Nate Landwehr Moves to 155 With a Simple Plan: 'Disciplined and Mean'

Nate Landwehr is 38 years old, three fights deep into a losing streak, and climbing a weight class for the first time in his UFC run. That's a lot of mileage to carry into a lightweight debut — and he's doing it against another finisher in Mandel Nallo, who opens the UFC Edmonton main card against him this Saturday.

The slide is real: Landwehr dropped back-to-back-to-back bouts to Dooho Choi, Morgan Charriere and Cub Swanson, the last of which ended in a first-round TKO by punch for the 31-14 veteran. Landwehr isn't hiding from it. He said the losses sting, but he's hunting redemption and plans to beat Nallo badly come Saturday night.

The move to 155 wasn't strategy so much as self-preservation. Landwehr said the cut to 145 had become a fight-week ordeal, and at his age it was time to focus on the fight instead of surviving the scale. He claims he got through camp healthier and heavier-handed, promising to bring his 'Nate The Train' power up a division.

A Brawl Both Men Want

Nallo arrives at 14-4 with eight knockouts and six submissions, a genuine two-way threat whose only Octagon appearance so far was a first-round TKO loss to Jai Herbert. Landwehr watched that fight and came away impressed — not by the result, but by the refusal to fold. He noted Nallo stayed upright and kept trying to win even while badly hurt, which makes him dangerous in exactly the kind of firefight both men seem eager to start.

That's the problem Landwehr has to solve. Two come-forward bangers walking into the same phone booth means somebody gets clipped, and he framed it as the sport's eternal riddle: how do you break a man down without getting got yourself? His answer is to be first, stay in Nallo's face from minute one, and keep it from turning into a tit-for-tat exchange.

Worth remembering: for all the stand-and-bang reputation, Landwehr's first two UFC finishes came by submission. He's not chasing fancy entries — no heel hooks, no armbars — but if he lumps Nallo up and the neck is there, he says he'll take it. However it ends, he wants a finish.

The opening slot on the main card is no accident. The UFC leans on Landwehr as a reliable firestarter, and he's leaning into it, saying fans who saved up for tickets deserve something in return. His pitch for how he wins them over isn't complicated — he reckons his heart does the convincing.