Travis Lutter (born May 12, 1973) is a retired American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

who won ''

The Ultimate Fighter 4 ''The Ultimate Fighter 4'' is the fourth season of the mixed martial arts reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter''. It premiered on August 17, 2006, immediately after the conclusion of ''UFC Fight Night 6''. The finale was aired on Nove ...

'' reality show. He is a black belt in

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

under Carlos Machado.

Background

Lutter was born and raised in

Gann Valley, South Dakota Gann Valley is a census-designated place in and the county seat of Buffalo County, South Dakota, United States. The town had a population of 14 as of the 2010 census. It is the smallest unincorporated county seat in the United States. Descriptio ...

in a farmer family of seven. He began

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

when he was 12 years old, continuing through high school where he earned All-State honors and then also competed during his first two years attending

Northern State University Northern State University (NSU) is a public university in Aberdeen, South Dakota. NSU is governed by the South Dakota Board of Regents and offers 45 bachelor's degrees, 53 minors, six associate degrees, 16 pre-professional programs, 23 certifi ...

, where he majored in criminal justice. Lutter had originally begun training in

Muay Thai Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterised ...

, before viewing an early

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

event dominated by Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist,

Royce Gracie Royce Gracie (; born 12 December 1966) is a Brazilian retired professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer, and a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A member of the Gracie family, he is considered to be one of the most influential figures i ...

. Lutter then moved to Dallas, Texas and began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Mixed martial arts career

''The Ultimate Fighter''

With this victory, Lutter became the challenger for Anderson Silva's

Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

title. Lutter dedicated his victory on November 11 to the

Wounded Warrior Project Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) is an American charity and veterans service organization that offers a variety of programs, services and events for wounded veterans of the military actions following September 11, 2001. It operates as a nonprofit ...

, an organization dedicated to support wounded U.S. servicemen.

Title shot

On the day of the weigh-in, one day before the February 3, 2007 bout at UFC 67, Lutter failed to make weight. He weighed-in at 187 pounds on the first attempt, and 186.5 two hours later on his second attempt. Because of his failure to meet the required 185 pounds, his match with Silva was changed to a three-round, non-title bout. This upset many fans, and he was booed upon his entrance into the octagon. Lutter would go on to lose in the second round via submission due to a triangle choke.

After ''TUF''

Lutter was scheduled to return to the UFC at

UFC 74 ''UFC 74: Respect'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 25, 2007, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The main event was a UFC Heavyweight Championship ...

on August 25, 2007 against UFC newcomer Ryan Jensen; however he was forced to withdraw from the event due to a neck injury. After over a year's absence from the UFC, Lutter was next matched against former UFC Middleweight Champion

Rich Franklin Richard Jay Franklin II (born October 5, 1974) is an American businessman and retired mixed martial artist. He is best known for competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he is a member of the UFC Hall of Fame and a former UFC Middl ...

UFC 83 ''UFC 83: Serra vs. St-Pierre 2'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The event was held on April 19, 2008, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Background The event on this date was originally sc ...

. After nearly catching Franklin with an armbar in the first round, Lutter was defeated by Franklin in the second round by TKO. After losing two consecutive bouts, Lutter was released from his UFC contract. This makes him the first ''Ultimate Fighter'' winner to be released from UFC contract. He defeated Jason "The Athlete" MacDonald in the main event of

Maximum Fighting Championship Maximum Fighting Championship is a Canadian mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion based in Edmonton, Alberta. MFC’s former home, in Canada, is the River Cree Resort and Casino in Enoch, Alberta, located just outside Edmonton, Alberta, but has also ...

22 on October 2, 2009. Lutter's next bout occurred on May 21, 2010, against

Rafael Natal Rafael Natal Diniz Franca () is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist. A professional from 2005 until 2017, he is best known for his 17-fight stint competing for the UFC. Mixed martial arts career Background Natal started Brazilian Jiu-Jits ...

. This bout was part of the Moosin: God of Martial Arts show in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

. After 2 take down attempts Lutter was noticeably tired, he lost by

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

in the first round.

Retirement

Due to the extensive neck injury sustained in the Natal fight and the subsequent long layoff from fighting resulted in Lutter's retirement from professional mixed martial arts competition. Secretly hoping to make it back to the UFC, Lutter did not publicly announce his retirement until a 2019 blog post.

Personal life

Lutter is married and has four children. Lutter owns and operates a martial arts training center in

Fort Worth, TX Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accordin ...

, offering Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing and mixed martial arts.

Championships and accomplishments

*Ultimate Fighting Championship **

Middleweight winner *HOOKnSHOOT **HnS Light Heavyweight Championship (One time)

Grappling credentials

*Winner Ultimate Submission Challenge 2003 *Competitor 2001 ADCC World Championships *Competitor 2000 ADCC World Championships *Winner 2001 National USA ADCC Qualifier *Winner 2000 National USA ADCC Qualifier *Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt under Carlos Machado *1st place 2001 Texas State BJJ Champion *3rd place Heavyweight Purple Belt, 2000 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Championships; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil *3rd place Purple Belt Heavyweight, 2000 Pan-American Games *1st place Heavyweight Champion 1999 Texas Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Open *1st place Heavyweight and Overall Champion 1998 Texas Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championships *2nd place 1998 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Championships; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil *1st place Heavyweight Champion 1998 USA Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championships *1st place Heavyweight Champion 1997 San Antonio Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Open

Mixed martial arts record

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, KO (punches) , Moosin: God of Martial Arts , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:12 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–5 ,

Jason MacDonald Jason Anthony MacDonald (born June 3, 1975) is a Canadian former mixed martial artist. A professional from 1999 until 2013, he is perhaps best remembered for his two stints in the UFC, but also fought for King of the Cage, and the Maximum Fighti ...

, Decision (unanimous) , MFC 22 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Enoch, Alberta, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–5 ,

, TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:01 ,

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–4 ,

Anderson Silva Anderson da Silva (; born 14 April 1975) is a Brazilian-American mixed martial artist and boxer. He is a former UFC Middleweight Champion and holds the record for the longest title reign in UFC history at 2,457 days. This started in 2006 and ...

, Submission (triangle choke) , UFC 67 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:11 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–3 , Cedric Marks , Submission (armbar) , IFF 1: International Freestyle Fighting 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:15 , Ft. Worth, Texas, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–3 , Jose Landi-Jons , Submission (armbar) , Cage Rage 15 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:00 ,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–3 ,

Trevor Prangley Trevor Prangley (born 24 August 1972) is a South African mixed martial artist. He has fought in the UFC, Strikeforce, Bellator, Dream, King of the Cage, MFC, the SFL, Shark Fights, and Bodog Fight. He competed in the Middleweight and Light He ...

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC 54: Boiling Point , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–2 , Matt Ewin , Submission (keylock) , Cage Rage 12 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:40 ,

, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–2 ,

Matt Lindland Matthew James Lindland (born May 17, 1970), also known as The Law, is an American retired mixed martial artist, Olympic wrestler, speaker, actor, coach, entrepreneur and politician. He won the Oregon Republican Party's nomination for t ...

, Submission (guillotine choke) , UFC 52: Couture vs Liddell , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:32 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 ,

Marvin Eastman Marvin Lee Eastman (born June 8, 1971) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer. A professional MMA competitor from 2000 until 2013, he competed in K-1, the UFC, World Fighting Alliance, Maximum Fighting Champions ...

, KO (punch) ,

UFC 50 ''UFC 50: The War of '04'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 22, 2004, at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The event was broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States, and la ...

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:33 ,

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Grzegorz Jakubowski , Submission (kimura) , EVT 2: Hazard , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:45 ,

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, Sweden , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Mark Epstein , Submission (rear-naked choke) , EVT 1: Genesis , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:45 ,

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, Denmark , , - , Loss , align=center, 2–1 , Jorge Rivera , TKO (punches) , USMMA 2: Ring of Fury , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:46 ,

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as of ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Chris Munsen , Submission (rear-naked choke) , HOOKnSHOOT: Relentless , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:45 ,

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , James Cooper , Decision , PRW: Power Ring Warriors , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Humble, Texas Humble ( ) is a city located in the Houston metropolitan area. Humble became an oil boomtown in the early 20th century when oil was first discovered there in 1904. By 1905, the Humble oilfield was the largest producing oilfield in Texas. Humble ...

, United States ,

References

External links

Official site
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lutter, Travis 1973 births Living people The Ultimate Fighter winners American male mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Mixed martial artists from South Dakota People from Chamberlain, South Dakota Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters