Covington and Khabib are the two best offensive wrestlers in the UFC

[glasshouses999]

These two guys take people down at will and the two best offensive wrestlers in the UFC right now. In the past the best have been the likes of GSP, Brock and Cain.

These two have the highest takedown average per 15 minutes I can see among any fighter ever in UFC history (Khabib with 6.15 and Covington with 5.93 per 15mins and takedown accuracies of 48% and 53% respectively).

In his 8 UFC fights Khabib has had 39 takedowns and in Colby's 8 UFC fights prior to the Maia fight (where he showed his defensive wrestling) he had 41 takedowns.

Both are decorated wrestlers in their own right. Colby is a former 174lb Division 1 All American/5th placed finisher in 2011 and Khabib is a former two-time Combat Sambo World Champion.

Don't respond to this by saying there are more accomplished wrestlers out there i.e. Yoel Romero and DC because I'm speaking about the skill set of offensive wrestling as it is utilised in MMA.

Khabib is the better all round grappler (who can also execute judo throws) with the better ground game but they are very close when it comes to takedowns.

Colby seems to be a dickhead but you can't discredit his ability

all stats from:
http://www.fightmetric.com
http://www.fightmetric.com/fighter-details/dc9572dd6ec74859
http://www.fightmetric.com/fighter-details/032cc3922d871c7f

 

[TheScorpionDude]

WAR KHABIB !

 

[Terpizzle]

I don't want to see 6 takedown attempts per round.

 

[Sakuraba7]

WAR KHABIB !

 

[glasshouses999]

I don't want to see 6 takedown attempts per round.

It's not the most entertaining style in Covington's case (Khabib is entertaining though) but you can still appreciate high level ability. I have no problem with a fight replicating what is useful and dominant in reality and therefore appreciate Colby but he is at least doing something and not just backing away at times like Woodley has done. I still like Woodley and think he is the best defensive wrestler in the sport and still has the capacity to give us some knockout entertainment in the future.

 

[Ivan Ivanov]

They are strong grapplers, but there are some "?" about them. What would Khabib do against high level striker with strong takedown defence or against someone with powerful guard? And can Covington perform well against well rounded top 5 fighter? Btw I love Colby's attitude. Confident motherfucker with no inhibitions and a chicken brain - it's always a good combination.

 

[KingBeef]

What would Khabib do against high level striker with strong takedown defence

We'll find out on December 30th...

 

[MMA_AZ]

Colby's the most offensive asshole for sure.

 

[Muppettoker]

Who has Colby been taking down in his 8 UFC fights? Kim not bad, Pyle? Meh


Also, if a guy is fairly one dimensional and that dimension is TD/top control, they are going to have a better TD numbers. Some of the best mma wrestlers Jones Yoel Cormier have rounded out there skill set so don’t have to just be TD machines.

 

[Thug Rose]

i wouldnt put that colby guy in the same sentence with khabib

 

[glasshouses999]

They are strong grapplers, but there are some "?" about them. What would Khabib do against high level striker with strong takedown defence or against someone with powerful guard? And can Covington perform well against well rounded top 5 fighter? Btw I love Colby's attitude. Confident motherfucker with no inhibitions and a chicken brain - it's always a good combination.

Yeah you're right in thinking that Khabib might have more trouble taking a high level wrestler like Woodley or Covington down and that was shown when he couldn't take Tibau down at all despite trying over and over again. But Tibau was the only fighter who was probably stronger than Khabib (he looked about 180-185lbs that night) and at lightweight I don't see anyone giving him the same problem. Someone like Maia could give Khabib problems from the bottom but I believe Khabib is super talented on the ground (he won a national no-gi submission wrestling championship in 2012) and would be fine in the guard of all other lightweights and welterweights . If any of these issues face him he will be forced to win the fight on his feet.

 

[VVarhead]

Offensive wrestler? Colby?
Hell no, dude is a point-fighter if I ever saw one.

 

[glasshouses999]

Who has Colby been taking down in his 8 UFC fights? Kim not bad, Pyle? Meh


Also, if a guy is fairly one dimensional and that dimension is TD/top control, they are going to have a better TD numbers. Some of the best mma wrestlers Jones Yoel Cormier have rounded out there skill set so don’t have to just be TD machines.

I hear your point but he also has a takedown accuracy of 53% and that's pretty damn high. Jones has a takedown accuracy of 50% and at an average of 2.13 per 15 minutes. He is yet to fight a truly great wrestler himself (like Jones has done) but ultimately you have to go based on what you've seen so far and I've seen the guy wrestle the shit out of people, what people could be if they were one dimensional is an imaginative exercise. In any case I'm only talking about right now (without Jon) and at the moment I see him and Khabib as the two best offensive wrestlers. DC couldn't take GUS down and Romero found it difficult to take Whittaker down and so I cannot put either one ahead out of those two.

Edit: I mean he wasn't really able to take Gus down (he did once) and I'm not discrediting GUS he can wrestle pretty good.

 

[quadrunner]

I don't want to see 6 takedown attempts per round.

You won't see any if you watch boxing or kickboxing.

I am a fan of chain wrestling, the only thing I don't like is when a wrestler gets one takedown and doesn't try to GnP or advance position or go for submissions, THAT is boring to me when a guy is just laying there doing just enough to stay "active" until the end of the round.

Wrestling is a great tool but it should be used to land effective ground and pound or to look for submissions.

 

[Terpizzle]

You won't see any if you watch boxing or kickboxing.

I am a fan of chain wrestling, the only thing I don't like is when a wrestler gets one takedown and doesn't try to GnP or advance position or go for submissions, THAT is boring to me when a guy is just laying there doing just enough to stay "active" until the end of the round.

Wrestling is a great tool but it should be used to land effective ground and pound or to look for submissions.

I echo the same sentiments. I don’t have a problem with Khabib because he punches his opponents’ face into oblivion ... but wrestling without gnp is the avoidance of fighting

 

[Nightwish]

Saturday night was another remainder of the fact that Ben Askren would have probably beat the entire WW division.

 

[Reyes]

Khabib wrestle-wrecked Dos Anjos, no one dares be in Dos Anjos' guard.

Colby wouldn't want to engage with Maia's ground game at all. Khabib has the heart & will to break Maia on the ground.

That being said, I would really love to see Maia VS Dos Anjos!

 

[Muppettoker]

I hear your point but he also has a takedown accuracy of 53% and that's pretty damn high. Jones has a takedown accuracy of 50% and at an average of 2.13 per 15 minutes. He is yet to fight a truly great wrestler himself (like Jones has done) but ultimately you have to go based on what you've seen so far and I've seen the guy wrestle the shit out of people, what people could be if they were one dimensional is an imaginative exercise. In any case I'm only talking about right now (without Jon) and at the moment I see him and Khabib as the two best offensive wrestlers. DC couldn't take GUS down and Romero found it difficult to take Whittaker down and so I cannot put either one ahead of those two.

Edit: I mean he wasn't really able to take Gus down (he did once) and I'm not discrediting GUS he can wrestle pretty good.

I’m not trying to say Colby isn’t a good offensive mma wrestler. It’s just easy to look like a machine when your going up against less that stella opponents.
I concede your point about imaginative exercises tho. That’s just my personal opinion.

I will say that statistic can be deceiving tho. Think jones holding on to a single then abandoning it so he can land a spinning elbow. Statistically a ‘failed TD attempt’ but not really a true reflection of how effective his TD can be

 

[Kneeuinthenutz]

NO...

But Khabib and Mendes are....

Convington is solid, but Kevin Lee trumps him in the division....

 

[Ryeboi]

I don't want to see 6 takedown attempts per round.

then watch a different sport