Background
Telligman was born in Dallas, Texas.
Telligman was born in Dallas, Texas.
He is also known for fighting despite having only one pectoral muscle. He was in a car accident when he was only one and a half years old, and as a result, he is missing his right pectoral and also his right lung, leaving a deep recess in his chest. The accident also crushed his ribs and he has lived with the deformity ever since.
Telligman began training in Karate when he was 8 years old, continuing until he was 13 years old, and then began boxing until he was 15.
He then began training in jiu-jitsu and participated in a full-contact Karate contest when he was in high school. Early career
Telligman began training with the famed Lion"s Den gym after meeting Ken Shamrock and fellow-Texas native and karate practitioner, Guy Mezger.
UFC
Two fights later, he faced Keiichiro Yamamiya in Pancrase and the fight ended in a draw. Two fights later, he returned again at UFC 20 to face Pedro Rizzo and was knocked out from punches 4:30 into the fight.
PRIDE
A year later, Telligman made his PRIDE debut at Pride 9 against Carlos Barreto and lost via unanimous decision.
In his next bout for the promotion, Telligman faced legendary Ukrainian kickboxer, Igor Vovchanchyn at Pride 13, and took the fight on two-weeks notice after teammate, Ken Shamrock, who was originally supposed to fight Vovchanchyn, hurt his neck in training. Return to the UFC
Two years later, Telligman made his return to the UFC in a rematch with Pedro Rizzo at UFC 43 and lost again via TKO due to a doctor stoppage 4:24 into the second round. Telligman then faced former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia and lost via head kick knockout at just under five minutes into the fight.
Telligman became semi-retired from the sport after his loss to Sylvia, but has since retired from the sport altogether.
Tra was last seen coaching in the World Combat League.