#4. UFC lightweight Paddy Pimblett
Former Cage Warriors featherweight champion Paddy Pimblett is the UFC's latest English sensation. Upon signing with the UFC, 'The Baddy' opted to make his home in the promotion's lightweight division.
Like many fighters in the modern era, Pimblett is fairly well-rounded, possessing significant punching power and exceptional Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills. He frequently uses knees and front kicks but lacks the ability to manage distance effectively.
Defensively, 'The Baddy' is irresponsible, often lunging at his foes without moving his head off the center-line or tucking his chin. Furthermore, Pimblett often fights with his hands low, relying on his toughness to walk through his opponent's offense. Where Pimblett truly shines is his grappling. While he doesn't possess a strong wrestling game, 'The Baddy' uses judo throws and trips as judo takedowns land him in advantageous positions like side control.
Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more
Without having to pass his opponent's guard, Pimblett ensures that the moment a fight hits the mat, he's in a strong position ahead of his foe's guard. Once he's on top of his opponents, Pimblett is a force, using ground-and-pound to create openings for submissions while never neglecting his positional grappling. Additionally, Pimblett is also creative.
In his recent bout with Jordan Leavitt, 'The Baddy' trapped one of his foe's arms against his torso with a figure-four leg-lock, leaving his opponent with only one free arm to defend the rear-naked choke that Pimblett eventually secured, improving his record to 19-3.
#3. UFC featherweight Ryan Hall
One of the most dangerous and skilled grapplers on the UFC roster, Ryan Hall is a 3rd degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who was one of the featherweight division's most avoided fighters due to his penchant for leg-locks. Thus, fighters typically avoid engaging Hall on the ground, which enables a large portion of his striking offense.
Since his foes are so fearful of his submission skills and don't dare shoot for takedowns against him, Hall fights with zero apprehension.
The TUF 22 winner implements an odd kicking game to preoccupy his opponents. Since his foes don't catch his kicks in order to avoid granting Hall any opening to initiate a scramble or grappling sequence, he's able to throw kicks without fear. His kicks to the midsection cause his opponents to straighten their posture and narrow their footing, exposing their lower bodies to Hall's patented Imanari roll.
Even when he's unsuccessful at wrapping his legs around a foe's for a leg-lock after an Imanari roll, Hall has no fear of anyone swarming him on the mat as they usually back away to prevent him from grabbing one of their legs. While his recent loss to Ilia Topuria revealed the first fighter who was unafraid to follow him to the ground, Hall's strategy has earned him wins over the likes of B.J. Penn, Darren Elkins and Gray Maynard, with his record sitting at 9-2.