In this article, we will take a look at the best UFC fighters of each martial art presented below, and how they used these specific skills to succeed inside the octagon.
- Muay Thai
- Boxing
- Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
- Wrestling
- Karate
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu — Charles Oliveira
Brazilian jiu-jitsu is among the best martial arts for MMA. Thanks to Royce Gracie who dominated the early tournaments in the 90s, BJJ got established as the most important skill. So much so that fighters can’t expect to succeed without it.
Over the years, there have been many BJJ representatives leaving significant mark inside the octagon. In fact, each era has had at least one fighter dominating the competition with their grappling skills. Apart from Royce, this includes other figures such as Demian Maia, Ronda Rousey, Brian Ortega, Jacare Souza, and many other.
Who is the best BJJ fighter in the UFC?
But one UFC fighter stands out above the others and that is Charles Oliveira. A former UFC lightweight champion who holds a record for most submission wins in UFC history. A man so dangerous that even the most skilled grapplers do not want to engage with him on the ground.
He is one of those fighters who needs to grab just a single part of your body to get you in serious trouble. While working his way toward the UFC title, Oliveira scored 14 submission finishes. Some of his notable wins include finishes over:
- Justin Gaethje (UFC 274)
- Dustin Poirier (UFC 269)
- Michael Chandler (UFC 262)
Kickboxing — Israel Adesanya
Whether you are a fan of his or not, MMA fans can’t talk about striking in MMA without bringing Israel Adesanya into the conversation. Yes, there is a strong argument that Alex Pereira is a better representative, and that is a fair argument. However, Adesanya simply has more title defenses and more wins over top opponents.
Who is the best Kickboxer in the UFC?
In some way, Adesanya continued the kickboxing legacy and dominance of Anderson Silva. He is considered to be the improved version of the Brazilian, who, along with his coaches at City kickboxing, managed to elevate the striking game in MMA to an extra level. His ability to protect his range, attack or five counters while moving back are amazing. Not to mention his laser accuracy and timing.
Before he switched over to MMA, Adesanya was a big star in kickboxing. He fought for all the major promotions such as Glory where compiled a record of 75 wins and 5 losses. When he transitioned to MMA, he managed to develop strong wrestling defense which enabled him to keep the fight on the feet where no one is close to matching his skills.
Some of his notable kickboxing performances in the UFC include wins over:
- Paulo Costa
- Robert Whittaker
- Alex Pereira
Muay Thai — Jon Jones
Muay Thai is widely regarded as a complete package when it comes to striking. Out of all striking martial arts, Thai boxing fits the best within the rules of the sport. It is the only combat system that includes striking with all limbs at all ranges, including the clinch. Or at least it is the most advanced.
Seeing Jon Jones as the best Muay thai representative might feel a bit odd. In the end, Jones never fought in Muay Thai before MMA. In fact, he came into the sport from wrestling. But as the most talented fighter of all time, Jones quickly realized that Thai boxing is what brings him the most success.
Jones is tall and has long physical attributes which he uses to perfection on the feet. He is a master in picking his opponents apart from the distance using long-range kicks and punches. But he does the best work inside the Thai clinch. He is incredible in establishing a dominant position, and destroying his opponents with knees and elbows.
Statistically, Jones is the most dominant UFC fighter of all time and a two divisional champion (light heavyweight and heavyweight) and Thai boxing played a crucial role in his achievements.
Wrestling — Islam Makachev
According to statistics, wrestling has produced the most UFC champions in history. Just about every great UFC fighters has had some type of high-school or collegiate wrestling background, making this martial art the most important skill in MMA according to many experts. This also means there have been many great wrestlers in MMA, including Olympians.
Who is the best wrestler in the UFC?
Islam Makhachev has to be the best wrestler in the UFC. There are many other great ones such as Khamzat Chimaev or Kamaru Usman, but Makhachev is the champion and in the league on his own. His technique, explosiveness, control and submission skills are off the charts.
Makhachev comes from Dagestan where he spent his youth wrestling with some of the best wrestlers in the world. Dagestan is known for producing a lot of Olympic wrestlers and World Champions and this enabled Makachev to constantly train with the best. And of course, let’s not forget that he trained alongside his best friend Khabib Nurmagomedov, and his father Abdulmanap.
The head coach of AKA Academy, Javier Mendez, once said that Makhachev is the only one who managed to beat Khabib in sparring. This on its own gives you a good insight into how skilled Makhachev really is.
Inside the cage, he is really good at reading his opponents and timing his attacks. Unlike other wrestlers who tend to miss their shots and then chain wrestle, Makachev rarely makes any miscalculations.
Boxing — Max Holloway
Though one-dimensional, boxing skills play a big role in modern MMA where footwork, head movement, and landing quick and powerful punches remains probably the most important skill. And as the sport is evolving, it seems like the role of boxing has become even higher.
Who is the best boxer in the UFC?
Max Holloway, often regarded as the best 145-pound fighter of all time, is by many the best boxer in the UFC. Of course, there are many other ones such as Petr Yan, and Dustin Poirier, and younger ones like Adrian Yanez or Shawn O’Malley. However, many experts agree that veteran Max Holloway is an ideal example of how effective advanced boxing can be in MMA.
Inside the cage, Holloway is all about the forward pressure, standing right in front of his opponents, and overwhelming them with high output of strikes and accuracy. He holds multiple records for landing the most significant strikes in a fight, and with the highest accuracy.
He doesn’t have a big knockout power in his hands. However, he makes up for the lack of power with incredible footwork, pressure, high output, distance management and precision. No matter what happens, he will keep on moving forward and throwing shots until the opponent can’t deal with it anymore.
Holloway doesn’t have huge power in his hands, but he makes up for the lack of power with insane cardio, high output of strikes, accuracy, and he will keep on landing until the opponent can’t take it anymore. The best example of his boxing is the fight with Kalvin Kattar in which Holloway broke the UFC record for most significant strikes landed by blasting Kattar over 445 times.
The best example was his match against Calvin Kattar, who is also considered the best boxer in the UFC. But against Hollaway, he was in for a rough night in the office as he got demolished on the feet. He landed 445 significant strikes on Kattar.
Judo — Kayla Harrison
Judo is more than present in modern MMA. Although not as practical and used as other grappling arts like wrestling and BJJ, Judo throws, trips, and sweeps from the clinch transition well into cage fighting. One of the fighters who put it on the map was, of course, the great Ronda Rousey, but there have also been many other great ones.
Who has the best Judo in the UFC?
As a two-time Olympic gold medalist in Judo, Kayla Harrison is the best judoka in MMA. She won her first Olympic gold at the 2012 London Olympic Games, and her second four years later in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. Two years later, she would make a successful transition to MMA where she managed to repeat the same success.
She kicked off her career in the PFL promotion where she managed to put together an undefeated record of 15-0. Her run was incredible, not just because she managed to win the lightweight tournament on two occasions, but rather the way she achieved this.
During this run, she demolished each fighter PFL matchmaker put in front of her. Her strength combined with Olympic-level grappling made her the most feared fighter on the roster. If you are interested in how Judo works in MMA, go watch any of Harrison’s fights.
Karate — Stephen Thompson
Karate is not necessarily considered the best striking martial art for MMA. But no one can deny that certain elements of karate such as footwork, quick and precise striking and distance management work well. In fact, many fighters use karate moves to further make their game more diverse and unpredictable.
Who is the best karate fighter in UFC?
Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson is widely regarded as a man synonymous with karate in MMA. While there have been many UFC fighters with karate backgrounds, Thompson is a rare example of the one who actually used karate as their main skill. Some of the other great names are the likes of Lyoto Machida, and legendary Bas Rutten.
Thompson started his karate journey at a young age under the close guidance of his father, Ray Thompson. After earning a black belt, he would make a natural transition to kickboxing where he won 58 fights and many amateur world titles. Before joining MMA, he also started working on his grappling skills by training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
In MMA, he is known as a nightmare matchup for any fighter. He is unorthodox, fast, dynamic, unpredictable, and a very good striker. A living proof how karate works in real combat. His ability to move in to land a punch and then move out is second to none, as well as his lateral movement and defense. The majority of fighters have a hard time landing a clean shot on him.
In his UFC career, he fought for the title on two occasions against Tyron Woodley but failed in both attempts.
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Final Thoughts on Best UFC Fighters of Each Martial Art
UFC is rapidly changing with each event with fighters setting the bar higher and breaking records. Thus, who are the best UFC fighters of each martial art is a subjective list based on the current events. But one this is sure – all of these fighters deserve a lot of credit for representing their martial art and putting it on the map in MMA.
