5 UFC fighters who abandoned their grappling in favor of striking

#2. Daniel Cormier

Daniel Cormier is likely the greatest wrestler to ever compete in the UFC heavyweight division. A former champion at both 265 lbs and 205 lbs, Cormier was one of the most thrilling grapplers at heavyweight, often using his high-crotch single-leg takedown to lift and slam opponents in great displays of skill and strength.

However, 'DC's' frequent lifting and slamming of his opponents led to back injuries that greatly diminished his wrestling.

Suddenly, the man responsible for outwrestling Dan Henderson and Josh Barnett no longer pursued takedowns. Instead, Cormier became a pocket boxer. He nullified his opponent's reach advantage by fighting with both of his arms extended to hand-trap his foe's jabbing hand and throw looping punches over the top.

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#1. Paulo Costa evolved into a pure striker since coming to the UFC

The one-time UFC middleweight title challenger also began his career as a Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist. A glimpse at his performance in The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3 unveils how different Paulo Costa was from a stylistic standpoint compared to the fighter he eventually became.

The Brazilian often searched for takedowns but didn't seem to have the finishing instincts to consistently secure submission wins, he has only 1 submission win on his record.

After breaking into the UFC, Costa emerged as a completely different fighter. He no longer pursues takedowns or submissions. Instead, 'Borrachinha' became a pressure fighter, using hard roundhouse kicks to the body to corral his opponents towards the fence before unleashing a high-volume savage assault to brutalize them en route to a vicious TKO.