The UFC has seen a number of fantastic wrestlers and grapplers make their way into the octagon over the years, but who are the top 5 greatest that we’ve ever seen make their way into the biggest MMA promotion in the world?

Having a solid ground game in mixed martial arts has always been a huge barrier of entry for many fighters, especially though who favour their striking over getting into a double-leg or controlling their opponent on the floor.

If you’re already a student of the game, then you’ll probably be expecting to see names such as Khabib Nurmagomedov, Georges St Pierre and Daniel Cormier, but are they here?

Here are the top 5 grapplers in the history of the UFC, taking into account control time and overall takedowns in the octagon.

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Who are the greatest grapplers in UFC history?

When taking into account who can be considered the greatest grappler in the history of the company, you really have to look at overall takedowns and then control time when actually on the ground.

To really understand how this works, we’ve looked at the overall control time stats from the official UFC Stat Leaders site as well as fan-voted opinions and records on Tapology.

Here are our top 5 rankings for the greatest grapplers in UFC history:

5. Frankie Edgar (24-11-1)

Frankie Edgar grappling in the UFC

DALLAS, TX - MAY 13: Frankie Edgar, top fights against Yair Rodriguez in their Featherweight bout during UFC 211 at American Airlines Center on May 13, 2017 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

It is quite frankly (not a deliberate pun) ridiculous how many records Frankie Edgar actually has in the UFC, including the total fight time record of 7:57:10!

When you look at Edgar’s top position time, he managed to rack up 1:32:34, making him the #6 best record in company history just ahead of Chael Sonnen and just behind Matt Hughes.

It’s even more impressive viewing for Frankie when you look at his takedowns landed, as he managed to rack up 73 in his UFC career, making him the fourth-best ever in that department.


4. Clay Guida (37-19-0)

Clay Guida grappling in the UFC

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JUNE 20: In this handout image provided by UFC, (L-R) Clay Guida takes down Bobby Green in their lightweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on June 20, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

To call Clay Guida a folk hero would almost be doing him a disservice, but if you’ve been watching the Ultimate Fighting Championship long enough then you will absolutely get it.

‘The Carpenter’ has been active in MMA since 2003, and in the UFC he has amassed a quite frankly ridiculous amount of bouts inside the octagon that as of writing currently sits at 33.

In terms of control time, Guida is actually third overall in company history, with 2:26:30 overall inside the cage. 1:45:22 of that saw Guida in top position control, which is equally impressive.

Guida was also a master when it came to actually taking down his opponents, sitting #5 on the all-time records with 72 overall. The reason that Guida sits at fourth in this list is because he didn’t have the high-calibre opponent that the three names below had, otherwise he would be right up there.


3. Demian Maia (28-11-0)

Demian Maia grappling Tyron Woodley

ANAHEIM, CA - JULY 29: Tyron Woodley (black shorts) fights Demian Maia of Brazil in the Welterweight title bout during UFC 214 at Honda Center on July 29, 2017 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

Maia actually ranks third in the Tapology rankings, and we’ve got him in the same position here as looking at the numbers it’s fair to say that he deserves the spot.

In terms of control time inside the octagon, Maia currently is ranked second (behind the #1 on our list, but we’ll get there) with 2:35:20 overall, which is absolutely wild.

Actual takedowns tell a slightly different story, as Maia is currently ranked #7 overall at 68, which is actually even more impressive, as he would’ve had to take control after being taken down by his opponent.


2. Khabib Nurmagomedov (29-0-0)

Conor vs Khabib at UFC 229

LAS VEGAS, NV - OCTOBER 06: Khabib Nurmagomedov of Russia takes down Conor McGregor of Ireland in their UFC lightweight championship bout during the UFC 229 event inside T-Mobile Arena on October 6, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

In terms of modern-day grapplers in the UFC, it is really difficult to look past the Dagestantian great.

With an MMA record of 29-0-0, it’s clear that Khabib is one of the greatest Lightweight competitors in the history of the sport. Khabib’s dominance on the ground was shown against the likes of Conor McGregor and Justin Gaethje, but if that’s the case, then why is he only second on this list?

Yes, Khabib is an incredible wrestler who was able to dominate, but the number 1 competitor on our list was able to do so for FAR longer and in more Championship bouts.


1. Georges St Pierre (26-2-0)

Georges St-Pierre delivered the perfect farewell
NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 04: Georges St-Pierre of Canada celebrates with trainer Freddie Roach (R) following hs victory over Michael Bisping of England in their UFC middleweight championship bout during the UFC 217 event at Madison Square Garden on November 4, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

Georges St-Pierre delivered the perfect farewell

The GOAT when it comes to grappling and arguably the GOAT in UFC overall.

You cannot argue with statistics, and with GSP having the highest amount of takedowns in UFC history at 90 and also having the longest amount of control time in the octagon at 2:42:04, there’s no doubt as to who the greatest is.

It’s worth noting as well that GSP has 13 Championship bout wins, just behind Jon Jones who as of writing leads the way at 14. 

The saddest part of this is that we will never likely see Khabib and Georges compete, at least not in the primes of their respective careers anyway…

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