best wrestler in each weight

FW: Mighty Mouse
BW: Mendes
LW: Edgar/Maynard/Volkmann
WW: GSP/Hendricks/Koscheck
MW: Sonnen/Weidman
LHW: Jones/Sonnen
HW: Cormier/Lesnar/Velasquez
 
HW: Cain
LHW: Jones
MW: Weidman
WW: Georges
LW: Volkmann
FW: Edgar
BW: Cruz
FlW: Benavidez
 
TS specified all time in the OP so here goes my list with that taken into consideration:

HWT - Mark Coleman. Not only the best credentials but also the most dominant heavyweight with regards to using his wrestling in MMA. He had absolutely no other tools besides wrestling and ground n pound and he did quite well for himself during the early days of the sport.

LHW - Jon Jones. His wrestling is so good he doesn't even have to use it anymore. He's toyed with national level wrestlers like Brandon Vera. Randy Coture gets an honorable mention here; his wrestling was better than his contemporaries Tito and Chuck.

MW - Chael Sonnen wins this in a weight class that historically has been pretty thin on wrestling talent. Weidman may prove to be a better wrestler as it relates to MMA as his career progresses and Dan Henderson was had better credentials but chooses to keep the fight standing so he can 'Bisping' his oppponents. Chael gets the nod here.

WW - GSP. To be the best wrestler (by far) in the most wrestling-centric division of the sport makes him that much more impressive. Honorable mention goes to Matt Hughes for his years of dominance with no striking game to speak of. Ben Askren could find himself ahead of Matt Hughes if he were to ever come to the UFC and be dominant; I have my doubts though after seeing him barely squeak by Jay Hieron.

LW - Sean Sherk. He gets my vote by the slimmest of margins in the second most wrestling-centric division of the sport. Gray Maynard, Frankie Edgar, and maybe even in the future, Michael Chandler could surpass him depending on how their careers go.

FW - Joe Warren. It's true that he's been beaten and gifted a couple of wins but nobody is a better wrestler than this guy at 145. Chad Mendes gets an honorable mention here. I'd love to see these two guys go at it. Chad may make up for the gap in wrestling skill with sheer power, but it's unlikely. Kid Yamamoto gets a 2nd honorable mention here. He was an international level wrestler at 132lbs no less, but like Dan Henderson chose to keep most of his fights standing because of his amazing KO power. Note: I include Yamamoto here because he fought the majority of his fights here and at LW.

BW - Cruz as it relates to MMA. In a straight wrestling match I'd favor Faber. But since we're talking MMA, Cruz is the best.

FLYWT - Demetrious Johnson is the man here and he proved it by using better defensive wrestling than his rival and the 2nd best wrestler in this division, Joseph Benevidez.
 
Last edited:
Edgar is the best 155 wrestler ever, not even up for debate. What he did with his size against Penn, Maynard, and Bendo is insane.

Don't forget defensive wrestling either. Chuck Liddell was one hell of a wrestler too.

What did Edgar do with his wrestling that was better than Maynard?
 
I find Chad Mendes has the best wrestling I see out of anyone.

I would be very curious to see him and Joe Warren fight. I think that as far as the wrestling aspect of MMA goes that Warren has the advantage but the the striking advantage would go to Mendes.
 
All time?

HW- Mark Coleman
LHW- Couture
MW- Chael P. Sonnen
WW- GSP (Hughes is a close second, though)
LW- Edgar/Sherk
FW- "Money" Mendes
BW- Cruz
FLW- Mighty Mouse
 
I would be very curious to see him and Joe Warren fight. I think that as far as the wrestling aspect of MMA goes that Warren has the advantage but the the striking advantage would go to Mendes.
Joe is a good wrestler. However, Chad Mendes is a great wrestler.
Frankie Edgar, an excellent wrestler, would struggle mightily establishing a wrestling game against Mendes.
 
Joe is a good wrestler. However, Chad Mendes is a great wrestler.
Frankie Edgar, an excellent wrestler, would struggle mightily establishing a wrestling game against Mendes.

Agree. Mendes would give Edgar problems, but people will refuse to believe it. When this fight happens in late 2013, people will believe it.
 
Are we talking pure wrestling on a mat in a singlet? Or in a cage with 4 oz. gloves. This will greatly affect my answer
 
HW: Cormier
LHW: Sonnen
MW: Weidman
WW: GSP
LW: Maynard
FW: Edgar
BW: Cruz
FlyW: DJ
 
Joe is a good wrestler. However, Chad Mendes is a great wrestler.
Frankie Edgar, an excellent wrestler, would struggle mightily establishing a wrestling game against Mendes.

When it comes to pure wrestling Joe is a great wrestler (international level and all), Mendes is a very good wrestler but in MMA wrestling I think the skill gap is much smaller and I'd really be curious to see if Mendes power could allow him to be the better fighter. Hopefully we'll see it one day because I'd love to see Mendes smash Warren.
 
HW: Cormier
LHW: Sonnen
MW: Weidman
WW: GSP
LW: Maynard
FW: Edgar
BW: Cruz
FlyW: DJ

Are you serious or is that a joke? I'm not being sarcastic I really am wondering.
If you really are serious then I would ask you: what has Sonnen accomplished at 205lbs, let alone done in terms of wrestling to prove he's a better 205lb wrestler than Jon Jones, Randy Coture, Tito Ortiz, Chuck Liddell or even Rashad for that matter?
 
Are we talking pure wrestling on a mat in a singlet? Or in a cage with 4 oz. gloves. This will greatly affect my answer

I believe we're talking about in terms of MMA.

How are Cormier and Tito better than Coleman and Couture?

I can see that by the end of his career Cormier might have surpassed Coleman but for now I don't think he's done enough yet.

And Tito over Randy? Did you ever watch them fight? Randy spanked Tito...literally.
 
Agree. Mendes would give Edgar problems, but people will refuse to believe it. When this fight happens in late 2013, people will believe it.

I agree that Mendes would give Edgar problems; in terms of straight wrestling he's the better wrestler. Can't wait to see that fight!

BTW...nice username.
 
I don't know why Hendo is being ignored by so many people. Just because he chooses to strike most of the time, doesn't mean his wrestling credentials aren't high. I'm sure he feels more comfortable fighting at 205, a division full of high caliber wrestlers, but he would dominate almost everyone else at 185 with the exception of weidman and chael. I would consider him on par with chael 2.0, and a much better grappler than chael 1.0
 
Back
Top