Top 12 Tallest MMA Fighters Ever

Over the years there have been some absolute giant Mixed Martial Arts fighters. One of the most recent and known examples of this was the former UFC heavyweight Stefan Struve, standing at 6ft 11. But did you know there have been bigger competitors than the Dutchman? Here are the 12 tallest MMA fighters in history.

12. Alistair Overeem (6ft 5)

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Standing at 6ft 5 inches, Alistair “The Reem” Overeem was once upon a time one of the most feared men in the sport. The English born Dutchman entered the UFC after becoming a kickboxing champion in 2010, and he was matched up with the former heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, who he subsequently made easy work of.

That victory over Lesnar on his UFC debut was perhaps one of his most famous victories in MMA because he put on such a dominant striking display. That being said, there was huge controversy surrounding that fight because Overeem's pre-fight drug testing did not meet the NSAC's standards, as such he was given a temporary licence to fight Lesnar.

11. Fabricio Werdum (6ft 7)

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Fabricio Werdum is one of the most highly decorated grapplers the sport has ever seen, and when you combine that skill set to a guy that stands at 6ft 7 inches that sounds like an incredible challenge to overcome.

With his elite Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and his length, he used that as an advantage on the ground to lock in submissions from all sorts of positions and angles on his way to picking up the UFC heavyweight championship against Cain Velasquez at UFC 188.

10. Travis Browne (6ft 7)

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The Hawaiian giant Travis Browne started his MMA career off in excellent fashion, winning 14 of his first 16 bouts mostly by brutal knockouts or submissions.

Despite being tied fourth for the most-post fight bonuses in UFC history, he unfortunately bowed out of the sport in 2017 on a four fight losing streak where he was stopped three times.

9. Alexander Volkov (6ft 7)

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Alexander Volkov is the tallest fighter on the UFC roster in the present day and he is undoubtedly one of the most feared men in the heavyweight division, riding a four fight win streak and coming off of a win over Russian rival Sergei Pavlovich.

Volkov often has the reach advantage over his opponents and this is emphasised with him having the third most significant strikes landed in UFC heavyweight history: 1099.

8. Tim Sylvia (6ft 8)

Back in the 2000’s Tim Sylvia was known as a very big man with very big power. Sylvia went 13-0 before making it to the UFC and from there he carried on his wrecking ball mission by winning his first three bouts in the organisation, including winning the heavyweight title in 2003.

He was a two-time UFC heavyweight champion and he's also tied for the record for the most heavyweight title bouts in the company's history.

7. Paul Varelans (6ft 8)

Before debuting in the UFC in 1995, Paul Varelans was a former American football veteran and boxer. Varelans only spent three years in MMA before moving on to other ventures in 1998 such as signing for ECW.

6. Gan McGee (6ft 10)

Gan McGee may have only had a decade in professional MMA but he certainly made his mark; out of his 13 victories 11 of them came via knockout.

McGee left the sport on a sour note in 2004 losing three fights in a row. The first loss in this run came against Tim Sylvia for the UFC heavyweight belt. Not only did McGee get stopped but he tested positive for steroids in the aftermath.

He would later return to the sport in 2008 in winning fashion before losing his next fight and then retiring.

5. Wes Simms (6ft 10)

Wes Simms is probably best known for the time he lost to Frank Mir via disqualification after Simms kicked Mir in the head while he was grounded. The pair would rematch at UFC 46 and Mir would devastatingly finish Simms by knee strikes and punches. 

4. Semmy Schilt (6ft 11)

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Standing at 6ft 11 inches tall, Semmy Schilt was probably one of the most skilled tallest fighters in MMA history. The Dutchman was a six-time K-1 champion and he used those kickboxing skills and implemented them in his MMA bouts, especially in the late 90's and early 2000's.

3. Stefan Struve (7ft)

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Stefan “The Skyscraper” Struve is the tallest fighter to ever compete in the UFC. As well as being the tallest fighter in the organisation's history, the Dutchman also has the second biggest reach in the promotion measuring at 84.5 inches.

Struve picked up wins against several top fighters throughout his career including the likes of Stipe Miocic and Antonio Silva.

2. Choi Hong-man (7ft 2)

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Despite being one of the largest fighters in the history of the sport, Choi Hong-man actually holds a losing MMA record standing at 4-5. All 9 of the South Korean's MMA fights ended inside the distance. He last fought in MMA in 2016 after suffering a KO defeat.