Christian Jungwirth’s dream of becoming a professional footballer fails. The Swabian finds a new home in martial arts via detours. He is now one of the most famous MMA fighters in the country and is in the main event in Stuttgart in front of 13,000 spectators. Looking back, a “real-life Rocky story,” as he tells ntv.
Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is still looking for recognition in Germany, but martial arts events already regularly fill the country’s largest halls. Someone who carries the sport on his shoulders is Christian Jungwirth. The Swabian looks back on an eventful vita. That’s why he’s not just one of the faces in German MMA, “but the face of the sport in Germany,” emphasizes the 37-year-old in an interview with ntv.de.
“I stand out from the other fighters because of my story,” continues “The Kelt,” his nickname in the ring. “I only got into the sport when I was 30 and my story is just a real-life Rocky story,” says the cage fighter known for his rigorous style.
“Sport has always been my elixir of life”
Loyal supporter of VfB: Christian Jungwirth at the home game in Stuttgart.
(Photo: IMAGO/Press photo Baumann)
Jungwirth played at VfB Stuttgart until the B youth, together with Andreas Beck and Serdar Tasci. His coach at the time was none other than the current Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel. When Jungwirth sees the eccentric coach on television today, he has hardly changed. “I had no problems with him because he saw that I was a workhorse and that I gave everything for the team,” said Jungwirth.
Ultimately, Jungwirth’s dream of becoming a professional footballer didn’t come to fruition; a knee injury put a stop to his plans. “Sport has always been my elixir of life. That was then taken away from me. I no longer had a goal in life. School wasn’t for me. Training wasn’t for me. I’ve always been an extreme type and always special. Not better, but especially,” explains Jungwirth.
From ultra-field to boxing
Alcohol, drugs and parties followed. Through his love for VfB Stuttgart, he came more and more into the club’s ultra scene. Even though he was still playing as an amateur at the time, he still walked around more like a “disco pumper,” he remembers. “And a guy like me immediately stands out.” Anyone who knows the ultra scene knows that particularly fanatical supporters of the clubs sometimes get into fights in the fields. “And then I was there – in a field like that. “I fought there without having come into contact with martial arts,” said Jungwirth, who realized that fighting was his passion. The context of the fan disputes But that wasn’t to be the case in the future, so he decided to start boxing. “The flame burned again – brightly.”
MMA didn’t come to Jungwirth until two years later. An event in Stuttgart fascinated him in 2016. “The entry of the fighters gave me a thrill,” said “The Kelt”. A call to the organizer and a few weeks later he had his first amateur fight. Afterwards it was clear: The sporting career should be continued with MMA. A balancing act, as it turned out for Jungwirth, who was working shifts as a forklift driver at the time and lived in Bopfingen, around 100 km from his training facility in Stuttgart.
“I took my daughter to kindergarten at eight, then drove to Stuttgart. And then from ten to twelve there was training, a quick shower, in the car and to work. At best, I could sleep for another 20 minutes before the late shift “, says the 37-year-old, describing his busy everyday life back then. He kept this pace for two years before the first sponsors came and Jungwirth was able to reduce his workload.
Jungwirth’s role model: a 46-year-old Cuban
The step a few months later to quit the job and put everything into MMA was not easy from a financial perspective. “But if you want to work in Germany, you can find work. And I didn’t want to regret not at least taking the opportunity with MMA. I wanted to be a doer.”
Now his whole life is focused on MMA. “My wife is taking part. My little one, my mother and my father, who unfortunately passed away four years ago, were enthusiastic. 10 to 12 training sessions a week are on the program. “I don’t leave anything to chance. My training, my food, my sleep, my regeneration – that’s my focus. The better I treat my body, the longer I can do the sport.” Yoel Romero is a role model in this area. At the age of 46, the Cuban is still active in the largest MMA organizations. “He shows me that anything is possible, if you want.”
Willpower has carried him through the years: through smaller national events he has built up a good fight record (currently 14 wins, 8 defeats) and a large fan base. In 2020 he landed at Oktagon MMA, a Czech promoter that is currently number one in Europe. Jungwirth has shown that he is unique in German MMA on this stage with what is probably the most iconic scene in the sport in recent years.
The search for the Boris Becker moment
40 seconds in a rear naked choke – inhumane.
(Photo: Octagon MMA)
In the fight against the Serb Bojan Veličković in June 2023, he suddenly found himself caught in a rear-naked choke, a stranglehold in which you usually lose consciousness after a few seconds. The “Celt” defied the submission hold for a full 40 seconds, stood up with his opponent on his back and shook him off. “My survival mode kicked in and I fought my way out,” said Jungwirth. Despite this spectacular turn in the fight, his opponent ultimately won on points. The fight was part of a tournament that was supposed to determine Europe’s best welterweight and had high prize money of 300,000 euros.
That might have been the Boris Becker moment for MMA in Germany. Just as the young man from Leimen won Wimbledon in 1985 and triggered a tennis boom in the country, a victory against Veličković could have triggered something similar. But it cannot be ruled out that there will be a moment like this with Christian Jungwirth. “There’s still a lot of potential to become champion at Oktogon. That’s definitely my goal. And I’m working towards that. We’ll take the next step towards the title on March 23rd,” said Bopfinger.
The doer Jungwirth has now become the “full maker”. Among other things, he ensures that the second largest hall in Germany hosts the MMA event in Stuttgart on that day Octagon 55 will be sold out. “It’s going to be brutal. But I’m in balance and I’m looking forward to fighting at home.”
Eckerlin fight this year?
The opponent in the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle (13,000 spectators) will be Robert Pukač. Jungwirth had already competed against the Slovakian welterweight in March 2022. The German won after Pukač threw in the towel in round two and seemed unable to cope with Jungwirth’s pressure in this cage duel. “I’ll just show that it wasn’t a coincidence and that I’ll do exactly the same thing with him in the second fight,” announced Jungwirth.
For many fans of the sport, the duel with Pukač is just a boost and they hope that the two most popular German fighters will reach the cage summit afterwards. The fight with Christian Eckerlin from Frankfurt had already been scheduled, but an injury to Jungwirth led to its cancellation. The fight is far from over. “That will definitely happen. I hope in the fall,” announces Jungwirth. “This is the fight that Germany wants to see, that Germany needs, also in the media.” For the two sports crowd pullers, the stage could be even bigger than it was previously in Cologne with 19,000 spectators. Whether it will be the Boris Becker moment in sports or the next chapter in the Swabian Rocky story is anyone’s guess. “It will go down in the history books,” Jungwirth is certain. “And I’m exactly the right person for that.”