Away from the Octagon country-boy fighters like Brock Lesnar and Matt Hughes like nothing better than to pick up a rifle and get back to nature.

Former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes is the archetypical corn-fed country boy. Born in Hillsboro, Illinois, Hughes grew up with his twin brother Mark on the family farm.

From a young age the brothers were put to work, helping their father and other neighboring farmers with their daily tasks, and it’s his days toiling in the fields that he says, “taught [him] a work ethic... I can work out and have an endurance because I’ve been doing that my whole life.”

This Illinois farm boy just loves the great outdoors. When he’s not in the gym, pushing the kind of pace that would break a lesser man, he’s still hard at work on his 900-acre farm, ploughing around in his combine when the harvest season comes around.

There’s no denying then that the ex-champ genuinely enjoys hard work, something that he explains, “translates well” into his MMA training.

And no country boy is ever as relaxed than when he is accompanied by his rifle. Yes, along with fighting and farming, Matt’s other big passion is hunting. In fact, four of his six sponsors are hunting-oriented weapons manufacturers. Hall of Famer Hughes even hosts his own hunting show, Trophy Hunters TV, on the appropriately named Outdoor Channel. 

Fellow UFC star Brock Lesnar is another former champion who was brought up on the farm. Born in Webster, South Dakota, the UFC’s biggest pay-per-view draw owns his own 43-acre plot of farmland in Canada and also enjoys hunting in his spare time. 

For these earthly warriors, hunting is the perfect way to satisfy their need for competition outside the cage – while also rewarding those with a keen eye with plenty of fresh meat.

The ancient outdoor activity requires great skill and discipline, and any person who is willing to literally fight for their lives, as these men do, is going to enjoy the challenge. 

In MMA, the ultimate combat sport, there is something unquestionably primal about two individuals battling it out for wealth and status.

And the same can be said for hunting. Whether it be for food or an impressive set of antlers to take home as a trophy, the promise of a bounty after a difficult and drawn-out contest is exactly what appeals to professional fighters. Which is exactly why so many other fighters love to go fishing.

For the average big-city dweller, the closest thing to a hunt is searching for the last cart of skim milk down at the store.

But for guys like Matt and Brock, the connection between man and nature is much closer. They’ve lived their whole lives amongst animals and wide-open fields. They need to be part of that outside world in order to truly feel at home. 

Hughes and Lesnar aren’t the only top-rated MMA athletes to enjoy life away from the big city. UFC middleweight contender Chael Sonnen had an agricultural upbringing before going on to become one of the best 185lb fighters in the world, and now retired Hall of Famer Randy Couture likes to unwind by hiking and, you guessed it, hunting.

It would seem that a life of working and playing out in the fresh air is the perfect lifestyle for a natural born fighter.

So what is it about this particular way of life that these nature boys love so much? Nowadays, with the rapid growth of mixed martial arts, the media attention on the stars of the sport is steadily increasing, and that can be a terrible strain on some fighters’ minds when they’re trying to focus on an upcoming bout.

For someone born and raised in a small community, the entertainment aspect of their fight career can be particularly difficult to deal with.

Being outdoors, miles away from civilization is perfect to decompress. 

It makes perfect sense that the stillness in that kind of environment would calm the mind of a fighter, away from all the noise and hectic habits of urban life. Brock is so far removed from the modern world that he doesn’t even own a computer.

When asked if he owns a television, he answered: “We thought about getting rid of the TV, but I gotta watch my hunting shows.” Surprise, surprise.