Best UFC Fighters of Each Martial Art in MMA
As its name suggests, mixed martial arts stands for a blend of various martial arts into one unique style of fighting. To succeed in MMA, modern fighters must cross-train and be good at multiple martial art styles. Being one dimensional simply does not work in MMA. Or maybe that’s not 100% true?
You see, just about every MMA fighter has a background in at least one fighting style. This is known as their “MMA Base” on top of which they must add skills from other martial arts to become well rounded. This is the only way they can learn how to fight in all three elements of fighting: Standup, Ground, Clinch.
But there have been fighters who built their entire success relying just on their “MMA base”. Even though the game asks for a lot more, they somehow managed to reach the top using mainly the tools they brought into MMA.
Following is a list of six martial art styles that play a key role in MMA, and their best representatives.
Boxing
Some MMA fans think boxing is not that great for MMA since boxers use “just” their hands to do damage. But, fighters with a strong boxing base bring a lot more when it comes to MMA.
First, they all have amazing footwork which allows them to keep their range. Second, boxers always keep their head off the centerline using upper body movement. Not a single martial art will teach you how to dodge strikes and create angles like boxing.
Still, we can’t escape the fact that succeeding in MMA using boxing only is very hard. One still needs to learn how to check the kicks and defends against takedowns.
Who is the biggest boxing name in MMA?
The biggest boxing name to win the UFC title was Holly Holm. But, she is also known for her strong background in kickboxing. Throwing kicks is a big part of her game, which forces us to think about the other name.
In our opinion, the purest boxer we have ever seen winning the UFC title was Junior Dos Santos. In his prime, JDS was a force to be reckoned with and one of the most violent fighters of our time. Even though he never fought in a pro boxing match, his MMA game was all about letting his hands fly.
JDS rarely used any other skills and weapons. We have seen him throwing kicks just a few times, notably when he KO’d Mark Hunt. His main weapon was the vicious overhand right he used to put many people to sleep. Some of the most famous victims who crumbled under his power were Cain Valasquez and Fabricio Werdum.
Muay Thai
Also known as Thai boxing, Muay Thai is a standup martial art that plays a key role in MMA. It is the most useful art one can use on the feet and do the most damage. Besides kicks and punches, Thai boxing teaches you how to use vicious elbows and knees that are all legal in MMA.
Who is the best Muay Thai fighter in MMA?
Muay Thai has been a crucial part of MMA since the early 90s and there have been many representatives of this art over the years. But one man who brought the art of Thai boxing to an extra level was no-other than Anderson Silva. In his Prime, Silva was a wizard on the feet, even by modern standards.
Everything Silva was doing on the feet was fast, laser-precise, and deadly. His timing and angles he used were out of this world and so far ahead of anything the opposition had to offer at the time. We are not sure if we are going to see a better Muay Thai fighter in MMA ever game.
Look no further from his two bouts with Rich Franklin if you want to see how good he was. His first win over Franklin at UFC 64 secured him a UFC title he defended an amazing ten times.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ)
BJJ has been the main part of MMA since day one. At the very first UFC event, Royce Gracie showed the world how effective BJJ is by beating fighters from any other fighting style. After UFC 1, people began looking at freestyle fighting with different pairs of eyes.
In modern MMA, just about every fighter must know how to fight on the ground. In some way, we can say it’s impossible for one to compete without knowing at least basic BJJ techniques. Sooner or later, the lack of ground game would backfire on you.
Who is the best BJJ fighter in MMA?
BJJ has its cons in MMA which forces even the best grapplers to learn other martial arts. But, the man who never bothered doing such a thing was Demian Maia. Gracie’s to aside, we are not sure if we have ever seen a more pure BJJ fighter in MMA ever.
I mean, Maia is all about BJJ and he doesn’t have any other great skills. On the feet, you can only see him throwing a jab or a one-two combo just to get in and grab a single/double leg. He needs to grab just a single part of your body to take you down and then overwhelm with amazing grappling.
Maia joined the UFC way back in 2007. In his career, around half of his wins came via submission. He is real master in taking the back of his opponents and locking in the rear-naked choke.
Wrestling
Wrestling is one of the oldest sports and a part of both eastern and western sports culture. When it comes to MMA, around 40% of UFC champs in history have had a background in wrestling. It’s not a surprise people see it as the perfect base for MMA.
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As we know, each MMA fight begins on the feet but wrestlers are the ones who can change the pace of the fight. What they bring to the table are powerful takedowns and strong top control. A top wrestler can easily control their rival for the entire MMA match without breaking a sweat.
Who is the best wrestler in MMA?
Over the years, we have seen many wrestlers fight in MMA and reaching the top. Some of them, like Yoel Romero and Daniel Cormier, were Olympians. But in our opinion, the purest wrestler in MMA is Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Khabib is the face of chain wrestling and relentless top control. He has built his entire success on mauling his rivals on the bottom. Even when facing elite wrestlers, Khabib was always able to just walk right through them. The other fighter who may share this spot with Khabib is GSP who took down every single rival he ever faced inside the UFC cage.
Karate
People are still arguing whether karate is a good base for MMA or not. But, no one can deny how useful karate techniques are in MMA. If anything, MMA fighters like Stephen Thompson,GSP and Lyoto Machida are always there to remind you about that.
MMA fighters who have a strong karate base are tough matchups for anyone. This is because they move a lot from side to side and switching stances all the time. They attack from awkward angles using kicks and straight punches. It’s really hard to figure them out on the feet as they are moving in and out very fast.
Who is the best karateka in MMA?
Most of the fans would agree that Lyoto Machida is a man directly responsible for the rise of karate in MMA.
Machida is a 3rd dan black belt in Shotokan Karate who went on to become UFC 205 lbs champ in 2009. Perhaps, he was the first one to really use karate stance, movement and techniques in the UFC and do well. He beat some huge names like Vitor Belfort, Dan Henderson and Rashad Evans.
Judo
In MMA, Judo has been living in the shadow of the more popular grappling styles like BJJ. But, this doesn’t mean it less effective at all.
Judokas are one of the strongest people on the planet. What they bring to the table in MMA are powerful throws from the clinch and grappling. Once a fighter with a judo base gets a hold of their rival, you know someone is about to go for a ride.
Fighters with a Judo base are masters in using the opponent’s weight against them to score takedowns. And when it comes to ground fighting, don’t forget that Judo is a precursor of BJJ and that judokas also use chokes and joint locks.
There have been many Judo fighters in MMA and picking a single one is not an easy task. But in our opinion, Ronda Rousey is the face of Judo in MMA. She is an Olympic bronze medalist and a former UFC champ with six title defenses.
Ronda takes a lot of credit for being a pioneer of woman’s MMA and one of the most influential fighters who put Judo on the map.
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