The Impact of Wrestling on UFC: Dominant Wrestlers Who Became Champions

Historically, it is often considered one of the most effective fundamental styles in mixed martial arts and that its influence on the UFC cannot be understated. Most of its greatest and most dominant champions have hailed from its wrestling backgrounds, utilizing grappling skills to control opponents, dictate the pacing of fights, and secure their victories. This article demonstrates the influence of wrestling on UFC with a focus on some of the most dominant wrestlers who turned into champions.

1. History of Wrestling within MMA

Wrestling has always been utilized in MMA fighting with the main use being to help a fighter control his opponent and give him top position, as well as in his defense for striking attacks. The early history of the UFC had wrestling as a cornerstone weapon for successful fighters like Royce Gracie and Dan Severn, using grappling to dominate opponents.

As wrestling developed, wrestlers started to adopt other aspects: striking, techniques and submissions, which made them even more dangerous.

Wrestling’s focus on takedowns, ground control, and conditioning has all made it an obvious fit for MMA. Wrestlers dictate the terms of the engagement: whether through offensive applications of takedowns and mat control or through defensive prevention of the same, they just do what other fighters have trouble implementing. Many UFC champions have become champions based merely on this ability to control the action.

2. Randy Couture: The Natural

Randy Couture—one of the most legendary fighters in UFC history, known for clinching, taking down, and demoralizing his fellow opponents with an almost non-stop ground-and-pound—1 of 3-time UFC Heavyweight Champion title holder alongside his 2-time Light Heavyweight Champion, wrestling indeed was the key to his success.

Wrestling Background
Couture had an outstanding wrestling career at Oklahoma State University and later was a coach at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. His profound knowledge of wrestling techniques together with great conditioning delivered the receipt for total dominance in the Octagon.

Effects In The UFC
He could apply wrestling very effectively to control the pace of fights and pull opponents down—important reasons behind his success. He later showed how correctly wrestling could be applied in MMA; his wins came against fighters of that time like Liddell, Ortiz, and Tim Sylvia. Wrestling in MMA caused Couture’s memory as a man who popularized the sport and will live on as one of the greatest champions in UFC history not to exist.

3. Brock Lesnar: From WWE Superstar to UFC Champion

One of the most happening stories in sports, however, was Brock Lesnar’s journey from the WWE world of professional wrestling into the MMA universe. It is in this past that he embarked on his rise to UFC stardom, wrestling among lessees, and developed considerably relevant experience. With little experience in MMA, obviously holding such attributes physically, coupled with his wrestling skills, Lesnar sure did become quite a problem himself.

Wrestling Experience
Lesnar was a dominant wrestling champion in the NCAA Division I through the University of Minnesota, from where he emerged as the national champion in 2000. His wrestling credentials and size/strength made him tailor made for MMA.

Influence on the UFC
Lesnar’s wrestling abilities became what directed him in his UFC career, most notably against victories over Frank Mir and Randy Couture. His ability in takedowns and controlling opponents on the ground was what delivered his UFC heavyweight champion success. Lesnar did not only influence the sport with regard to wrestling, as he ultimately became one of the biggest draws in the history of the UFC.

4. Georges St-Pierre: A Prototype of a Mixed Martial Artist

Georges St-Pierre, or GSP, is one of the best accepted fighters in history to ever step into the octagon. Of course, in this regard, a big part of his success came from wrestling. Without any obvious fighting talents, GSP became one of the best fighters in MMA, settling his grappling against those leading opponents of the welterweight event.

Wrestling Background
He mostly self-taught most of the GSP wrestling skills, training with top wrestlers and incorporating their techniques into his MMA game. Therefore, the ability to blend wrestling seamlessly with striking and submissions made him a complete fighter. Impact on the UFC

Much of his success at welterweight may be attributed to his wrestling. He was able to take down elite wrestlers like Josh Koscheck and Matt Hughes, then control them on the ground. The combination of being able to mix takedowns in with striking and submission makes GSP one of the most well-rounded fighters in the sport.

His rise to UFC Welterweight Champion and then, years later, his dynamic return to capture the Middleweight Championship is truly a testimony to his wrestling pedigree in MMA.

5. Daniel Cormier: Dual-Division Dominance

The former Olympic wrestler and Olympic team captain Daniel Cormier adapted well to the sport and became a world champion in MMA, winning the world titles in both light heavyweight and heavyweight. Cormier’s top-of-the-line wrestling skills formed the bedrock of his success, which saw him control and dominate rivals in both weight classes.

Wrestling Experience
It just so happened that Cormier was also quite a good wrestler before his MMA career; he was an Olympian and national wrestling champion. It was part of the reason his wrestling pedigree made him a natural fit for MMA, where he quickly established himself as a top contender.

Impact on the UFC
Cormier wrestled right into his fight game, with the ability to bring guys down seemingly at will. From victories over the likes of Anthony Johnson, Alexander Gustafsson, and Stipe Miocic, it showed the credentials to be able to take away what the opposition had. Cormier, a two-division champion with the UFC, cemented his place in history in the annals of great wrestlers in the sport of mixed martial arts.

6. Khabib Nurmagomedov: Takedown Machine

Most of the lightweight divisions in the UFC are largely credited to their wrestling and grappling abilities in general. Known for relentless takedowns and bestial control from the top position, Khabib used his wrestling skills to easily become one of the formidable fighters in the UFC.

Wrestling Experience
Khabib Nurmagomedov grew up in Dagestan, Russia, home to very tough and rugged wrestling and sambo athletes. Grounded in wrestling, he nicely complemented it with a strong advantage in judo and sambo, which has brought many positive implications with it, creating great versatility on the ground.

Result on the UFC
Khabib’s wrestling in the 155-pound division was superior to any other; he was able to take down and control world-class strikers such as Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, and Justin Gaethje. Making his opponents fight his type of fight instead, Khabib suffocated his challengers.

Such presentation of the reason validates the ideal in his wrestling that a body with a record of 29-0 and one of the greatest fighters in the history of MMA cannot do wrong in.

7. Henry Cejudo: From Olympic Gold to UFC Gold

Henry Cejudo stands virtually alone in a class of few athletes who have ever shined at both the upper-levels of amateur wrestling and MMA. He won Olympic gold in freestyle wrestling before moving on to MMA, where he rapidly rose through the ranks by winning UFC championships in two weight classes.

Background in Wrestling
Cejudo captured Olympic gold in freestyle wrestling at the 2008 Beijing Games, making him the youngest American wrestler ever to do so. It introduced him as one of MMA’s most highly touted prospects. Influence of the UFC Wrestling became the bedrock of the UFC accomplishments for Cejudo. He outsized people and controlled the tempo as he moved forward. He claimed the UFC flyweight title by dethroning the great Demetrious Johnson and subsequently became champion in bantamweight with an impressive victory over Marlon Moraes. The ability to absolutely control fights in the octagon grounded him in the conversation as one of the means of dominance for all lighter-weight fighters.

8. Matt Hughes: The First UFC Grappler
   Matt Hughes really stands as one of the old-time wrestlers in MMA and one of the most dominant champions the UFC has seen yet. This two-time UFC Welterweight Champion used wrestling to overpower and control opponents throughout the fight. Wrestling Background Hughes was the star wrestler in college, being registered All-American. His expertise at wrestling was directly translated onto the MMA stage, representing him as the top welterweight in the UFC pretty quickly.

Impact it had on the UFC
Crucial to his success was the wrestling by Hughes, allowing him to take down opponents at will and then continue on to control them. In short, he gave a good account of himself with his wrestling skills, beating such fighters as Georges St. Pierre, B.J. Penn, and Frank Trigg. His very strong reign as the Ultimate Fighting Championship Welterweight Champion and contribution to the next generation of wrestlers complete his lasting legacy in this sport.

Conclusion
Wrestling has had the most profound effect on UFC, where the skills and techniques earned from this sport give fighters a chance to control their opponent and the pace of a fight. Hence, the example fighters in this article represent some of the successful wrestlers who ventured into MMA, as their success stories have indeed reiterated the place of wrestling in this sport. From Matt Hughes to Khabib Nurmagomedov, these men have gone through to the top of the UFC based on wrestling. The ability to bridge wrestling into other aspects of MMA has been a recipe for these athletes to attain great status as champions and probably leave behind a legacy. In its growth and evolution, wrestling is nowadays still an ingredient when it comes to fight-winning strategies inside the UFC, where the future champions can undeniably harness the best skills from the best wrestlers.