The UFC heavyweight division has seen some absolute giants over the years.
This weekend, the tallest fighter on the roster is set to headline UFC Nashville as Tallison Teixeira takes on two-time UFC title challenger and heavyweight KO king Derrick Lewis.
Undefeated at 8-0, Brazil’s Teixeira stands at an impressive 6 feet and 7 inches tall and is tied with another heavyweight contender as the fifth-tallest fighter in UFC history.
Bloody Elbow ranks the top 5 tallest fighters to have entered the Octagon before Teixeira.
- READ MORE: Who is Tallison Teixeira? Meet the six foot seven undefeated Brazilian tearing up the UFC
5. Alexander Volkov – 6’7″
#2-ranked UFC Heavyweight Alexander Volkov is the tallest fighter in the UFC today.
At 6’7″, Volkov has towered over all but one of his career opponents. Volkov is nicknamed ‘Drago’ after Ivan Drago from Rocky IV (1985), a Russian boxer who’s 6’6″ in his fight against Rocky Balboa.
Volkov is the only former Bellator champion to have a winning record in the UFC (12-5). The Russian has wins over Sergei Pavlovich, Alistair Overeem, and Fabricio Werdum.
Volkov has only lost to Ciryl Gane and Tom Aspinall in his last 10 fights and could be up for a title shot against Aspinall after winning four of his last five fights.
It’s worth noting this Saturday’s headliner Tallison Teixeira has an 8 cm reach advantage over Volkov.
4. Tim Sylvia – 6’8″
The 6’8″ Tim Sylvia is the only UFC champion on this list.
Sylvia made history as the tallest UFC champion back in 2003 when he TKO’ed Ricco Rodrigues to win the heavyweight title at UFC 41. He was a perfect 15-0 at the time.
Across two title reigns, Sylvia won and defended the belt against Andrei Arlovski, Jeff Monson and ‘The Giant’ Gan McGee in the tallest fight in UFC history.
3. Gan McGee – 6’10”
They didn’t call Gan McGee ‘The Giant’ for nothing.
The 6’10” McGee had a stellar 12-1 run to the heavyweight title in 2003, earning a crack at Sylvia with five first round stoppages in a row.
Despite the size advantage, McGee was TKO’ed by Sylvia inside of a round in what would be his final UFC fight.
2. Semmy Schilt – 6’11”
The UFC’s second-tallest fighter only fought under their banner twice.
The Netherlands’ Semmy Schilt AKA ‘Hightower’ is nearly seven feet tall at 6’11”.
After fighting years in Pancrase, Schilt made his UFC debut in 2001. Schilt went 1-1 in the UFC with a TKO win over Pete Williams and a submission loss to Josh Barnett.
1. Stefan Struve – 7’0″
Nicknamed ‘The Skyscraper’, Stefan Struve is the tallest fighter to have ever competed in the Octagon.
The 7’0″ heavyweight giant fought 24 times in the UFC and retired in 2021 with a winning record of 13-11. Struve’s best wins came against the likes of Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Stipe Miocic, arguably the greatest heavyweight of all time.
Struve met his match in the 6’7″ Volkov in the main event of UFC Rotterdam in 2017, losing by third-round TKO.