Fists of Fury: The Best Strikers in the UFC

The UFC has evolved beyond our wildest expectations. In the good old days of MMA we have seen the octagon dominated by Jiu Jitsu and wrestling based fighters, but now in this day and age, the tables have turned and the guys who rule the roost happen to be the best strikers as well.Check out our list of the absolute best strikers in each weight division in the UFC and marvel at their violent handiwork inside the cage.

#1 Heavyweight: Mark Hunt

Hunt floors Stefan Struve with a left hook

Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more

Yes, he did get knocked out by Junior Dos Santos and stopped by Fabricio Werdum, but in terms of pure striking, Mark Hunt is the absolute best in the heavyweight division. The reason he lost to both guys is because they were always threatening with takedowns and thus shut down Mark’s kickboxing game.

To really see his striking chops in full effect, just watch his destruction of Roy Nelson. Dos Santos and Werdum both threw the kitchen sink at Nelson but failed to stop the American. That was until he fought Mark Hunt. Mark Hunt hit his trademark walk-off KO on Nelson and was just the second man to stop him clean.

He has a few defensive liabilities like how he seems to just absorb blows but in terms of pure striking talent, Mark Hunt is it. His K1 grand Prix title should be testament to that. His wars with Mirko Filipovich and Jerome LeBanner in K1 are amazing displays of striking that show how good Mark Hunt really is.

#2 Light heavyweight: Jon Jones

No one approaches the game with the same laser minded focus like Jon Jones. ‘Bones’ isn’t just the best fighter at 205lbs; he’s also that division’s premier striker. He’s got that trademark Winklejohn style down to a tee. A whirlwind of punches, elbows, knees and kicks, Jones is a perennial contender for the most violent fighter of the year.

He took Glover Texiera apart on the feet just to make a point. Striking isn’t just about standing and banging, it’s also a lot of clinch work, of which Jones is a master. Apart from blasting opponents with a tornado of strikes, he’s also very defensively sound. The only two times he’s ever been hit clean were by Machida in the first round of their fight and by Gustafsson, who he clearly didn’t take seriously.

Rumour had it that Jones was partying it up during that fight camp and just never saw the Swede as a threat and still pulled out a win and battered Gustaffson in the 4th and 5th rounds.

He’s got a tough test in front of him in Anthony Johnson, who many peg as the division’s best striker. If Jones wins this fight, which I suspect he will, then he is going to cement his place in the history books as the best fighter to have walked this Earth.

#3 Middleweight: Chris Weidman

A lot of people will still call for Anderson to be the best striker in the middleweight division but when you’ve been knocked out cold, the guy who put you in cloud 9 automatically becomes the best striker. That’s the way the cookie crumbles. Chris Weidman is truly a new breed of fighter. His forward pressure and ability to cut of the cage while maintaining a steady flow of punches and knees is second to none.

He barely gets pushed back and when he does, he knows when to clinch and there is where Chris Weidman is the most dangerous. In the second Anderson Silva fight, Weidman was caught in a clinch and blasted Silva with a right hand that for all intents and purposes knocked him out again and dropped the former middleweight champion. The follow up punches woke him.

Watch the fight again, it was crazy. And it’s not like his ground skills are anything to scoff at either but in terms of pure stand-up, very few people are as technically sound and instinctively opportunistic.

His war with Lyoto Machida also showed that he can maintain his composure under fire and still dish out as good as he gets. He’s got a tough test in front of him in another dynamic striker in Vitor Belfort and that should be an amazing fight.

#4 Welterweight: Robbie Lawler

Lawler and Brown put up a hell of a fight

Even during his first tenure in the UFC, Lawler was blasting through guys with vicious punches and knees. His destruction of Tiki Goshn and Aaron Riley were masterpieces of violence. He has had a spotty record since then but his victories over Melvin Manhoef, Jake Ellenberger, Josh Koscheck have shown that his skill set is ever evolving.

He’s got a brutal right hand that when it finds its mark, the fight is usually done. His fight with perennial contender Rory MacDonald showed us his grit and determination as he out struck the Tristar product and even dropped him at one point. His war with Matt Brown will go down as one of the most technical brawls of all time.

Robbie does have a few defensive liabilities though. He doesn’t move his head off the centre line enough and often gets tagged with shots he should not be getting hit with. His first and second fight with Johnny Hendricks showed us that a good wrestler with good striking will always be a problem for Lawler. His next test will come against the surging Rory MacDonald again to determine the true 170lb kingpin.

#5 Lightweight: Rafael Dos Anjos

Dos Anjos laying the smack down on Donald Cerrone

When the match-up between Pettis and Dis Anjos was announced, I could already smell an upset in the air. It was the same feeling I had when T.J Dillashaw fought Renan Barao and we all know how that went down. No doubt Anthony Pettis is an amazing striker but if you effectively control the distance (which is no easy task) against him, them most of his dynamic striking is neutralized.

And that is exactly what Rafael Dos Anjos did. He cut off the cage and when Pettis tried to escape he clipped him with left hands throughout the night. He beat up the champion with body kicks, body shots and broke him down mentally during their 5 round encounter.

Prior to that, he had stopped Benson Henderson, beat the living daylights out of Donald Ceronne and humiliated Nate Diaz. The only blemish in that incredible run came to Dagestani standout Khabib Nurmagomedov who I honestly feel just has Dos Anjos’s number.

Dos Anjos is out for a bit while he nurses his injuries but there are a few top guys gunning for him. I’m pretty sure the winner of Donald Cerrone vs Khabib Nurmagomedov is next for the new lightweight champion.

#6 Featherweight: Jose Aldo

Aldo and Mendes put up a Fight of the Year candidate

As of now, the absolute best striker in the featherweight division is none other than Scarface. Jose Aldo has carved a path of destruction through his foes, going undefeated for nine years now. His slick Dutch Muay Thai is always on display when he throws that beautiful left hook to right leg kick combo. The Dutchy, they call it. He hammered Ricardo Lamas with that same combo and kept him at bay throughout their five round tilt.

If Jose Aldo wasn’t a featherweight, Chad Mendes would be running that division right now. Think about how good Mendes is. He has dominated every other opponent he has ever faced. He has never lost a round in MMA. That’s how good Chad Mendes is and Jose Aldo beat him both times to hand the Team Alpha Male product his only two losses in his career. Now, that’s how good Jose Aldo is. The Brazilian possesses some of the most unearthly takedown defence and uses that to punish guys who try and shoot in on him.

His next big test comes in the gigantic Irishman, Connor McGregor in June. Conner is no amateur himself with a wide repertoire of punches, knees, elbows and kicks. On paper this looks like an amazing fight as Conner’s power and size might just be a problem for Aldo but as he has shown time and time again, the Brazilian is not going to go down quietly.

#7 Bantamweight: Dominick Cruz

No one is better in MMA at using angles and footwork to set up their strikes, takedowns, entries and clinch work, than the former champion Dominick Cruz. The man has lost only once to Urijah Faber in his career and has since then avenged that loss decisively.

His wide variety of set-up’s and feints cause a lot of guys to freeze and just wait on him to hit them. He is constantly moving and never gives you a target to tee off on. His head is always off the centre line and he is always proactive with his offense thereby keeping his opponent on the back foot. He’s been so successful with his style that the current champion T.J Dillashaw emulates a lot of Cruz’s style and is incredibly successful with it.

Before his dismantling of Takeya Mizugaki, Cruz was out with a torn ACL for almost two years. To come back from such a devastating injury and just manhandle Mizugaki like that is very impressive. Sadly, Dominick Cruz is still bitten by the injury bug as he recently tore his groin and is still rehabilitating the injury. Here’s to seeing the greatest bantamweight of all time back in the octagon. One can only hope.

#8 Women\'s Bantamweight: Holly Holm

Even though Holm is relatively untested, her striking credentials themselves put her on the top of the 135lb strikers. She’s got a slick left head kick which she disguises really well with a right jab. In fact, she’s caught a few of her opponents with this exact technique.

Her fight with Raquel Pennington wasn’t the barnburner that it promised to be but I’m sure we can chalk that up to octagon jitters. She still did out strike the gritty Pennington and outworked her to earn a split decision. Her next fight should show us exactly where Holm is in terms of the 135lb pecking order. She doesn’t have a fight lined up yet, but you can be sure that I’ll be watching when that’s announced.

#9 Flyweight: Demetrious Johnson

Mighty Mouse isn’t just the best fighter at 125lbs but he’s also the best striker that division possesses. His speed and technique is only outmatched by his tenaciousness and ability to dictate the pace and style of the fight. Once his drop to flyweight was established Johnson never looked back. His one sided drubbings of Chris Cariaso, John Moraga and Ali Bagautinov shows us that the champ is at the top of his game.

The highlight in his title run was the first round destruction of perennial number 2 in the division, Joseph Benavidez. It’s the same situation as Chad Mendes, too good to be beaten by anyone else but not good enough to beat the champ.

His recent last minute submission win over Japan’s Kyoji Horoguchi was the latest in a long line of dominant and decisive victories. No one knows who is next for Johnson but judging from how the flyweight division is stacked, we could see John Dodson challenge D.J for the belt again.

#10 Women\'s Straw weight: Joanna Jedrzejczyk

The newly minted UFC women’s straw weight Joanna Jedrzeczyk is a striking dynamo. If you weren’t aware then, you sure will be now. She’s got a mean right cross and an even meaner left uppercut for all those takedowns to will eventually come once she gets the better of her opponent in striking. Her fight with ex-champ Carla Esparza was truly an eye opener. Well, it wasn’t much of as fight as it was a royal beat down.

I’ve been watching women’s MMA from the Jewels days and I’ve never seen someone beatdown Esparza the way Jedrzeczyk handled her. Once Esparza was unable to get the takedown, she was outclassed on the feet. Taking shot after shot until the second round where it was clear as day that this was an epic mismatch.

Even though the women’s straw weight division is still developing, there seems to be no end to Joanna’s ceiling. If she took the best wrestler in the division apart then the rest of the women’s straw weight division better step their game up or its lights out for them

Follow One Championship News, Schedule & Results at Sportskeeda.

Edited by Staff Editor