Biggest UFC Fighters: 21 Monolith Warriors Of The MMA Jungle
Contents
- Biggest Fighters In UFC History
- 1. Shane Carwin - 255 Pounds
- 2. Greg Hardy - 265 Pounds
- 3. Roy Nelson - 265 Pounds
- 4. Mark Hunt - 265 Pounds
- 5. Dan Christison - 265 Pounds
- 6. Antonio Silva - 265 Pounds
- 7. Tim Sylvia - 265 Pounds
- 8. Wesley Sims - 260 Pounds
- 9. Gan McGee - 265 Pounds
- 10. John Matua - 400 Pounds
- 11. Koji Kitao - 353 Pounds
- 12. Derrick Lewis - 266 Pounds
- 13. Semmy Schilt - 256 Pounds
- 14. Stefan Struve - 265 Pounds
- 15. Emmanuel Yarbrough - 600 Pounds
- 16. Thomas Ramirez - 410 Pounds
- 17. Teila Tuli - 450 Pounds
- 18. Sean McCorkle - 315 Pounds
- 19. Paul Varelans - 300 Pounds
- 20. Frank Mir - 262 Pounds
- 21. Brock Lesnar - 265 Pounds
- Watch This!
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Who is the current heavyweight UFC fighter?
- Who are the top 10 heavyweights in the UFC?
- Who is the hardest puncher in the UFC?
- Conclusion
- Sources
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There's a 60-pound difference between the top of the UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions. Jon Jones, who is 6'4", looked huge at 205 pounds, so imagine the fighters who walk around well over the 265-pound heavyweight limit.
The heavyweight limit in the UFC is 265 pounds, so some big men have to cut weight to make it. A fighter who misses weight usually forfeits part of the purse, or the bout becomes a catchweight or is canceled.
In the early, no-weight-class days of the UFC, even bigger fighters competed. Let's list them below.
Biggest Fighters In UFC History
1. Shane Carwin - 255 Pounds
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Shane Carwin was one of the top heavyweights of his era and a former UFC interim heavyweight champion.
He has said he weighed close to 280 pounds early in his career before settling in comfortably under the heavyweight limit.
Carwin stands 6'2", and every one of his 12 pro wins came in the first round.
2. Greg Hardy - 265 Pounds
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He's one of the taller UFC heavyweights at 6'5". Hardy made his UFC debut in 2019 after an NFL career as a defensive end.
He played football at around 280 pounds and had to slim down to fit the heavyweight division. Most of his MMA wins came by knockout.
3. Roy Nelson - 265 Pounds
We can't have a list of the biggest fighters in the UFC without Roy Nelson. Even his nickname, Big Country, confirms that this six-foot-tall mixed martial artist belongs in the heavyweight division.
He has a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, but he's best known for his overhand right, which produced many of his knockouts.
He won The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights (season 10) and collected several post-fight bonuses in the UFC.
4. Mark Hunt - 265 Pounds
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Since we're interested in the weight rather than the height, we won't focus on Mark Hunt being 5' 10". He might be short compared to other fighters in this division, but the Super Samoan won the 2001 K-1 World Grand Prix as a kickboxer.
He weighed well over the heavyweight limit at times during his MMA career, so he had to lose weight to fight in the UFC.
Hunt's walk-off knockouts earned him several post-fight bonuses.
5. Dan Christison - 265 Pounds
Dan Christison, nicknamed The Sandman, is a towering heavyweight who often weighed in near the 265-pound limit.
He was a cast member on The Ultimate Fighter 2 and fought in the UFC in the mid-2000s.
6. Antonio Silva - 265 Pounds
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Do you know he's called Bigfoot? Silva has carried close to 280 pounds between fights, so he's among the fighters who've had to make big weight cuts.
Before joining the UFC, he fought in promotions including Cage Rage, EliteXC and Strikeforce.
7. Tim Sylvia - 265 Pounds
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At 6' 8", he's one of the tallest heavyweights in UFC history. Sylvia fought in the UFC from 2002 to 2008.
Many of his wins came by knockout, and he won the UFC Heavyweight Championship twice.
8. Wesley Sims - 260 Pounds
At 6' 10", he's taller than almost anyone who has fought in the UFC. Sims is now retired, but he fought in the UFC for about a year starting in 2003.
He only had three matches there, two against Frank Mir and one against Mike Kyle. Unfortunately, he lost all three fights.
The first bout against Mir ended in a disqualification as Sims stomped while hanging onto the fence.
9. Gan McGee - 265 Pounds
Like Sims, McGee fought in several promotions, including the UFC. The 6'10" heavyweight, known as The Giant, challenged Tim Sylvia for the UFC heavyweight title in 2003 and lost.
10. John Matua - 400 Pounds
Matua fought in the UFC's early open-weight era, and his style was Kuialua, a Hawaiian martial art that focuses on joint locks and bone breaks.
He fought Tank Abbott at UFC 6 and was knocked out in under 20 seconds.
11. Koji Kitao - 353 Pounds
This Japanese sumo wrestler was 6' 7'' tall. He reached sumo's top rank of yokozuna but never won a top-division championship.
Kitao had a short MMA career, including one UFC fight, a loss to Mark Hall that the referee stopped after Kitao's nose was broken.
12. Derrick Lewis - 266 Pounds
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Who loves UFC and doesn't know The Black Beast? As his weight suggests, he's in the heavyweight category.
Lewis joined the UFC in 2014 and holds the record for the most knockouts in the promotion's history.
He started his UFC career with a TKO win, but Matt Mitrione knocked him out later in 2014.
When his wins started trickling in again, there was no way to stop him. He beat Roy Nelson, Travis Browne and Curtis Blaydes, among others, and has earned many post-fight bonuses.
13. Semmy Schilt - 256 Pounds
Photo by Amw9991 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
He's 6' 11.5" and later became a four-time K-1 World Grand Prix champion in kickboxing. Schilt's MMA career began in 1996, and he joined the UFC after competing in Pancrase.
He didn't stay long in the UFC. He beat Pete Williams in his debut, then lost to Josh Barnett by armbar at UFC 32.
14. Stefan Struve - 265 Pounds
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At 7 feet tall, he's the tallest fighter on this list.
The UFC didn't give him a memorable welcome because he lost his debut bout at UFC 95 to Junior dos Santos. He bounced back with a run of wins.
Most of his wins in MMA came by submission rather than knockout, 18 of them according to his UFC profile. One of his best-known UFC wins was a submission of Chase Gormley at UFC 104.
15. Emmanuel Yarbrough - 600 Pounds
It's funny that one of his other names is Tiny, yet he's a 6' 8" fighter who weighed around 600 pounds when he fought.
Yarbrough was a sumo wrestler before his mixed martial arts career. He only fought in the UFC once and lost via punches by Keith Hackney.
16. Thomas Ramirez - 410 Pounds
He had one UFC bout, at UFC 8, which he lost just 8 seconds in against Don Frye. He's one of the heaviest fighters to have graced UFC events.
17. Teila Tuli - 450 Pounds
This 6' 2" fighter has a longer sumo record than MMA record. His only UFC fight, at UFC 1, ended in a quick loss to Gerard Gordeau's kick and punches.
You might know him by his acting name, Taylor Wily. He played Kamekona on Hawaii Five-0 and appeared in Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
18. Sean McCorkle - 315 Pounds
Since we're listing the biggest UFC fighters ever, we had to have Sean McCorkle here. This retired MMA fighter stood 6' 7" and fought at heavyweight.
One of his most memorable fights was his UFC debut against Mark Hunt, which McCorkle won by submission.
19. Paul Varelans - 300 Pounds
Varelans, known as The Polar Bear, only fought in the UFC for about a year. He promoted his own style, which he called trap fighting.
He was 6' 8", and his UFC opponents included Tank Abbott, Mark Hall and Marco Ruas.
20. Frank Mir - 262 Pounds
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He's not as big as other fighters here, but he's a two-time heavyweight champion (including an interim title). He's 6'3" and brings his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu style to his MMA fights.
He was the first fighter to stop Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira by knockout and later the first to submit him. He also holds the record for the most submission wins among UFC heavyweights.
21. Brock Lesnar - 265 Pounds
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During his professional wrestling career, Lesnar weighed close to 290 pounds. His opponents in the UFC included Frank Mir, Randy Couture, Shane Carwin, Cain Velasquez and Alistair Overeem.
Brock Lesnar won the UFC Heavyweight Championship and defended it twice. As much as the MMA world would want to claim Brock Lesnar, his wrestling career made him a household name.
Knock-Out Point: Know the different weight classes for both men and women by viewing our article here -- UFC Weight Classes.
Watch This!
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the current heavyweight UFC fighter?
The title has changed hands several times in recent years. Francis Ngannou won it from Stipe Miocic at UFC 260 in 2021, then left the UFC in 2023.
Jon Jones won the vacant title in 2023, and Tom Aspinall was later elevated to undisputed champion. Check the UFC's official rankings for the current champion.
Who are the top 10 heavyweights in the UFC?
Rankings change with every event, so check the UFC's official rankings. Among former champions, Stipe Miocic, Cain Velasquez, Brock Lesnar, Junior dos Santos, Frank Mir, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Randy Couture, Tim Sylvia, Daniel Cormier, Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones are among the best ever.
Who is the hardest puncher in the UFC?
Francis Ngannou's punching power was measured at 129,161 units on the UFC Performance Institute's PowerKube, a record at the time. Other fighters known for punching power include Justin Gaethje, Amanda Nunes, Derrick Lewis and Thiago Santos.
Conclusion
Today's UFC heavyweights can weigh no more than 265 pounds, but the early open-weight events featured fighters of 400 to 600 pounds. Weight doesn't always match height either, as Mark Hunt showed at 5'10".
Some of these giants had long careers, while others, like Teila Tuli and Thomas Ramirez, had just one UFC bout.
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