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The UFC has been dominated by different fighting styles depending on the era. In the promotion's early days, Brazilian jiu-jitsu was the preeminent martial arts style after MMA legend Royce Gracie introduced it to the world. Years later, wrestling became the dominant fighting style in MMA.
The ability of wrestlers to dictate where the fight takes place has made the likes of freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestling invaluable as MMA bases. Thus, the UFC has seen countless wrestlers emerge. This list takes a look at five of the greatest wrestlers in UFC history.
#5. Henry Cejudo, former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion
Henry Cejudo is among the most credentialed wrestlers in MMA history. The former double champion is an Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling, and his breadth of wrestling knowledge has enabled him to secure takedowns against all-time greats like Demetrious Johnson and even the much larger Dominick Cruz.
Unfortunately, despite his deep bag of wrestling tricks, 'Triple C' doesn't primarily rely on his wrestling to win fights. Instead, he uses it to defend against his opponent's takedowns as well as use the occasional takedown of his own to create openings for his strikes.
He is not a consistent takedown artist inside the octagon, but is one of the more credentialed wrestlers on the roster.
#4. Kamaru Usman, former UFC welterweight champion
For the longest time, Kamaru Usman was little more than a pure wrestler in MMA. He secured takedowns and trapped opponents against the fence with an overhook-underhook grip combination. From there, he battered his foes with knees to the thighs, hooks and uppercuts to the midsection.
Unfortunately, he didn't possess any offensive Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills to speak of, nor were his striking skills anything of note. Across his first ten UFC fights, 'The Nigerian Nightmare' only scored two finishes. He won most of his bouts off the strength of his wrestling and by suffocating his opponents.
As an NCAA Division II wrestling standout, Usman wrestled his way through the division en route to capturing UFC gold from Tyron Woodley. During the title bout, the Nigerian phenom effortlessly outwrestled his NCAA Division I foe.
#3. Daniel Cormier, former UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion
There has never been a more dynamic takedown artist in the UFC than Daniel Cormier. The former double champion has been undefeated for most of his career due to his deep pool of wrestling skills. While he suffered eventual losses to all-time greats like Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic, he outwrestled nearly everyone else.
Prior to his retirement, 'DC' was well-known for his high-crotch single-leg takedown slam. It used to be part of his highlight reel as he managed to do so against seasoned and high-level wrestlers like Dan Henderson and Josh Barnett. His wrestling skills are what earned him his first UFC title.
From a traditional wrestling standpoint, Cormier was an NCAA Division I finalist and a former Olympian. Furthermore, he also won gold several times as a US National and Pan American.
#2. Khabib Nurmagomedov, former UFC lightweight champion
Undefeated legend Khabib Nurmagomedov has never tasted defeat in MMA. With a record of 29 wins and no losses, 'The Eagle' is one of the most dominant fighters in combat sports history. While he doesn't have a traditional background in wrestling, the amount of time he has spent with wrestlers has paid dividends.
The former lightweight kingpin used to train with high-level wrestlers Cain Velasquez and Daniel Cormier. His background in judo and combat Sambo gave him invaluable experience that made his transition into wrestling as seamless as possible. During his reign over the lightweight division, he was unstoppable.
No one could stop his takedowns, and he was responsible for changing the way wrestling was implemented in the sport. He advanced the chain-wrestling meta by using the fence against his foes. Anytime anyone tried to use the fence to get back up, he'd use the fence to drag them back down to the mat.
He also owns the record for the most takedowns scored in a single bout after his wrestling clinic against NAIA All-American wrestler Abel Trujillo.
#1. Georges St-Pierre, former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion
Georges St-Pierre is one of the greatest fighters of all time. The Canadian legend is the most dominant welterweight champion in the promotion's history. While his foundation as a mixed martial artist was karate, 'GSP' became one of the greatest wrestlers in the promotion after his stunning loss to Matt Serra.
Often-times, dominant wrestlers rarely face other strong wrestlers. The Canadian great, however, not only faced other high-level wrestlers, but dominated them. He outwrestled NCAA Division I standouts Matt Hughes, Jon Fitch and Josh Koscheck in lopsided fashion.
Additionally, he also outwrestled NCAA Division II star Jake Shields. His mastery over positional grappling and timing rendered him exceptionally dangerous in securing takedowns and pinning his opponents to the mat. This is what led to him carving a legacy as the greatest 170'er in MMA history.
