Best MMA Fighters From Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania is a state known for producing elite wrestlers. Many of those elite wrestlers have transitioned over to MMA and had great careers.

MMA has been around in Pennsylvania for years, but its popularity truly soared after Pennsylvania introduced legal sports betting in 2017. Here is a list of the best MMA fighters from Pennsylvania, the article was written so you can learn about fighters from the Pennsylvania state and their fighting careers. 

Brian Stann

Briann Stann was one of the best MMA fighters from Pennsylvania during his fighting career. The military veteran quickly became a fan favorite, who never shied away from a good scrap.

Stann started getting noticed during his time in the WEC and gained more popularity after the UFC merger. The ex-marine had great fights with everyone from Chris Leben, Michael Bisping, and Wanderlei Silva. 

After his match with Silva, Stann retired and became a UFC commentator and was considered one of the best. He did this for a short period until he became the CEO of Hunt Military Communities.

The All-American always brought it during his fighting career and never had a boring fight.

Mac Danzig

Mac Danzig was one of the best MMA fighters from Pennsylvania during the late 2000s. The vegan fighter gained popularity after winning the sixth season of The Ultimate Fighter.

After winning the TUF tournament, Danzig earned his six figure contract and spent seven years in the organization. During those seven years, Danzig fought all of the top-ranked fighters in the UFC lightweight division. 

This included knocking out fellow TUF winner Joe Stevenson at UFC 124. After retiring from fighting in 2017, Mac moved to Bend, Oregon and opened his own MMA gym called Danzig MMA. 

Katlyn Chookagian

Katlyn Chookagian is a long-time veteran of the UFC women’s flyweight division. The Pennsylvania native has been with the organization for 8 years and has fought the division’s top fighters.

Chookagian has flown under the radio, but in her time as a fighter she has broken multiple UFC records. As of now, Katlyn holds the record for most wins in the flyweight division(9) and most fight time(3 hrs 59 secs).

She is no doubt one of the best MMA fighters from Pennsylvania in the sport today. Right now, Chookagian is looking to earn the elusive flyweight title before she calls it a career.

Matt Riddle

Matt Riddle was not only one of the best MMA fighters from Pennsylvania but easily one of the most talented. He was so talented that he made it onto the 7th season of TUF with no professional fights.

Riddle almost spent the entirety of his MMA career from his first pro fight to his tenth. Unfortunately for Matt, he fought during the time when the UFC had a strict policy on the use of cannabis.

After his second positive test, Riddle was released from the company in 2013. Luckily for Riddle, he was able to become a successful pro wrestler.

He was part of the WWE for 5 years and is now part of New Japan Pro Wrestling. 

Josh Koscheck

Josh Koscheck was one of the early best MMA fighters from Pennsylvania, who fought in the UFC. Koscheck was a controversial, yet talented fighter from the beginning when he was on TUF one.

After season one of TUF, Josh quickly rose the ranks of the welterweight division. He was part of the UFC for a decade and earned wins over some of the biggest names in the sport.

Josh holds notable wins over Matt Hughes, Frank Trigg, Diego Sanchez, Chris Lytle, Anthony Johnson, and Paul Daley. Since retiring from the sport in 2017, Koscheck has opened an MMa gym in California and coaches full-time.

Phil Davis

“Mr. Wonderful” Phi Davis is easily one of the best MMA fighters from Pennsylvania. Before Davis got into MMA, he was a highly-touted wrestler from Penn State.

After winning the NCAA National Championship in 2008, Davis transitioned over to MMA. After winning his first four fights, Phil got into the UFC in 2010, where he won his first five bouts.

Phil spent the next five years as a top contender in the UFC light heavyweight position. When his contract expired, Davis went to Bellator MMA for money and won their light heavyweight title.

Since the Bellator/PFL merger, Mr. Wonderful is now part of their talent-rich light heavyweight division.

Eddie Alvarez

We could not have the best MMA fighters from Pennsylvania list without “The Underground King” Eddie Alvarez. Eddie is a 20+ year MMA veteran, who has done it all in the sport of MMA.

He first made his mark in Bellator, where he was the promotion’s inaugural lightweight champion. After winning the belt twice, Alvarez moved over to the UFC, where he became a bigger star.

During his time in the UFC, Eddie was part of some all-time great fights and won the UFC lightweight belt. Since accomplishing everything he could in MMA, Alvarez has now transitioned over to bare-knuckle boxing.

The Underground King is hoping to get into more scraps and win another title before calling it a career.

Chris Daukaus

Chris Daukaus is a tough fighter from Philadelphia, who has fought in the UFC for the last four years.The Philly native got into the UFC in 2020 after earning a record of 7-3.

He made the most of his chance by winning the first four fights of his UFC run. Since then, Daukaus has hit a string of bad luck and has dropped his last four fights.

In his last fight, Chris moved down to light heavyweight, but was stopped by Khalil Rountree Jr.

Kyle Daukaus

Kyle Daukaus is the younger brother of Chris Daukaus, who was also a UFC fighter. The younger Daukaus brother Chris Daukhaus, who competed in the promotion for three years at middleweight.

His UFC run wasn’t as good as he hoped as he only won two of his seven fights. Since being released, Chris has won two straight fights in the northeastern MMA promotion CFFC.

Sean Brady

Sean Brady is another one of the best MMA fighters from Pennsylvania, who currently fights in the UFC. The Philly native is one of the top ranked fighters of the welterweight and now middleweight division.

Brady made his UFC debut in 2019 as an undefeated fighter and racked up five straight wins. During that win streak, he beat top-ranked fighters in Court McGee and Michael Chiesa.

After suffering his first pro loss to Belal Muhammad, Brady went up to middleweight. In his last fight, Sean made a statement by beating former TUF winner Kelvin Gastelum by kimura.