BY RYAN BEVINS, ON X (FORMERLY TWITTER) @BEVOIS
In the 1994 superhero comedy film The Mask, Jim Carrey in the title role famously said upon gaining his powers, “It’s Party Time. P, A, R, T, Why? Because I gotta!” This is a proclamation shared by top MMA prospect Wes “Party Time” Schultz every time he readies himself for battle inside the LFA Octagon.
Born and raised in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin located in the Greater Madison metro area, Schultz lived up to his surname, which is royalty in the world of wrestling. While Wes Schultz is not related to Olympic wrestling gold medalists Dave and Mark Schultz, he has carved out his own unique legacy in the sport before crossing over to MMA.
Schultz’s wrestling journey started when he was 13-years-old in the 8th grade and immediately took off in high school at Sun Prairie High School, where he was a four-year letterwinner. During his senior season, he was the Wisconsin state champion and went 47-0. This came on the heels of taking third as a junior with a 49-5 record on the mat. Schultz also excelled on the gridiron where he was a two-year letterwinner as a defensive lineman on the football team.
Get your tickets for LFA 181: Siqueira vs. Hernandez
Wes Schultz competed at the NCAA Division I wrestling level at the University of Wyoming.
This early success and athletic dominance led Schultz on a unique college wrestling journey unlike any other. This journey took him to four collegiate wrestling programs located in four different states, where he competed at four different levels. He started by competing at RCTC in Rochester, Minnesota his freshman year. This is where he became an NCWA All-American and national finalist in 2015. He then competed at Iowa Lakes Community College his sophomore year and became an NJCAA All-American and national finalist in 2016.
That brought him to the NCAA Division I level, where he competed for the University of Wyoming during his junior year in 2017. Schultz concluded his fascinating college wrestling career back in his home state of Wisconsin at the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse for his senior year. It was there where he earned his third All-American honors, but this time at the NCAA Division III level in 2018. This diverse experience inadvertently prepared Schultz for MMA, where he now has to travel regularly and face various styles.
“I had a funky wrestling style through high school and college that relied heavily on scoring from the top position and taking risks if it meant scoring more or finishing the match,” Schultz told LFA.com. “I think I transferred a lot of that mentally into my fighting style. Throwing mean kicks with bad intent and looking for subs out of scrambles from bottom or openings I make with ground and pound from top. Coming into MMA with so much wrestling experience also ensured I knew how to take a loss. Everyone that isn’t standing on an odd numbered part of the podium at the end of the season ends there’s on a loss. In MMA, I’ve seen people freak out in the cage or straight up quit the sport after a loss. I’ve taken one as an ammy and a pro and both been used as part of the process of improvement. Oh, also coming from the world of 1-2 hour weigh-in prior to competing, weighing in the day before makes life much easier.”
Wes Schultz is looking for his fourth pro win inside the LFA Octagon at LFA 181.
Schultz now calls Milwaukee, Wisconsin home, where he trains out of Pura Vida BJJ & MMA under Zak Ottow, Solo Acosta, and Jake Klipp. Ottow fought for both RFA and Legacy FC before the two promotions merged to create the LFA in 2017. He later fought for the UFC eight times, which makes him one of the most experienced home grown fighters that is currently living and teaching in the state of Wisconsin. Schultz has been a sponge absorbing as much knowledge as he can from these three coaches and it has been noticeable as he continues to add new wrinkles to his game and improve every time out.
“All of our coaches at Pura Vida bring something unique to the table,” Schultz explained. “Zak was still with the UFC when I first came to Pura Vida as a 1-0 ammy, so having a teammate that was at that high level was intimidating. Over the past 4 years, he’s transitioned to coaching and works with me a lot on my footwork and movement on my feet as well as opponent specific work. Solo Acosta is our main striking coach and was key in helping me learn striking from the ground up and he still is trying to show me how to make break down an opponent on the feet with a methodical, repeatable process. Jake manages most of our gym through the amateur level and works with me on my ground game. Jake’s voice is the loudest, so in the heat of battle I’m usually listening for his directions, what’s open, when to step on the gas, and things like that.”
Watch LFA 181: Siqueira vs. Hernandez
Wes Schultz earned a big win against Maurice Morris at LFA 174.
That “stay ready, so you don’t have to get ready” mantra that Schultz lives by immediately put him on the worldwide MMA map during his second professional fight, which took place on the main card of LFA 131 in May 2022. Roland Dunlap and Hamza Salim had weighed-in the day before and were set to throw down on the main card when Dunlap woke up the next day and withdrew from the bout due to illness. That left the respected Palestinian veteran Salim without an opponent. That is when Coach Klipp gave a call to Schultz on the afternoon of the fight. Schultz had just finished training an hour and half away from the venue when he got the call from Klipp. He had been officially offered the fight with Salim on just a couple hours’ notice.
Salim had 9 professional bouts to his credit with his two most recent bouts taking place under the Bellator banner. He had also been in fight camp at American Top Team – Portland for several weeks preparing for this date. Schultz was just 1-0 as a professional fighter, but did not hesitate at the chance of making an immediate impact in the LFA in front of a worldwide audience on UFC Fight Pass. The gamble paid off as Schultz was rewarded with a hard-fought Unanimous Decision victory with all three judges giving him scores of 29-28. Schultz not only improved his record to 2-0, but he earned a professional contract with the LFA and a tough-as-nails reputation among fight fans for his unwavering gameness. He still reflects proudly on that day and moment that put him on the MMA map as a can’t miss prospect in the middleweight division.
“I woke up early that Friday and got about an hour of live rolls in at a local gym in West Allis, Wisconsin called Primal,” Schultz explained. “Then I got home and took a nap to recover before a noon session I had planned to go to. About 11:30 a.m. I got the call from Jake Klipp. that there may be an opportunity for that evening if I was game. Luckily, I had off work that night, so I drove up to his house around 1 p.m. and we discussed the situation. Hamza was not exactly an ideal opponent for my second professional outing, but I’m always in shape and a loss taken on same day notice isn’t a huge hit to the career early. The upside of winning seemed greater than the cons of losing. So I arrived to the venue in Oshkosh, Wisconsin around 4 p.m. and Hamza’s people saw me on a scale. Since we both weighed 200 at the time his team accepted the fight. The fight went my way and I made it back to Milwaukee in time to close my favorite tavern with 2 black eyes, a pocket full of cash, and an interesting tale.”
Wes Schultz with Solo Acosta and Jake Klipp.
Schultz returns to the LFA Octagon at LFA 181.
The now 27-year-old prospect has since rattled off three more wins with two of them coming with dominant stoppages. The latter of the two is the way Schultz began his 2024. It was also the perfect way to display one of the new wrinkles in his game. This came in his bout against South Carolina native Maurice “The First” Morris, who was making his LFA debut on the strength of a three-fight win streak. Schultz violently ended that win streak on the twelfth day of the new year with a free-wheeling striking style, which he unleashed early in Round 1. After landing a flush head kick to Morris, Schultz swarmed him on the ground and forced the referee to halt the action due to ground strikes in less than two minutes of action.
Schultz is currently in the best form of his career and now looks to earn a fourth professional win inside the LFA Octagon. In order to do so, he will have to tackle the tallest task of his career both figuratively and literally. That is because his next challenge comes in the form of top Pacific Northwest middleweight prospect Adland Benson this Friday at LFA 181. Schultz and Benson both have 6 career bouts and are riding identical 2-fight win streaks, but the Seattle based prospect measures in at an imposing 6’7″ inches tall, which has appropriately earned him the nickname “Tall Boy”. Schultz, who stands 6’2″ inches tall, has always embraced unique challenges and welcomes this contest with open arms.
“I’m excited to step up and fight a specimen like him,” stated Schultz. “I’ve kickboxed a 6’7″ man before and I made it work, but with that length it makes certain defensive maneuvers on the feet risky… and off-balancing taller men can be difficult especially when I’m used to being the taller fighter. I’m curious to feel his strength though.”
You can watch Wes “Party Time” Schultz face Adland “Tall Boy” Benson on the Main Card of LFA 181. The event takes place this Friday, April 5th and it will be available worldwide on UFC Fight Pass at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.
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