno , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:11 , Wroclaw, Poland , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–6 , Robert Neal , TKO (punches) , PFMMAC: PrizeFight MMA Championships , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:13 ,

Tunica, Mississippi Tunica is a town in and the county seat of Tunica County, Mississippi, United States, near the Mississippi River. Until the early 1990s when casino gambling was introduced in the area, Tunica had been one of the most impoverished places in the Uni ...

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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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, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Tunica Resorts, Mississippi Tunica Resorts, formerly known as Robinsonville until 2005,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–4 , Matt Kovacs , TKO (punches) , SF: ShoFight 20 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:50 ,

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estimat ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–4 , Scott Barrett , TKO (punches) , SportFight X: Middle Tennessee Mayhem , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:53 ,

Murfreesboro, Tennessee Murfreesboro is a city in and county seat of Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 152,769 according to the 2020 census, up from 108,755 residents certified in 2010. Murfreesboro is located in the Nashville metropol ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–3 , Chris Hawk , TKO (punches) , AXC 10: War of the Machines , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:19 ,

Little Rock, Arkansas (The Little Rock, The "Little Rock") , government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager , leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_ ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–3 , Jack Armstrong , TKO (punches) , AXC 8: Friday Fury , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:39 ,

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Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Aaron Winterlee , Submission , Subzero Fighting , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:59 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Rudy Lindsey , Decision (unanimous) , Extreme Fighting League , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Mark Bier , TKO (punches) , Ring Rulers , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:45 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Matt Thomas , TKO (punches) , Subzero Fighting , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Matt Thomas , KO (punches) , AOW: Art of War 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:42 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 2–1 , Aaron Wintterle , KO (punch) , Xtreme Fighting League , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:28 ,

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Mixed martial arts exhibition record

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References

External links

* *
Ingrid Norton's coverage of Wessel's early MMA career
at

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette The ''Arkansas Democrat-Gazette'' is the newspaper of record in the U.S. state of Arkansas, printed in Little Rock with a northwest edition published in Lowell. It is distributed for sale in all 75 of Arkansas' counties. By virtue of one of ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wessel, Mike American male mixed martial artists Heavyweight mixed martial artists 1977 births Living people Sportspeople from Ohio People from Celina, Ohio Mixed martial artists from Ohio Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters