Best MMA grappler ever?

[Ginger patty]

Imo it's GSP

Georges possesses elite MMA wrestling, great guard passing ability, unmatched top control, above average G&P, and a capable finisher on the mat (although far from the best in that regard).

Top 10:
1. Georges St-Pierre
2. Jon Jones
3. Demetrious Johnson
4. Fabricio Werdum
5. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
6. Matt Hughes
7. Fedor Emelianenko
8. Ronaldo Souza
9. Khabib Nurmagomedov
10. Jake Shields

Honourable mention: Demian Maia

Edit: I swapped Shields for Maia as my #10 because I had a mindblank

 

[fortheo]

Maia is far too low on your list in my opinion. Top 10 across two of the most stacked divisions for a decade. Also, unlike the other guys on your list, he was competing at the highest levels with primarily only his grappling.


For me:

GSP
Maia/khabib
werdum
Jacare
big nog
sakuraba

 

[Ginger patty]

Maia is far too low on your list in my opinion.

If MMA grappling referred to strictly the ground aspect, he'd be top 5 for sure.

However, the ability to get your opponents to the mat is one of the most important aspects of MMA grappling.

Maia is 0/49 in takedowns in his last three fights.

 

[waldywaldy]

Sakuraba says hi

 

[Mixfight]

Cormier.

 

[Otto!]

GSP
Maia
Werdum
Saku
Shields
Jacare

Edit: Carlos Newton

 

[DOMMA]

1. GSP
2. Khabib

Fedor is not a top 10 MMA wrestler. He is certainly not better than Fitch, Penn or Shields who did not make the list.

 

[fortheo]

If MMA grappling referred to strictly the ground aspect, he'd be top 5 for sure.

However, the ability to get your opponents to the mat is one of the most important aspects of MMA grappling.

Maia is 0/49 in takedowns in his last three fights.

he's also 40, and he's been top ten for a decade and has gotten plenty of people down.....recent success shouldn't be the deciding factor in a discussion about "of all time"

He's adjusted his grappling to MMA more than other bjj guys like werdum or jacare did. Those guys uses mostly strikes to get to there bjj, wgere as Maia fleshed out his BJJ with wrestling.

 

[GreatSaintGuillotine]

Hard to argue against GSP. Khabib has the potential to surpass him but he still has a looong way to go. DJ's grappling is pretty stellar but it's his well roundedness that makes it great.

 

[Ginger patty]

he's also 40, and he's been top ten for a decade and has gotten plenty of people down.....recent success shouldn't be the deciding factor in a discussion about "of all time"

Maia's wrestling peaked in 2016, he was an even worse wrestler before that.

 

[Rvd Slmr]

Maia is 0/49 in takedowns in his last three fights.

49 is also almost his age. More seriously, Maia has been able to take down lots of solid wrestlers : Sonnen, Story, Fitch, Rory, Magny, Shields... He is obviously way over the hill now, but his TD used to be solid.

 

[0-1]

If MMA grappling referred to strictly the ground aspect, he'd be top 5 for sure.

However, the ability to get your opponents to the mat is one of the most important aspects of MMA grappling.

Maia is 0/49 in takedowns in his last three fights.

Came to say this, maia is goat off his back but he's not great at getting guy's to the ground who have decent take down defense, grappling starts on the feet,

 

[fortheo]

Came to say this, maia is goat off his back but he's not great at getting guy's to the ground who have decent take down defense, grappling starts on the feet,

da fuck? maia is a top game guy.

 

[TheChance]

Not even gonna mention the guy who basically invented ground and pound?

 

[Ginger patty]

Not even gonna mention the guy who basically invented ground and pound?

You can't seriously be talking about Coleman....

The dude couldn't even defend a basic armbar from guard. Half of his losses come by way of submission. He was grounding and pounding guys that were clueless on the ground.

 

[conorBESTEVERmcgregor]

Conors grappling is underrated.

 

[fortheo]

Maia's wrestling peaked in 2016, he was an even worse wrestler before that.

but hey, he sucked at getting fights to the ground.

 

[cade187]

Sorry, but if you’re the best grappler in MMA you finish people when you get your preferred position. If GSP fought in Metamoris his record would be 0-0-30

 

[Ginger patty]

but hey, he sucked at getting fights? to the ground.

I never said he was a terrible wrestler.

But his wrestling looked better than ever in 2016, that's just my observation. No version of Maia gets Woodley, Colby, or Usman down.

Plus the only guy that he's a better wrestler than on my list is Werdum and maybe Nogueira, and both of those guys were better off their backs than he was.

 

[Bobthebuilder85]

What bout Tito? He was pretty nasty on the ground