Feist hoping to make Ultimate Fighting Championship

SANDPOINT — Former Sandpoint state champion and collegiate wrestler Chris Feist has entered the cage seven times in his professional Mixed Martial Arts career, and has still yet to taste defeat.

Fiest ran his record to 7-0 with a second round submission of Javier Minjarez during the C3 Championship Fights on June 7 in New Kirk, Oklahoma.  

The 29-year-old Team Takedown Fighter, who currently lives in Arlington, Texas, is back home visiting family and friends in Sandpoint this week. He’s reached a point in his career where he feels ready to challenge the best in the sport at the highest level.

“I’m hoping to get to the UFC and be a champion, that’s the goal,” said Feist, who wrestled at Portland State before delving into MMA. “They (UFC) know my name, you just never know. Hopefully I’ll get a call.”

Feist believes his best chance to break into UFC, the sport’s highest governing body, is as a fill-in when another fighter is injured or doesn’t make weight. His next fight is scheduled for Aug. 13, as he continues to climb the ranks and make a name for himself.

If the old adage that iron sharpens iron is true, Feist is in great shape, as he trains on a daily basis with Team Takedown teammate and UFC star Johnny Hendricks, who is scheduled to fight George St. Pierre for the UFC welterweight championship.

Feist, who fights at 155 pounds, also trained for a week in Canada recently with T.J. Grant, a UFC veteran and one of the best in the game. The unique training experience will only make Feist stronger as a fighter.

“You get to push yourself with the No. 2 155-pound fighter in the world, the No. 1 contender,” described Feist, who also cuts his teeth regularly against Hendricks, a former Oklahoma State wrestler and rising star in MMA. “It’s awesome to train with one of the best welterweights in the country. It’s motivating. To  be surrounded by greatness breeds greatness.”

Former Sandpoint wrestler Jared Rosholt ran his record to 7-1 on the same C3 card that Feist fought on recently. Both friends are currently training hard and hoping for a shot in the UFC.

Jake Rosholt, the original Team Takedown member from Sandpoint, is not fighting anymore after sustaining a bad hand injury.

Feist, who once had to wrestle his brother Luke for an Idaho State championship, attended the recent Trevor Prangley King of the Cage fight at the Coeur d’Alene Casino, and was in the corner for Sandpoint fighter John Hale’s win.

Feist plans to continue training hard, and see where the sport takes him.

“I need to start beating up guys who are more than 2-0,” said Feist, who described his style as aggressive and wrestling-based. “Try to get them down and finish the fight, with chokes or punches.”