Best MMA Fighters From Connecticut

Connecticut isn’t well known for producing fighters, but many good fighters call the state home. MMA fighters who have fought in the top organizations and even won world titles.

Here is a list of the top five MMA fighters from Connecticut. Check out the stories of these Connecticuter fighters and bet on their next fights with Connecticut online sports betting.

Nick Newell

For our list of the best MMA fighters from Connecticut, we can’t make the list without mentioning Nick Newell. Nick is one of the biggest underdogs in MMA history who succeeded.

Despite being born with half an arm, Newell trained to become one of the best fighters from Connecticut. He began making headlines in the WSOF, where he was one of the promotion’s top lightweight fighters.

Newell even fought former UFC champ Justin Gaethje for the promotion’s lightweight title. Then after a great run in the WSOF, Newell fought in the DWCS and is currently signed with Bellator.

Since the PFL/Bellator merger, Nick is unfortunately one of the many fighters who are still waiting to be booked.

Brennan Ward

Another one of the best MMA fighters from Connecticut that must be mentioned is Brennan Ward. Brennan holds the honor of being the only fighter from Connecticut to win a Bellator MMA tournament.

The Bellator veteran won the season nine middleweight title and went on to fight for the title. In Ward’s twelve years with the promotion, he was a mainstay as one of the promotion’s best middleweights.

Brennan is still currently with Bellator and now PFL since the two organizations merged.

Glover Teixeira 

While Glover Teixeira is a Brazilian native and not originally from Connecticut, he’s been embraced by the state. Glover makes his home in the state and is without a doubt one of the best MMA fighters from Connecticut.

Not just one of the best fighters, but Teixeira is the best fighter to fight out of the state. Despite visa issues that hindered Glover early in his career, his talent was undeniable.

For almost a decade, Glover was one of the top light heavyweight fighters in the world. In his 40s Teixeira had the run of his career and was able to win the UFC light-heavyweight title.

Then on top of being a champion, Glover also owns the record for most finishes in the UFC light-heavyweight division.

Parker Porter

Parker Porter is one of the best MMA fighters from Connecticut who is currently fighting in the UFC. The Connecticut native started his fighting career as a light-heavyweight, but eventually moved up to heavyweight.

Porter found more success as a heavyweight and earned a spot in the UFC in 2020. He is currently 4-4 within the promotion and has fought top-ranked fighters like the Tafa brothers and Jailton Almeida.

Dan Cramer

The last fighter that we’ll mention on our list of the best MMA fighters from Connecticut is Dan Cramer. Dan was part of the season of TUF with Rampage Jackson and Forrest Griffin.

Cramer made his MMA debut in the UFC and went 1-1 before being released. After his UFC run, Cramer fought until 2014 and most notably fought for Bellator MMA in ten different events. He retired with a respectable 11-4 record.