Christophe Leininger (born October 12, 1959),[1] is an American former judoka who was 1984, 1988, and 1992 US Olympic Judo Team Alternate.
[2] Leininger made his debut in Ultimate Fighting Championship's UFC 3 event, being billed as the second ranked American judoka in his weight class at the time.
The judoka then tried an armbar, only for Shamrock to turn him over and stack him against the fence, raining punches and headbutts on him for the tap out.
Leininger tried to take the fight to the ground, at one point scoring a tomoe nage and transitioning it into a mount position, but Mezger was able to return to his feet every time.
After a restart, Mezger hit a clearly tired Leininger with kicks to the legs and head, but the affair was inconclusive and the match went to overtime.