Best Fighters From Minnesota

There have been some great fighters who have come out of the state of Minnesota. Many of the best fighters from Minnesota went on to win major MMA titles during their careers.

Whether you are trying to find out more about the best fighters from Minnesota or doing research for your weekend bets on platforms like https://safehamsters.io/monero-betting/ you can check out our list of the toughest Minnesotans below and see some of their accomplishments.

Brad Kolher

Brad Kolher starts off our list of the best fighters from Minnesota. Kolher fought in the early days of the UFC and fought in multiple early promotions from RINGS and Hook n’ Shoot. 

You have probably seen Kolher on many highlight reels of the best KOs in UFC history. He flatlined opponent Steve Johnson with a one punch KO back at UFC 22.

Brock Larson

Brock Larson is one of the best fighters from Minnesota, who is well-known by longtime MMA fans. The Brainerd, Minnesota native has fought in every major promotion in the world against elite fighters.

Fight fans first became aware of Larson after his run in WEC and the UFC after the merger. He was a tough wrestler with knockout power, who holds wins over Cody McKenzie, Mike Pyle, and John Alessio.

You’ve probably seen the hilarious gif of Larson running for his life from Melvin Manhoef in ONE Championship. The tactic actually worked, because Larson did end up winning a decision.

Brock had a great career, retiring with an impressive 42-10 record with 21 subs and 15 KOs.

Travis Wiuff

Travis Wiuff is another one of the best fighters from Minnesota, who is more known by hardcore MMA fans. Wiuff is an MMA iron-man, who has been fighting for well over 20 years.

A native of Owatonna, Minnesota, Wiuff currently has the most fights of any Minnesota native. The MMA heavyweight has over 100 pro fights on his record, which is currently at 78-22 with 1 no contest.

During Travis’ fighting career, he fought in numerous promotions from the UFC, PRIDE, IFL, Bellator, KOTC, and M-1. He fought everyone from Babalu Sobral, Chris Barnett, Jeff Monson, Kazuyuki Fujita, and Ricco Rodriguez.

The longtime MMA veteran was also a silver medalist at the 1999 NCAA National Wrestling Championship.

Nick Thompson

Nick “The Goat” Thompson was a gritty fighter, who fought the best fighters in the world in nearly every major promotion. The Goat had stints in every promotion from the UFC, Bodog Fight, Elite XC, World Victory Road, and Bellator.

He was one of the best fighters from Minnesota, who never shied away from taking on a tough opponent. During his career, Thompson competed as a middleweight, welterweight, and even got down to lightweight.

The Goat was no push over as he holds wins over Paul Daley, Josh Neer, and Mark Weir. But no doubt, the biggest win of his career was stopping former UFC champ Eddie Alvarez by strikes. Earning him the Bodog Fight Welterweight title.

Thompson retired from fighting in 2011 after a decision loss to Ben Askren. Ending his career with an impressive 41-14-1 record.

Tim Johnson

Tim Johnson is currently one of the best fighters from Minnesota, who competes in the heavyweight division. Johnson made the transition to MMA after a successful collegiate wrestling career and found more success in combat sports.

After spending four years earning an impressive 8-1 record, Johnson made it to the UFC in 2015. He’d spent four years with the promotion before moving over to Bellator/PFL, where he currently competes.

In his fourteen years as a pro fighter, Tim has earned some big victories and even competed for the Bellator title. Johnson holds victories over top heavyweights like Cheick Kong, Matt Mitrione, Marcin Tybura, and even fought the legend Fedor Emilanenko.

Jacob Volkmann

Jacob Volkmann was a long-time UFC veteran and one of the best fighters from Minnesota. Volkmann got in the UFC right during the promoton’s explosion in popularity back in the late 2000s.

Volkmann earned a respectable 6-3 record, while in the UFC, with wins over Efrain Escudero, Danny Castillo, and Antonio McKee. Feelgood retired from fighting in 2016 after earning a record of 19-7.

Nik Lentz

Nik Lentz is not only one of the best fighters from Minnesota but one of the toughest to come from the state. Anybody who has watched the UFC since 2009 has probably seen numerous fights featuring Lentz.

The former training partner of Brock Lesnar, Nik was one of the toughest contenders of the lightweight and featherweight divisions. If you can think of a top contender from these divisions, who fought in the last decade, they probably fought Lentz.

Nik holds some impressive wins over Gray Maynard, Manny Gamburyan, Diego Nunes, Tyson Griffin, and many more. Like Jim Miller, Lentz was a good fighter, who was gritty and able to stay with the UFC for over a decade. 

Not an easy feat to accomplish, while also earning a nice record of 30-12-2 with 1 no contest.

Dave Menne

Dave Menne may not be a name new MMA fans know, but he was one of the best fighters from Minnesota. Menne was an MMA pioneer from the state, who made history.

He was the very first Minnesota native to win UFC gold in the inaugural UFC welterweight title bout at UFC 33. Beating opponent Gil Castillo before losing the title in his next bout to legend Murilo Bustamante.

Along with making history, Dave had an incredibly long and successful  MMA career. Competing in MMA from 1997 to 2012 and earning a record of 45-17-2 against some legendary fighters.

Sean Sherk

Sean “The Muscle Shark” Sherk was a great fighter in his era and easily one of the best fighters from Minnesota. After a successful collegiate wrestling career, Sherk was one of the top lightweight competitors of his era.

The Muscle Shark went on to become the second Minnesota native to win UFC gold after defeating Kenny Florian. This bout was one of the years best as Sherk was able to win a decision, despite sustaining a giant gash.

What many fans may not know is Sean was one of the first fighters to use intense conditioning training. You never saw Sherk get tired, which helped influence future generations to adopt intense conditioning training during fight camps. 

Brock Lesnar

When talking about the best fighters from Minnesota, there is one name that stands above them all. Brock Lesnar is not only considered one of the best fighters from Minnesota, but also one of the best athletes ever.

Many were skeptical of the suplex machine being able to compete in MMA after transitioning from pro wrestling. But we all witnessed these critics wrong as he went on to become UFC heavyweight Champion.

Not only did Lesnar become champion in less than 10 fights, but he was the biggest draw in the UFC. Everyone tuned in to watch Brock fight and be part of some of the best fights in the history of the sport.

He is truly one of the most gifted athletes of the modern era and easily one of the best fighters from Minnesota.