Who is Mark Madsen, the UFC fighter with an Olympic medal?

Mark Madsen will face veteran Clay Guida in the co-main event at UFC Fight Night: Jared Cannonier vs. Kelvin Gastelum. Madsen is a former Greco-Roman wrestler who won a silver medal in the 2016 Olympics at Rio de Janeiro.

Mark Overgaard Madsen currently holds a perfect 10-0 MMA record, which includes three knockouts and three submission victories. Madsen is considered to be the most decorated wrestler in Danish history, having won Denmark’s first medal in the discipline in eight years.

Mark Madsen then announced his retirement from wrestling and set about fulfilling his dream of becoming a UFC champion.

The 36-year old proved his doubters wrong by making it to MMA’s biggest promotion after a two-year stint with Cage Warriors.

Mark Madsen made his UFC debut in his home town of Copenhagen in 2019 against Danilo Belluardo. Madsen scored a spectacular first-round TKO victory over Belluardo in a fight he referred to as the “pinnacle of his athletic career.”

When Mark Madsen broke his jaw

Mark Madsen has been no stranger to adversity since his days as an Olympian. Madsen finished in the top-three at the world championships and was considered to be one of the best wrestlers in Europe heading into the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

However, Madsen was dumped out of the 74kg category in the very first preliminary round by Russian wrestler Varteres Samurgashev. The loss left Madsen with the fortitude and resilience to overcome almost any adversity in life.

Mark Madsen took on Austin Hubbard in his second promotional outing at UFC 248 in March last year. Despite suffering a broken jaw, Madsen dug deep and found a way to reel in a unanimous decision victory. Regarding the experience, Madsen told talkSPORT:

“When you talk about overcoming adversity, it’s probably one of the more courageous things that I’ve had to do. But it shows my dedication towards my visions and my goals; I’m not going to let anything stop he things I put on the board, not even a broken jaw. I mean, the pain is real. When you break your jaw in two places and you can feel the bone piece moving around and you think your teeth are knocked out, but it’s just the bone piece that’s loose? You need to try to bite on your mouth guard and keep pushing and pushing and really focus on the task ahead.”