Most Takedowns Landed in UFC History

In mixed martial arts, takedowns can be the key factor that determines whether a fighter wins or loses. While knockouts may steal the spotlight, it’s actually wrestling and grappling that dictate who has the upper hand in the match. Merab Dvalishvili holds the record for the most takedowns landed in UFC history with 119 successful takedowns across his relentless career.

Top 5 Most Takedowns Landed in UFC History

Here are the top 5 fighters with the most takedowns landed in UFC history, showcasing relentless grappling dominance and nonstop action in the octagon.

Merab Dvalishvili – 119 Takedowns Landed

Weight Class: Bantamweight, Featherweight

Merab Dvalishvili is known as the cardio king of the UFC and wrapped up his career with a total of 119 successful takedowns. His fighting style is straightforward yet fierce as he continuously goes for takedowns without pause. At UFC 320, he broke records by achieving 20 takedowns against Cory Sandhagen. Moreover, in three-round fights he typically attempts around 15 takedowns. In contrast during five-round bouts he nearly doubles that number.

Georges St-Pierre – 90 Takedowns Landed

Weight Class: Welterweight, Middleweight

Georges St-Pierre is considered one of the best UFC fighters of all time. He ruled the welterweight division with his precise striking and exceptional wrestling skills. GSP holds the second spot with 90 career takedowns landed and an impressive accuracy rate of 74%. After his defeat to Matt Serra in 2007, he returned even stronger averaging around 4 takedowns every 15 minutes. His wrestling ability allowed him to dominate fights and deliver a lot of ground strikes.

Gleison Tibau – 84 Takedowns Landed

Weight Class: Lightweight

Gleison Tibau was a veteran UFC lightweight who subtly established himself as one of the top wrestlers in the division. He achieved 84 career takedowns ranking him third on the UFC’s all-time and averaged roughly 4 takedowns per fight. His most notable performance occurred at UFC 104 when he successfully took down Josh Neer 10 times. Additionally, Tibau earned 17 lightweight victories making him one of the most successful fighters in the division.

Clay Guida – 78 Takedowns Landed

Weight Class: Lightweight, Featherweight

Clay Guida is loved by fans for his wild energy and crazy hair. He mainly fought in the lightweight division and achieved 78 takedowns throughout his UFC career. Although his accuracy wasn’t the best, he kept going for takedowns averaging 3 per fight. Guida’s relentless pace and chain wrestling wore opponents down. Even at 40 years old he expressed his desire to be remembered as one of the most entertaining fighters of all time.

Demetrious Johnson – 74 Takedowns Landed

Weight Class: Flyweight, Bantamweight

Demetrious Johnson is the best flyweight of all time. He achieved 74 career takedowns in the UFC with an accuracy of 56% averaging around 3 takedowns per fight. During UFC on Fox 8, he successfully completed all 12 of his takedown attempts against John Moraga before finishing him off in the later rounds. By the time of UFC 186, he had already set the record for the most takedowns in flyweight history. His relentless wrestling and impressive submissions led to 11 consecutive title defenses.