5 Things You Might Not Know About Nate Landwehr

Nate Landwehr has a difficult task ahead of him: Cool the hype surrounding one of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s more promising prospects.

The 34-year-old Tennessee native will face off with Glory MMA’s David Onama in the UFC on ESPN 41 featherweight co-headliner this Saturday at Pechanga Arena in San Diego. Landwehr has alternated wins and losses in each of his first four appearances inside the Octagon. He last competed at UFC Fight Night 195, where he submitted Ludovit Klein with an anaconda choke in the third round of their Oct. 16 encounter.

As Landwehr approaches his three-round battle with Onama at 145 pounds, here are five things you might not know about him:

1. His stomping grounds were once home to an Olympic icon.

Landwehr was born on June 7, 1988 in Clarksville, Tennessee, and shares a hometown with Wilma Rudolph, the legendary track star who made history by becoming the first American woman to win three gold medals at a single Olympics. Rudolph struck gold in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay at the 1960 Summer Games in Rome.

2. Athleticism gives him a strong base.

“The Train” was a multi-sport standout at Rossview High School, where he played football, wrestled and ran track. Landwehr accepted a track scholarship to Highland Community College in Kansas but dropped out of school to pursue a career in mixed martial arts.

3. The international scene offered him his first taste of stardom.

Landwehr won eight of his first 10 bouts as a pro before linking arms with the M-1 Global organization in 2017. He captured the promotion’s featherweight championship less than a year into his tenure when he put away Khamzat Dalgiev with punches in the second round of their M-1 Challenge 95 pairing on July 21, 2018. Landwehr successfully defended the title on two subsequent occasions, then signed with the UFC.

4. He does not fear going out on his shield.

Three of Landwehr’s four career defeats have come via stoppage inside two rounds. He submitted to a Mark Cherico rear-naked choke 1:34 into the second round of their Gladiators of the Cage 19 main event in October 2015, bowed to a Herbert Burns knee strike 2:43 into the first round of their UFC Fight Night 166 confrontation in January 2020 and fell prey to a Julian Erosa flying knee 56 seconds into the first round of their UFC Fight Night 185 clash in February 2021.

5. He associates with known killers.

Landwehr now operates out of the MMA Masters gym in Miami, where he hones his skills under coaches Cesar Carneiro and Daniel Valverde while sharing the training room with fighters like Colby Covington, Ilia Topuria and Cezar Ferreira.