Did Kevin Holland's head coach Travis Lutter ever compete in the UFC?

Kevin Holland's coach Travis Lutter is a former mixed martial artist, who now runs an MMA training center in Fort Worth, Texas. During his professional MMA career, Lutter fought in various promotions, including the UFC.

'The Serial Killer' competed in the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions in the organization. His first fight with the UFC was at UFC 50 in October of 2004. Travis Lutter faced a beast in Marvin Eastman on his promotional debut. A conventional wrestler, Travis surprised everyone as he pulled off an upset by knocking Marvin Eastman out in the second round.

Travis Lutter knocked out Marvin Eastman, 16 years ago today#UFC pic.twitter.com/lXpd0IktRx

— Jon Realejo (@BloodyCanvasJon) October 22, 2020

Lutter's next fight in the UFC was against 'The Law' Matt Lindland at UFC 52. Lindland caught the BJJ-expert in a guillotine choke, forcing the latter to tap out in round 2. This was Lutter's second loss in a 7-fight career.

The Serial Killer's next fight in the UFC ended in a loss as well. This time around, Trevor Prangley beat Travis Lutter via unanimous decision at UFC 54. Lutter then fought twice outside the UFC, picking up two wins to regain his momentum.

He made a triumphant return to the UFC at The Ultimate Fighter: The Comeback Finale. He won The Ultimate Fighter 4 middleweight tournament by submitting Patrick Cote via armbar in the very first round. He was also awarded the Submission of the Night bonus.

When Travis Lutter let go of a title shot

Travis Lutter's exceptional performance in TUF made him the next in line to face UFC middleweight champion, Anderson 'The Spider' Silva. However, Lutter's weight-cut prevented him from getting his title shot.

The bout was to be held on February 3, 2007 at UFC 67. However, in the weigh-ins prior to the bout, Travis Lutter weighed in at 187 pounds. Lutter attempted the weigh-in a second time two hours later. He weighed in at 186.5 pounds on his second attempt, failing to make championship weight (185 lbs).

Following Lutter's failure to make weight, the UFC turned the championship fight into a regular 3-round bout. Regarding his failure to make weight, Travis Lutter told MMA Junkie:

"I really didn’t think I was too heavy until about four hours beforehand... But that’s when I got into trouble, as I began to quit sweating. The weight just quit coming off. We knew we were in trouble at that point. Once you stop sweating and your body says it won’t give up anymore, it’s very hard to lose weight. It’s painful and sucks but you keep trying."

Travis Lutter lost the fight with Anderson Silva via submission in the second round. He was then defeated by Rich Franklin via KO at UFC 83. Following this loss, Lutter was released from the UFC.

Lutter cut from UFC roster: Travis Lutter (9-5) who recently lost to Rich Franklin at UFC 83 in Montrea.. http://tinyurl.com/5a956d

— FanNation (@FanNation) May 3, 2008