Originally from Aarhus, Denmark, Kampmann began training in wrestling at the age of eight and trained for two years moving to karate at the age of 14 before transitioning into Muay Thai and boxing, competing in both as an amateur. In 2000, Kampmann began training in submission wrestling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, before turning to mixed martial arts.[2]
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
Kampmann compiled an amateur mixed martial arts record of 8–1 before turning professional in 2003 while attending college as an engineering student. Kampmann then compiled a professional record of 9–1, capturing the Cage Warriors Middleweight Championship in the process, before being signed by the UFC.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Kampmann competed for many years in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He initially fought as a middleweight, where he made his debut at UFC Fight Night 6 as a late replacement for Kalib Starnes.[3] In his debut fight with the UFC, Kampmann defeated Crafton Wallace by first-round submission. His next victory came by way of unanimous decision over future top contender Thales Leites in The Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale on November 11, 2006. At UFC 68, after being wobbled and knocked down numerous times, Kampmann showed his toughness and resilience by defeating Drew McFedries via arm-triangle choke late in the first round.
His next UFC fight was scheduled for UFC 72 against former UFC Middleweight ChampionRich Franklin, but he was forced to withdraw due to a knee injury. Kampmann returned from his injury at UFC 85, where he defeated the heavy-handed Jorge Rivera by guillotine choke at 2:44 in the first round.
After a first-round TKO defeat to Nate Marquardt at UFC 88, Kampmann announced that he would drop down to the Welterweight division. He made his debut in the division at UFC 93 defeating newcomer Alexandre Barros by TKO in the second round. Kampmann then defeated the last reigning WEC Welterweight ChampionCarlos Condit in a closely contested fight via split decision in the main event of UFC Fight Night 18.
Kampmann was to fight Mike Swick on September 19, 2009, at UFC 103. The winner was to receive a title shot against Georges St-Pierre.[4] On September 4, it was announced that Swick had suffered an injury while training for their upcoming bout. Paul Daley replaced Swick for the fight. With Swick pulling out, the fight was not for the number-one contender spot anymore, as Daley was making his UFC debut. In an upset, Kampmann fell to the British fighter by TKO due to punches just 2:31 into the bout.
Kampmann was expected to face Rory Markham on January 2, 2010, at UFC 108.[5] However, Markham was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by Jacob Volkmann. Kampmann won via first-round submission using a modified guillotine choke that he calls the "Deathchoke".[6][7]
Kampmann's next fight was against BrazilianPaulo Thiago at UFC 115.[10] Kampmann controlled and dominated Thiago en route to a unanimous decision victory by a score of 30–27 on all three judges scorecards.
Kampmann then lost another controversial decision to Diego Sanchez on March 3, 2011, at UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann.[12] The bout saw Kampmann outstrike and stagger Sanchez over three rounds (including dropping Sanchez with a punch in the first round), with Sanchez's relentless pace and aggression giving him the nod on all three scorecards. Kampmann stopped 14 out of Sanchez's 15 takedown attempts, and also out-landed him 79–51 in total strikes (according to FightMetric, which scored the fight 29-28 Kampmann). The bout earned Fight of the Night honors.
Kampmann defeated Rick Story via split decision on November 19, 2011, at UFC 139.[15] Dana White incorrectly reported at the post fight press conference that the judge's scores had been tabulated incorrectly and should have been announced as unanimous decision in favor of Kampmann.[16] According to the California State Athletic Commission's website and confirmed by MMADecisions.com, judge Susan Thomas-Gitlin in fact scored the fight in favor of Story.[17]
Kampmann then faced former number-one contender Thiago Alves on March 3, 2012, at UFC on FX 2.[18] After being rocked late, Kampmann latched a guillotine choke onto Alves with one minute remaining in the third round, forcing him to tap.[19] For his performance, Kampmann was awarded Submission of the Night honors.[20]
Kampmann faced Jake Ellenberger on June 1, 2012, at The Ultimate Fighter 15 Finale.[21] After a first round which saw Kampmann nearly finished after being knocked down by Ellenberger, Kampmann defeated Ellenberger via second-round knockout due to a series of knees.[22] The performance also earned Kampmann Knockout of the Night honors.[23]
Kampmann faced Johny Hendricks on November 17, 2012, at UFC 154.[24] He lost the fight via knockout in the first round.
Kampmann faced Carlos Condit in a rematch on August 28, 2013, at UFC Fight Night 27.[25] After Kampmann controlled the action for most of the first round, Condit dominated the remainder of the fight, finishing Kampmann via TKO in the fourth round.[26] Despite the loss, Kampmann was rewarded for his efforts by earning his second Fight of the Night bonus award.[27]
On January 9, 2014, Kampmann said that he was going to take a hiatus from fighting; he was not retiring, but needed a break.[28] While still maintaining a "hiatus," and not ready to publicly announce his retirement from fighting, Kampmann was named full-time coach of Team Alpha Male, based in Sacramento, California in September 2014.[29][30]
On January 6, 2016, Kampmann publicly confirmed his decision to retire.[31]
Poker career
In 2014, Kampmann began playing poker with Ultimate Poker with the help of professional poker player, Jason Somerville. Kampmann began this relationship as a guest on Somerville's show, Run it UP.[32] Kampmann went on to play in multiple online and live tournaments with the sponsorship of Ultimate Poker including the Nevada Poker Challenge and the World Series of Poker Main Event. Kampmann took down the Nevada Poker Challenge and pocketed over $52,000.[33] Although, he didn't place inside the money in the 2014 WSOP Main Event, Kampmann made an extremely deep run outlasting fellow Ultimate Poker pros Jason Somerville, Antonio Esfandiari, Danielle Andersen, Dan O'Brien and Bruce Buffer.[34]
Personal life
Kampmann is married and has two sons. He is close friend to fighters such as Randy Couture and Ray Sefo.
