The 10 Best Wrestlers & Grapplers in MMA

Grappling: S+ (our engine)

Widely regarded as the GOAT, Jones retired in 2025 without a legitimate loss on his record. His grappling was elite in both directions — suffocating top control and takedown defense that frustrated even a decorated wrestler like Daniel Cormier.

Grappling: S+ (our engine)

Twenty-nine and zero, and arguably the most dominant grappler the sport has seen. Once he got hold of you the fight was effectively over; he “smeshed” a generation of elite lightweights into the canvas.

Grappling: S+ (our engine)

A two-time Olympic judo gold medalist who needed just three UFC fights to win the women’s bantamweight title, finishing Julianna Peña with a kimura at UFC 316. Her grip and throws are simply a different sport.

Grappling: S+ (our engine)

Holds the UFC record for most takedowns landed, at 90. GSP turned wrestling into an art of control, taking down and holding down elite strikers and grapplers alike across two divisions.

Grappling: S+ (our engine)

At UFC 319 he gave a wrestling clinic to win the middleweight title, controlling Dricus du Plessis for five rounds and landing a UFC-record 529 strikes — most of them from dominant grappling positions.

Grappling: S+ (our engine)

A two-time Olympic wrestler and two-division UFC champion whose trips and chain wrestling let him bully much bigger men all the way up at heavyweight.

Grappling: S (our engine)

Khabib’s protégé and now a two-division champion. He moved up and smothered welterweight champ Jack Della Maddalena for twenty-five minutes at UFC 322, running his win streak to sixteen.

Grappling: S (our engine)

A wrecking-ball wrestler who went undefeated and took down everyone in her path — until she finally ran into the elite striking and takedown defense of Zhang Weili at UFC 312.

Grappling: S (our engine)

The only fighter in UFC history with 100+ career takedowns. He pairs that volume with a motor that lets him keep shooting, and finishing, late into every fight.

Grappling: S+ (our engine)

Beyond the pace, DJ was a scrambling genius. His transitions and submissions — like the flying armbar that finished Ray Borg — showed a creativity on the mat nobody else had.