But are there tall MMA fighters who made it?
MMA is the most versatile combat sport where being tall has many pros and cons when it comes to fighting
If we look back in history, being very tall in MMA fights will not lead to many advantages, as you think, in many cases, you tend to fight inside the cage
But as in any sport, there are exceptions where tall MMA fighters used their height advantage to a great extent to succeed
Continue reading this article to discover the best MMA fighters who are at least 6’6″ tall and their interesting stories
In the 90s, Ricardo Morais was one of those violent fighters who looked like they were straight out of horror movies
He was not only one of the tallest fighters, he also had huge muscles and looked very intimidating
Moreover, he had good Muay Thai skills and was always striving for a finish
Morais began his career in the mid-90s by participating in various bare-knuckle MMA matches
After amassing an 8–1 record, he got a chance to fight Mark Coleman at Pride FC 8 in ’99
Let’s not forget that Coleman was one of the best and most popular fighters during that time
Although he lost the fight, it was the biggest moment of Morais’ career
He fought several more times after the Coleman fight and retired in 2006 with a record of 10 wins and 4 losses
Most MMA fans remember Christison as a fighter who didn’t like decisions
He went to a decision six times in his career and lost them all
But on the other hand, he’s 21–1 in fights that have ended before the final bell, which gives you a big picture of just how wild Christison was
With a span of 85″, Christison still holds the record for the longest wingspan in the UFC
But on the other hand, he never used his long reach to gain an advantage in a fight because he was a grappler
“The Sandman” was all about taking the fight to the ground and finishing the opponent with submissions or ground and pound
In his career, he fought under the UFC banner only twice
He made a successful debut in 2006 against Brad Imes, but would lose a decision in his next fight against Frank Mir at UFC 61
He went on to fight in various smaller promotions such as IFC, CFC and Warrior MMA before retiring in 2010
Photo by Steve Mowry via Twitter
Mowry is a Bellator MMA fighter who is among the longest-tenured fighters on the roster
Although he is 6’9″, Mowry is very athletic and skilled in all areas of MMA
Most of his fights in Bellator are chaotic fights in which he was almost finished several times
Mowry began his pro MMA career in the popular Titan FC promotion
While with Titan FC, Mowry quickly rose to the top and drew a lot of attention by scoring two brutal KOs and two submission finishes
In the next three years, Mowry recorded five consecutive finishes, three submissions and two TKOs
What he does best is use his length and long limbs to destroy his opponents in the clinch with hard knees and punches
Photo from mmabaycouk
Sims is not only one of the tallest fighters in UFC history, but also one of the fiercest
Out of 42 matches, he only got a decision 3 times in his career, which tells you how exciting his matches were to watch
And although he was 6’10” and weighed about 260 pounds, Sims was a very skilled fighter
In his career, he has fought for various promotions and rarely stuck in one place
But most fans know him for his rivalry with former UFC champion Frank Mir These two fighters faced each other for the first time at UFC 43 when Sims was disqualified for repeated leg drops
Mir would get his revenge less than a year later at UFC 46, where he finished Sims with brutal knees and punches
McCorkle is a former UFC fighter and one of the few athletes who entered MMA from college basketball
But during his college days, he also trained BJJ with UFC veteran Chris Lytle, who influenced McCorkle to begin competing in MMA in 2005
He weighed over 315 pounds in most matches and often looked twice the size of his opponent
And if we combine his physical size with strong fighting skills, we get a formidable fighter who didn’t take long to become famous
After posting a 12–0 record, McCorkle signed with the UFC in 2010
In his debut, he defeated K-1 and MMA legend Mark Hunt at UFC 119 which remains the biggest moment of his career
But the buzz around him was short-lived as he lost his next two fights before leaving the UFC in 2011
In his career, he also fought for Polish promotions “KSW”, “Bellator MMA” and “Legends of Fighting”
Varelans is one of the UFC pioneers who fought during the early days of the UFC
Standing 6’8″, Varelans got into MMA from football and he had some training in boxing
But during MMA’s wild beginnings, that was more than enough for the UFC to sign him and let him fight in the UFC 6 tournament
He returned at the UFC 7 tournament where he reached the finals
However, he lost once again, this time to one of the most skilled fighters of that era, Marco Ruas
McGee is a retired MMA fighter who was once the tallest fighter on the UFC roster
On his way to the UFC, he left nothing but carnage in almost every fight he fought
He would push for a takedown in the opening seconds of the fight, and once he was in top position, he would quickly end the show with a flurry of punches
But things didn’t go as planned for McGee in his UFC debut against Josh Barnett as he was finished in the second round
He bounced back with three straight wins in the WEC promotion before coming back to defeat legend Pedro Rizzo at UFC 39
Another stoppage win over Alexandre Dantas earned him a title shot against Tim Sylvia
The two faced each other at UFC 44 in 2003, and Sylvia went on to finish McGee in the first round with a barrage of punches
McGee left the UFC after this fight, and he went on to fight twice in PRIDE FC and lost both fights before retiring in 2009
Top 15 Shortest MMA Fighters of All Time, Ranked
Photo by Rushmoore
Browne is a former UFC heavyweight fighter who was once just one step away from a title fight
He came to the UFC in 2010 and it didn’t take long for him to rise to the top
Just a few fights into his UFC career, Browne was already seen as a future star and potential champion
Despite being physically large, he knew how to use this advantage in MMA
His kickboxing skills were very good and he had an iron chin
In his UFC career, he scored four “knockout of the night” bonuses, which came against some of MMA’s true legends
He retired from MMA in 2017 while on a four-fight losing streak
Photo by S Troshchenko
Standing at 6’7″, Volkov is one of the tallest and most physically imposing MMA fighters in history
He joined the UFC in 2016 as a former M-1 Global and Bellator MMA champion, so the buzz around him was quite high and for good reason
He looks and fights like a monster
His first four wins came against Stefan Struve, Roy Nelson and Fabricio Werdum who was a former champion at the time
However, he would lose several crucial fights that put his title aspirations on hold
Photo by 67microbus
Standing 7’2 inches tall, Choi once weighed around 352 pounds and is one of the biggest fighters in history
He became a huge star while fighting in the Japanese K-1 kickboxing promotion where he was the 2005 World Grand Prix Champion
On his way to winning the prestigious K-1 title, he defeated several K-1 legends such as Mighty Mo and Semmy Schilt
But let’s not forget that he was part of many freak shows where he fought against fighters who were half his size
Choi would later transition to fighting in MMA, but he never achieved the same success as he did in K-1
He wrestled for the DREAM promotion where he faced and lost to famous fighters such as Fedor Emelianenko and Mirko CroCop 3
Photo by Ben Kevan
Tim Sylvia is a two-time former UFC heavyweight champion who is often regarded as one of the greatest heavyweights of all time
But although he was a giant, Sylvia was also very agile and mobile for a man his size, which made him a difficult match for anyone
No, Sylvia was a skilled striker who did a good job mixing up punches, changing angles and picking his shots well
The precision of his boxing was what made him better than other heavyweight fighters
And also, it’s one of the reasons why he retired with 22 KO wins on his record
He continued to wrestle for various smaller promotions before retiring from the sport in 2013
Sylvia is also one of the few MMA fighters to become a part-time police officer in Illinois
Photo by Amw9991
Schilt is one of the tallest kickboxers in history who has also fought extensively in MMA
Although he was tall, heavy and tall, Schilt was really agile and very technical for a man of his size
But before becoming a K-1 champion, Schilt fought in MMA during the 90s
During those days, he often fought against fighters who were half his size, such as Yuki Kondo or Ikuhisa Minowa
Schilt also had two UFC fights
Photo by Jason Gambone
Struve is a former UFC contender who is the longest-tenured fighter in the promotion’s history
He came to MMA from kickboxing where he fought as a professional before entering MMA later on
In his prime, Struve was a difficult matchup for anyone due to his height and long reach
Many great fighters like UFC champion Stipe Miocic or BigFoot Silva were knocked out by Struve
Because he was so tall and lanky, he had a hard time dealing with wrestlers who, in most cases, could take him down without much effort
And on top of that, his standing defense was full of holes as he suffered many brutal KOs However, no one could deny that Struve was a top UFC fighter at one point in time
He proved that you can be successful in MMA despite being 7’0″