Different Types Of Fighters in UFC

A quick guide to UFC fighting styles 

The UFC Championship is an MMA (Mixed Material Arts) competition that pits fighters of different disciplines against each other. This makes it a pretty unique sport as there is not one standard fighting form. 

Today, we are going to cover the 7 most popular types of fighting competitors use in the UFC. 
 

Wrestling 
Wrestling is by far the most popular and successful form of fighting allowed in the UFC. In fact, since the early 90s, wrestlers have one more UFC titles than the rest of the fighting styles combined. Daniel Cormier, currently at 22 victories, is a perfect example of this. 

This should not be confused with the type of wrestling that you will see in the WWE – there is nothing pre-planned about this. In fact, many Olympic wrestlers have found success in the UFC. 

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Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ)
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is perhaps the only fighting style that comes close to competing with wrestling in the UFC. For every 2 wrestling wins, there is at least 1 BJJ champion. 

BJJ was born out of the long-standing relationship between Brazil and Japan. When two Brazilan brothers traveled to the Island and became infatuated with Japanese martial arts. 

BJJ however is a combat sport, built around forcing your opponent to submit and you pin them to the ground. 

Demian Maia and Ronaldo Souza are two of the most accomplished Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighters in the UFC. 

Kickboxing
Kickboxing is a close competitor to BJJ when it comes to success in the UFC. 

This fighting style steals some of its key moves from the two styles above it on this list. While it does involve a lot of kicking as the name suggests – it does also require the fighter to get their opponent into BJJ style holds. 

Kickboxing may not be the most successful fighting style, but it is one of the most exciting to watch. As it involves fast kicks, punches, headlocks, and many flips. Who doesn’t want to see one grown adult throwing their opponent around like a sack of potatoes? 
 

Boxing
Boxing is a well established sport in its own right, however, it has a growing presence in the UFC and MMA fighting. Many consider this the purest and most dangerous form of fighting in the MMA community. 

Anyone looking to be successful in the Octagon should be able to box well if they want to compete at the highest level. Top notch punching techniques and fast footwork are essential for this sport. 

Boxers like Jorge Masvidal and Junior Dos Santos have had huge success in the sport. 
 

Muay Thai
Muay Thai is also known as the art of 8 limbs, as not only does it focus on the feet and hands, but also on the elbows, shins, and knees. 

This martial art is taught to school children in Thailand, but don’t let that fool you, it can be very dangerous. While it is one of the least successful fighting styles in the UFC, masters like Anderson Silva have seen great success with it. 

Anderson Silva is one of the great UFC fighters of all time and used his skill to knock out his opponents with any part of his body. 
 

Taekwondo & Karate 
We have put these final two fighting styles together as they are the least successful in the UFC so far. 

That being said, most fighters will include moves and techniques from both of these sports in their skill sets. They should not be overlooked or skipped over in the training ring. 

Guy Mezger is perhaps one of the most famous UFC fighters with a Karate background – when he was in that sport he had a 41-1 win record! Robert Whittaker is another great example of a Karate fighter in the UFC who saw big success.