Athletes
Nate Landwehr | ‘The Train’ Comes Home'
Fighting In His Home State For The First Time In The UFC, Nate Landwehr Hopes To Give The Tennessee Fans A Show At UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs Teixeira
Nate Landwehr is a fighter’s fighter. It doesn’t matter who, where or when. If “The Train” is healthy, the Clarksville, Tennessee, product is ready to scrap. That’s the attitude that prompted a five-fight stint in Russia and Kazakhstan where he scored five wins, three knockouts, the M-1 featherweight title, and, eventually, his ticket to the UFC. Since then, Landwehr made his mark the only way he knows how: loudly.
Although his 5-4 Octagon account seems pedestrian, it has been anything but since he made his debut in January 2020. Always one to bring the action, six of his nine bouts ended inside the distance. Even when he moved his training camp to MMA Masters in Miami to hone his aggression, Landwehr scored three finishes and won a Fight of the Year candidate in 2022 against David Onama.
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In five years on the roster, something Ladnwehr hasn’t had the chance to do is fight close to home. That changes on July 12. It marks his first fight in his home state since November 2016 and his first fight in Music City since October 2013. That bout took place at Nashville Municipal Auditorium, which has half the capacity of Bridgestone Arena. Landwehr called the occasion a “full circle” moment and believes everything is in place for an unforgettable night.
“It’s like a movie,” Landwehr told UFC.com. “He’s exciting. I’m exciting. I don’t want to put that pressure on it, but it’s got a good fight written all over it. I hope it’s something we can look back on and have some great video footage. I’m trying to finish this man.”
The fight is Landwehr’s first of 2025. His last time out came with disappointment as he fell to Dooho Choi at UFC 310. Landwehr said he broke his hand early in the fight, which led to a longer layoff stewing on the loss, but when UFC announced its return to Nashville, he knew it was a matter of time before his phone buzzed.
Fighting close to home comes with its disadvantages, of course. People come out of the woodwork for tickets, and some fighters admit there is a different kind of pressure apparent when the whole arena feels like they’re behind you.
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That doesn’t seem to be the case for Landwehr, who says he looks forward to skipping the need for a post-fight flight and maybe even make the hour-long drive to Clarksville so he can sleep in his own bed.
He is also looking forward to spending time at home with his wife, Robyn, and child. The couple announced a second kid on the way in October, but a fighter’s life sometimes means making tough decisions, which is what he does every time he leaves Tennessee for training camp in Miami. It’s a sacrifice, sure, but a necessary one for the 37-year-old as he looks to squeeze all he can out of his career.
“I just leave ‘em behind, go grind out, and when I’m with them, they get my 100 percent attention,” Landwehr said. “I just figured I gotta do my thing to help them. If I don’t make it, none of us make it.”
If history is telling, Landwehr should be in peak form heading into his matchup with “The Last Pirate.” France’s Charriere arrived in the promotion with a lot of fanfare after capturing the Cage Warriors featherweight title. Landwehr enjoys the fact that this fight features a pair of champions from two of Europe’s bigger promotions. Charriere is an ideal dance partner, boasting 12 knockouts and three submissions on his record, and Landwehr hopes to become just the second man to stop Charriere inside the distance.
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Otherwise, Saturday’s assignment is nothing more than, in his own words, a “good ol’ fashioned brawl.”
“It’s going to feel like a fight,” he said. “About to get into some trouble, about to get into a rumble, and hopefully my fans will be crazy excited.”
UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs Teixeira took place live from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee on July 12, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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