MMA’s Greats of the States | Utah: Jeremy Horn

Mixed martial artists come from every corner of the globe, bearing a variety of styles. Sometimes, fighters are products of their environment, favoring disciplines prevalent in the country or state from which they hail. Various regions of the United States are considered factories for great fighters, though that certainly is not the case with each state. In this weekly Sherdog.com series, the spotlight will shine on the best mixed martial artist of all-time from each of the 50 states. Fighters do not necessarily need to be born in a given state to represent it; they simply need to be associated with it.

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MMA observers tend to throw around the term without giving it much thought, but when it comes to Jeremy Horn, “pioneer” certainly fits. One of the best grapplers to ever grace the Ultimate Fighting Championship, he debuted in 1996 and proceeded to rattle off one submission after another, a 34-4-4 start to his career highlighted by his arm-triangle choke on Chuck Liddell at UFC 19 (online betting).

Horn, who remains active into his 40s, has captured championships in King of the Cage, TKO Major League MMA and various regional organizations. One of the most prolific fighters in mixed martial arts history, he has compiled a record of 91-24-5, with 62 wins by submission and 17 more by knockout or technical knockout. Horn has defeated Chael Sonnen on three different occasions and holds other notable victories against Forrest Griffin, Court McGee, Joshua Burkman, Gilbert Yvel, Akira Shoji, Dean Lister and David Loiseau.

Though he was born in Omaha, Nebraska, Horn became synonymous with the state of Utah through his work at the Elite Performance academy in Salt Lake City, where he has overseen the development of a number of successful fighters.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Joshua Burkman, Court McGee, DaMarques Johnson, Jens Pulver