Most Fighters will have less 30 fights throughout their careers, there are exceptions though, Fighters who were almost impossibly active throughout their careers, fighters with almost fantastical records.
We’ve heard of Thai Boxers with 200, sometimes 300 plus fights, but that’s to be expected when you consider that Thai’s start fighting at around 4 and continue to fight for two decades, usually averaging ten fights a year.
These guys though, they’re MMA fighters who didn’t start particularly young, they weren’t raised in a fight gym, but they made up for a time, they fought, and they fought, and they fought.
Today these inhumanly durable fighters were around for the beginnings of Mixed Martial Arts and are now either retired or winding down their careers, so this is a perfect time to look at these fighters who amassed a huge number of fights.
*Note: a lot of these records are approximate, this is just what could be found online, most of these fighters say to have many more fights that were never sanctioned or recorded.
Jonathan ‘Big’ Ivey: 41-57-0
Probably the most entertaining fighter on this list, Jonathan Ivey is a veteran of 98 (but claims to have over 150) professional fights.
He has a reputation for leg locks, as he has caught many of his opponents with kneebars, he deems himself the “leg lock monster” and claims he has the most victories of any fighters by way of leg lock.
He’s also the fighter that famously missed a body kick and proceeded to forward roll away, he also stopped halfway through a fight to do the karate kid crane pose, oh and he also faked a heart attack in the cage.
His antics are second to none and if you haven’t already, his highlights are a must-see. His personality is larger than life and he is without a question a legend of sorts in MMA.
You can catch up with Ivey on his Youtube channel where he reviews his old fights among other things.
Shannon “The Cannon” Ritch: 57-88-0
This probably isn’t the man most think of when talking about Shannon ‘The Cannon’, but that doesn’t seem to bother Ritch who has over 140 recorded MMA fights.
The Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu black belt has competed under some huge banners such as HooknShoot, M-1 Global and the legendary Pride FC.
Although he loses more often than he wins, he has faced some top opposition, such as Yves Edwards, Jake Shields, and Diego Sanchez early on in their careers.
Although he may not be the best fighter out there and despite him claiming that he’ll look for a way out when he feels a fight isn’t going his way, his perseverance in the sport is beyond impressive.
It takes a lot to break losing streaks that span over more than 10 fights, Ritch been able to do this multiple times now.
While he may be a journeyman fighter, his passion for martial arts burns on and his commitment to the sport seems as if it’ll never go away.
Dan “The Beast” Severn: 101-19-7
Dan Severn truly is the beast. Many MMA fighters go by that nickname, but only one of them will be Severn.
He is by far the most accomplished fighter on this list, with both UFC tournament winner and superlight championship titles under his belt, With countless other accolades throughout other promotions.
Severn has faced off against some of the best fighters the sport has ever produced such as Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock, Mark Coleman and Pat Miletich.
Severn’s accomplishments were acknowledged in 2005 when he was inducted into the UFC’s hall of fame
In all honesty, it is hard to do the 100 plus fight veteran justice in this short segment, but what can be said is that Severn is one of the pioneers of Mixed Martial Arts.
Travis ‘The Iron Man’ Fulton: 257-54-10
This list wouldn’t be complete without the most active MMA fighter of all time, The Iron Man, with over 300 fights to his name, Travis Fulton.
Without the most experienced MMA fighter to ever live, who have been fighting since the days where Mixed Martial Arts were called No Holds Barred.
Fulton has had over 300 professional fights, and like the other fighters featured in this article, he claims the number is much higher. Oh, and he also has 65 professional boxing matches on top of that.
The prolific fighter has faced some stiff opposition, including the likes of Ricco Rodriguez, Forrest Griffin, Ben Rothwell and Andre Arlovski among others.
The Iron Man epitomises dedication, as he has well and truly committed himself to combat sports and will hold records that seem hard to surpass
Now there are a shocking number of fighters who can fall into the same category as these guys, way too many for a single article, but the aim of this article was simply to shine a light on those who fought nonstop. No matter what. The madmen.
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