Like his coach on the Ultimate Fighter 6, Tommy Speer is a strong wrestler who grew up on a crop and dairy farm in Elgin, Minnesota. His coach, Matt Hughes, one of the most decorated UFC fighters ever, grew up on a farm as well. Hughes credits much of his success to the hard labor of the farm which developed a natural strength that overwhelms many of his opponents.

Tommy Speer has similar strength. So far on this season of The Ultimate Fighter, he looks like he is one of the strongest guys living in the Ultimate Fighter house. In his last match in the quarterfinals against Ben Saunders, Tommy Speer overwhelmed Saunders taking him down to the mat and holding him there where he pounded Saunders into submission.

Tommy has a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) record of 9 wins and 1 loss, and he’s only 22 years old. Upon graduating high school in 2003, Speer immediately began training in mixed martial arts in Rochester, Minnesota at Fourth Street Boxing. He also trains in Jiu Jitsu at Mario Roberto Jiu Jitsu.

Tommy was a gifted athlete in high school. He was the starting cornerback for his football team, a four year member of the varsity basketball team, and reached the nationals as a wrestler his senior year. He started fighting professionally in 2005, and recently fought in the WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting) league which shows on the Versus Television Network.

Although Tommy has been relatively quiet on the television show, his work ethic and skills make his teammates talk highly of him. They liken him to a fighting robot which will destroy whatever is in it’s path.

In the semi-finals Tommy is matched up against well rounded George Sotiropoulos. Although they are in the same weight class, Tommy will most likely enjoy a strength advantage over Sotiropoulos just like he has had in every fight so far.

Tommy Speer is surely to be a force to be reckoned with in the Welterweight division of the UFC in the years to come. He’s young and gifted athletically, and with the right training he may be able to follow a similar path that his Ultimate Fighter 6 coach Matt Hughes had early in his mixed martial arts career. After this season of The Ultimate Fighter is over, you can expect to see Tommy fighting in some UFC events based on the reactions thus far of Dana White, president of the UFC who said he’s really excited about the potential of Tommy Speer.

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