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As far back as the early days of the UFC, wrestling has always been one of the more dominant martial arts inside the octagon. Former amateur wrestlers like Mark Coleman and Dan Severn experienced plenty of success.
Today’s UFC fighters are naturally well-rounded mixed martial artists. However, it’s safe to say that wrestlers are often still dominant, particularly when facing striking-based opponents.
Sure, there have been plenty of examples of strikers defeating wrestlers inside the octagon, but more often than not, the wrestler comes out on top in dominant fashion.
With that in mind, here are five times that wrestlers imposed their will on strikers in the UFC.
#5. Randy Couture vs. Tim Sylvia – UFC 68
As one of the most decorated amateur wrestlers in UFC history, Randy Couture’s ability to use both freestyle and Greco-Roman techniques inside the octagon brought him unparalleled success.
‘The Natural’ won the UFC heavyweight title on three occasions across his 14-year career with the promotion. He even became the first man to have held UFC titles in two different weight classes when he claimed the UFC light heavyweight title twice.
It goes without saying, therefore, that Couture outwrestled plenty of opponents during his time with the UFC. However, the most famous example of him thoroughly dominating a renowned striker came in his final UFC heavyweight title win at UFC 68.
Reigning champion Tim Sylvia not only outweighed Couture by nearly 40 pounds, but at 6’8”, he also had a seven inch height advantage over him too.
Given that ‘The Maine-iac’ had terrorized renowned grapplers like Ricco Rodriguez and Jeff Monson with his striking, few were giving the 43-year old a chance of beating him. However, Couture didn’t just beat Sylvia, he absolutely whitewashed him. He dominated all five rounds of their title bout to take a unanimous decision win.
And while ‘The Natural’ dropped Sylvia in the first round with a right hand, it was largely his wrestling that led him to victory. Sylvia simply had no answer for Couture’s takedowns from the outside, his Greco-Roman work in the clinch and his ability to hold position from the top and land strikes.
The win was arguably the best of Couture’s UFC career, particularly as he came in as a major underdog. It was his stellar wrestling that got him there.
#4. Georges St-Pierre vs. Thiago Alves – UFC 100
Despite never competing in amateur wrestling prior to his MMA career, there’s probably an argument to suggest that Georges St-Pierre is the greatest wrestler in UFC history.
The former UFC welterweight kingpin, who held his title for five years and made a record nine defenses, developed an incredible wrestling game based around his explosive takedowns. In the octagon, he used it to dominate decorated amateur wrestlers like Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch and Matt Hughes.
The best example of his wrestling game allowing him to dominate a striker, however, came in his UFC welterweight title defense against Thiago Alves at UFC 100.
Coming into the fight, Alves looked like GSP’s toughest test to date. The hulking Brazilian had won seven fights in a row to earn his title shot. He'd shellacked both Hughes and Koscheck, showing off excellent takedown defense in the process.
But when it came to his fight with GSP, ‘The Pitbull’ simply couldn’t stay vertical. Despite throwing his best strikes at St-Pierre, he still found himself grounded on an incredible ten times across the fight’s five rounds, and was largely unable to get back to his feet.
Even a serious groin injury suffered in the later rounds couldn’t prevent St-Pierre from using his wrestling to thoroughly dominate Alves. The fight was just more proof of GSP’s insane development in wrestling.
#3. Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal – UFC 251
UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman made his name in the UFC with his powerful wrestling game. An NCAA Division II national champion in freestyle wrestling, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ has never met an opponent inside the octagon that he couldn’t take down.
Usman’s wrestling has been so dominant during his UFC career that you could probably name any one of his fights as an example of a wrestler whitewashing a striker in the octagon. But naturally, one fight stands out over the others.
That fight was Usman’s victory over Jorge Masvidal in the main event of UFC 251 last summer. Sure, the two men have rematched since, with Usman winning by brutal knockout, but the first fight was more of a demonstration of Usman’s wrestling dominance.
Not only did he bully ‘Gamebred’ in the clinch and against the fence, showing off his incredible upper-body strength, but he also took him down on five occasions. Given that Masvidal’s takedown defense stands at 75%, it’s hard to understate how impressive it was to see Usman dominate him.
Naturally, the second fight between the two was more memorable due to the highlight-reel knockout it produced. However, in terms of an example of a wrestler dominating a striker inside the octagon, it doesn’t get much better than this.
#2. Daniel Cormier vs. Derrick Lewis – UFC 230
When then-UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier embarked on his first title defense against Derrick Lewis at UFC 230, ‘DC’ probably had a number of reasons to be worried.
Not only was he substantially smaller than ‘The Black Beast’, but Lewis had the reputation of probably the biggest power puncher in the UFC. He was also coming off a huge knockout victory over Alexander Volkov.
However, Cormier’s status as a former Olympian and NCAA Division I All-American in freestyle wrestling meant he had a big grappling advantage over the hulking striker.
That came to pass in their fight, which was absolutely dominated by ‘DC’. Cormier didn’t even bother to test the waters by striking with Lewis. Instead, he double-legged ‘The Black Beast’ to the ground in the opening moments of the first round. He then bullied him with punches and elbows from top position.
Lewis survived the stanza, but the second round saw Cormier take him down with ease again, this time with an ankle pick. From there, ‘DC’ took his back, and used a rear-naked choke to force him to submit.
The fight was a total whitewash. It stood as a stark reminder of the dominance of wrestling to even the UFC’s heaviest-hitting strikers.
#1. Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor – UFC 229
Despite Khabib Nurmagomedov’s stellar record of 26-0 at the time, Conor McGregor still had plenty of reasons to feel confident. ‘The Notorious’ megastar had previously fought two highly decorated wrestlers in the UFC. He'd destroyed Chad Mendes and Eddie Alvarez with his pinpoint striking game.
The main advantage McGregor had over those two fighters was his lengthy reach. Against Nurmagomedov, it looked like the Irishman would have at least four inches on his Russian foe. However, it turned out that Nurmagomedov’s wrestling was so good that even a reach advantage of twice that probably wouldn’t have helped the Irishman.
Khabib’s takedowns were simply too quick and explosive for McGregor to stop. Over the fight’s four rounds, the former two-division UFC champ found himself grounded on three occasions. And even when he couldn’t get McGregor down, the mere threat of the takedown meant that he landed the better strikes on the feet.
Eventually, after taking a horrendous beating, McGregor could simply not defend any more. In the fourth round he gave his back, and Nurmagomedov locked up a neck crank that forced him to tap out.
The fight was thoroughly one-sided, and once again displayed the dominance of wrestling inside the octagon. McGregor was a striker with pinpoint-accurate shots and excellent takedown defense prior to the fight. But Khabib simply ran straight through him.
