Tommy Gantt

When and why did you start training for fighting? I started wrestling when I was 12 years old if you want to count that as training for fighting. I officially started training for an MMA fight a little over two-and-a-half years ago. I was little bored of wrestling and uninspired by it after doing it for so long. I decided to take an amateur MMA fight in May of 2023, and I started training for that fight about 3 weeks before it. I ended up winning, I enjoyed every part of it and I performed really well. I knew I started a little later, so I fought 11 times in just under a year after I turned pro just to try and get some experience, a little more exposure and to make up for lost time.

What professional titles have you held? I was the: New Line Cage Fighting Welterweight Champion, North Iowa Fights Welterweight Champion

Any accomplishments in amateur combat sports? Flex Fight Series Welterweight Champion. I was an All-American at NC State where I wrestled in college. I also won numerous international wrestling tournaments such as the Bill Farrell Memorial Tournament in NY and the Henri Deglane Grand Pricing in France. I believe I was ranked as high as #4 on the U.S. Olympic Ladder before I transitioned to MMA.

Any belts/ranks in grappling disciplines? White belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu 

Any belts/ranks in striking disciplines? No, I boxed and did some amateur kickboxing but they don’t really give you any belts.

What has been your toughest fight to date and why? I’d have to say a guy named Josh Henry. No matter how many elbows, punches and knees I hit him with, he just wouldn’t quit. It wasn’t until I broke his ribs with a knee in the third round that the referee finally called the fight. I respect him a lot and I appreciate him for being such a tough opponent, pushing me and showing me what I need to work on. A lot of opponents with good records turned me down before I got here. It was very, very hard for me to find fights. A few guys who were UFC veterans or later on went on to the UFC themselves turned me down as an opponent before I got here.

Who is your favorite fighter and why? I would have to say Daniel Cormier. Without having him as an example of someone who entered fighting at a later age because he was too busy pursuing an international wrestling career in his 20’s, I wouldn’t have thought it would be possible for me. I know he felt a little unfulfilled by his accomplishments in wrestling and that he used that as motivation and basically as a second chance to fulfill his goals in fighting and that’s how I view this opportunity as well.

Did you go to college and if so what degree did you earn? Yes, I went to North Carolina State University where I received both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s in social work.

What was your job before you started fighting? I was a full-time assistant wrestling coach at NC State, which is where I also wrestled in college. It was a difficult decision to leave coaching for me, but I had a conversation with my friend, mentor, former coach and boss named Pat Popalizio. He told me that if I wanted to take fighting as far as I could, it was important for me to put everything I have into fighting and minimize the distractions. So left a job I loved to put everything I have into this.

Personal Life / Background: I’m grateful to my mother and father for believing in me, giving me direction, keeping me on the right path and raising me to be the person I am today. I have four brothers and one sister back home in Illinois. I have two daughters and a son who mean everything to me and I want to try and make enough money in MMA to give them access to opportunities that I never really had growing up.

What are your hobbies, activities or other interests when not training for a fight? When I’m not training, I try and spend as much time as I possibly can with my kids. They mean everything to me. Other than that, I like to keep it simple; any free time I have, I usually either play video games, golf or fish.