Every Day Is Pie Day for This Minnesota MMA Fighter-Turned-Baker

Dishing pies and cakes at church turned into a full-time career as a baker who only makes pies.

Ben Neumann dons the chef's hat he would wear at weigh-ins for MMA fights and holding a raspberry pretzel pie, one of his specialties, at Ben The Baker LLC in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. Neumann is a former MMA fighter who adopted a chef persona, wearing a chef's hat as he entered the ring and offering his opponents pie at weigh-ins. Alex Kormann/The Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

By Elliot Hughes From The Minnesota Star Tribune

MINNEAPOLIS—Anyone who’s seen footage of two competitive fighters coming face-to-face at a weigh-in knows it’s a space for mean-mugging and chest-puffing.