Lutter was born and raised in Gann Valley, South Dakota in a farmer family of seven. He began wrestling when he was 12 years old, continuing through high school where he earned All-State honors and then also competed during his first two years attending Northern State University, where he majored in criminal justice. Lutter had originally begun training in Muay Thai, before viewing an early UFC event dominated by Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist, Royce Gracie. Lutter then moved to Dallas, Texas and began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
With this victory, Lutter became the challenger for Anderson Silva'sMiddleweight title. Lutter dedicated his victory on November 11 to the Wounded Warrior Project, an organization dedicated to support wounded U.S. servicemen.
Title shot
On the day of the weigh-in, one day before the February 3, 2007 bout at UFC 67, Lutter failed to make weight. He weighed-in at 187 pounds on the first attempt, and 186.5 two hours later on his second attempt. Because of his failure to meet the required 185 pounds, his match with Silva was changed to a three-round, non-title bout. This upset many fans, and he was booed upon his entrance into the octagon. Lutter would go on to lose in the second round via submission due to a triangle choke.
After ''TUF''
Lutter was scheduled to return to the UFC at UFC 74 on August 25, 2007 against UFC newcomer Ryan Jensen; however he was forced to withdraw from the event due to a neck injury. After over a year's absence from the UFC, Lutter was next matched against former UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin at UFC 83. After nearly catching Franklin with an armbar in the first round, Lutter was defeated by Franklin in the second round by TKO. After losing two consecutive bouts, Lutter was released from his UFC contract. This makes him the first Ultimate Fighter winner to be released from UFC contract. He defeated Jason "The Athlete" MacDonald in the main event of Maximum Fighting Championship 22 on October 2, 2009. Lutter's next bout occurred on May 21, 2010, against Rafael Natal. This bout was part of the Moosin: God of Martial Arts show in Worcester, Massachusetts. After 2 take down attempts Lutter was noticeably tired, he lost by knockout in the first round.
Retirement
Due to the extensive neck injury sustained in the Natal fight and the subsequent long layoff from fighting resulted in Lutter's retirement from professional mixed martial arts competition. Secretly hoping to make it back to the UFC, Lutter did not publicly announce his retirement prior to a 2019 blog post.
Personal life
Lutter is married and has four children. Lutter owns and operates a martial arts training center in Fort Worth, TX, offering Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing and mixed martial arts.
