33 of the Most Underrated Standup Fighters in MMA

Daniel Cormer (R) connects against Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva - Esther Lin/AOL

When you think of striking in mixed martial arts, former K-1 champions Alistair Overeem and Mark Hunt likely come to mind.  Or vicious Muay Thai practitioners like UFC featheweight champion Jose Aldo or welterweight Duane Ludwig.

These fighters have been crafting their art nearly their whole lives and have demonstrated time and again what an advantage striking can be in sport.

For the rest of the MMA world, learning how to properly time punches, kicks, elbows and knees is part of the evolution.  Fighters coming from a wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or even Judo base must learn these techniques in a short amount of time to succeed in the sport.

Striking is all about split seconds and fractions of an inch, something that each of the following fighters has begun to understand and master.

Cole Konrad

Cole Konrad (L) - Bellator

I know what you're thinking.  Really?  Cole Konrad?

Well, yes.  The two-time NCAA champion wrestler managed to earn the Bellator heavyweight belt in only his seventh fight.

Recently, he defeated former UFC title challenger Paul Buentello by using his striking, not his wrestling.  Konrad will only become more comfortable on his feet as his career progresses.

1 KO/TKO in 8 wins

Luke Rockhold

Luke Rockhold (L) - Esther Lin/Showtime

Current Strikeforce middleweight champ Luke Rockhold is largely known as a submission fighter, but after the performance he put on against Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza to win the belt, it is impossible to ignore his striking.

The American Kickboxing Academy product unleashed a barrage of kicks at the champion that revealed his evolution as a fighter and earned him the title.

1 KO/TKO in 8 wins

Ben Henderson

Ben Henderson (R) - Fightmania

Former WEC title holder and current UFC contender, Ben "Smooth" Henderson is primarily known for his wrestling and his lethal guillotine choke.

In his past two fights, against Mark Bocek and Jim Miller, the Arizona-based fighter has used his striking to disrupt the timing of his opponents and force them to fight his fight.

2 KO/TKO's in 14 wins

Evan Dunham

Evan Dunham (L) - Open Walls

Lightweight Evan Dunham, like many in his division, has a wrestling base.

However, the Xtreme Couture fighter has largely relied on his striking over his last handful of fights.  Take a look at his performances against Tyson Griffin, Sean Sherk or Shamar Bailey and you'll see a fighter that is more than comfortable standing and trading with anyone.

2 KO/TKO's in 12 wins

Gray Maynard

Gray Maynard (L) - Fighters.com

If Maynard's UFC 125 draw with lightweight champ Frankie Edgar proved anything, it was that Maynard was anything but a one-dimensional wrestler.

The former Michigan State Spartan dropped the champion three times in the opening frame, utilizing his crisp boxing.

The pair meet again at UFC 136 and Maynard will look to show more of his striking arsenal.

2 KO/TKO's in 10 wins

Joe Lauzon

Noted submission specialist Joe Lauzon has also done damage with his hands.

The lightweight managed to knockout former UFC champion Jens Pulver and has hung with other noted strikers Jeremy Stephens and Sam Stout.

In his most recent fight against Curt Warburton, Lauzon used his strikes to drop the British fighter and setup the fight ending submission.

4 KO/TKO's in 20 wins

Frank Mir

Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images

Former UFC champion Frank Mir will always be known for his submission skills, but his evolution as a striker is not to be overlooked.

His knockout of Pride superstar and famed kickboxer Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic at UFC 119 solidified his standup prowess.

3 KO/TKO's in 15 wins

Nate Diaz

Nate Diaz (L) - Phil Lambert/The MMA Corner

Ultimate Fighter winner Nate Diaz is a Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu brown belt.

Yet, it's his boxing skills that frequently setup his frequent submissions, as evidenced by his UFC 135 win over the heavy-handed Takanori Gomi.

3 KO/TKO's in 14 wins

Court McGee

Court McGee - Rob Tatum/Bleacher Report

Another winner of The Ultimate Fighter, McGee has shown off a well-rounded skill set in each of his Octagon appearances.

His wins over Kris McCray, Ryan Jensen and Dongi Yang all featured a great mix of strikes that led him to victory.

3 KO/TKO's in 14 wins

Rick Story

Rick Story - Rob Tatum/Bleacher Report

Welterweight Rick Story will never be mistaken for a boxer, but the former collegiate wrestler has developed the striking tools to compliment his strong positional control.

In fights against noted strikers Thiago Alves and Johny Hendricks, Story effectively used clinch strikes to punish his opponents en route to decision wins.

3 KO/TKO's in 13 wins

Phil Davis

Phil Davis (L) - Rob Tatum/Bleacher Report

Light heavyweight Phil Davis is best known for his high level wrestling that earned him an NCAA championship while at Penn State.

The former Nittany Lion has since moved to San Diego to train with the likes of Brandon Vera.  His striking has exhibited a noted improvement, as the undefeated fighter has shown off an arsenal of kicks in each of his recent bouts.

2 KO/TKO's in 9 wins

Demetrious Johnson

Demetrious Johnson - Rob Tatum/Bleacher Report

The man known as "Mighty Mouse" just gave bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz one hell of a fight for five full rounds.

Despite his wrestling base, the Washington-based fighter has used a mixture of speed and footwork to keep his opponents off balance during his rise through the division.

2 KO/TKO's in 9 wins

Josh Barnett

Josh Barnett (R) - Sports Illustrated

A true veteran of the sport, Barnett will be remembered for his catch-wrestling skills.

While his standup game may not be his biggest asset, the former UFC champ has finished the likes of Pedro Rizzo and Randy Couture with strikes.

7 KO/TKO's in 31 wins

Toby Imada

Toby Imada (R) - Sherdog

Imada will forever be immortalized for his inverted triangle choke against Jorge Masvidal in Bellator's opening tournament.

That is a bit of a shame, as the grappling ace also possesses striking talent.  He defeated K-1 legend Andy Souwer in the 2010 S-Cup, which is no small feat. (Do me a favor, look up Souwer if you've never heard of him.)

7 KO/TKO's in 29 wins

Pat Curran

Pat Curran (L) - Fighters.com

There may not be a more dangerous fighter in all of Bellator than Pat Curran.

Curran won the Season 2 lightweight tournament by taking out Toby Imada and Roger Huerta.  Then Curran dropped to featherweight and won that tournament by defeating noted strikers Ronnie Mann and Marlon Sandro.

His head kick win over Sandro was certainly a candidate for knockout of the year.

4 KO/TKO's in 16 wins

Urijah Faber

Urijah Faber (R) - MMAMania

Easily one of the most recognizable names in MMA, the former WEC champion has used a little bit of every technique to get to the top of the sport.

Faber's unorthodox striking is not something you'd teach to most fighters, but his willingness to throw from odd angles and positions has led to many highlight reel performances.

7 KO/TKO's in 25 wins

Fabricio Werdum

Fabricio Werdum (R)

With one of the most dangerous submission games in all of MMA, it's strange the Brazilian would be in this conversation, but the veteran has used his standup to round out his fight game.

Werdum's Muay Thai is better than most recognize.  He has finished fellow Brazilian Gabriel Gonzaga on two occasions and also noted striker Brandon Vera.

Perhaps his most interesting performance came in a decision loss to Strikeforce and K-1 champ Alistair Overeem, where he held his own in the standup portion of the bout.

4 KO/TKO's in 14 wins

Matt Wiman

Matt Wiman (R) - Rob Tatum/Bleacher Report

Let's be clear, Wiman won't ever be known as a pure standup fighter.

That said, his fearless and aggressive nature has suited him well against many opponents in the shark infested waters of the UFC's lightweight division.

In his most recent fight, Wiman used a barrage of elbows from inside the clinch to bloody and batter opponent Mac Danzig.

4 KO/TKO's in 14 wins

Joe Warren

Joe Warren (R) - Bellator

It's rare that an Olympic-level wrestler would be credited for his standup game, but Joe Warren is far from a typical fighter.

In only his second fight, Warren defeated high-level striker Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto with an onslaught of knees from the clinch.

After signing with Bellator, Warren would go on to knockout Joe Soto and claim the promotion's featherweight strap.

2 KO/TKO's in 7 wins

Shane Roller

Shane Roller (R)

Former Oklahoma State wrestler Shane Roller will always be known for his top notch wrestling skills.

But the lightweight has shown his heavy hands in both the WEC and the UFC.

His win over Thiago Tavares earned Roller "Knockout of the Night" honors in March.

3 KO/TKO's in 10 wins

Brian Bowles

Brian Bowles (R)

One-time WEC bantamweight champ Brian Bowles has one of the most dangerous guillotine chokes in all of MMA.

He also possesses a dangerous right hand.  Bowles claimed the belt by knocking out Miguel Torres.

Bowles will look to get his hands on UFC gold if he can get around Urijah Faber in his next fight.

3 KO/TKO's in 10 wins

Josh Koscheck

Josh Koscheck (R)
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Another American Kickboxing Academy product, Josh Koscheck is one of only a handful of athletes to ever go undefeated during a full wrestling season.  The feat earned him an NCAA title.

Since appearing on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, Koscheck has evolved his standup arsenal with each fight.

Koscheck holds notably knockout wins over Yoshiyuki Yoshida, Frank Trigg and most recently, Matt Hughes at UFC 135.

5 KO/TKO's in 16 wins

Ed Herman

Ed Herman (L) - Boxeomundial

An Ultimate Fighter alum, Ed "Short Fuse" Herman was a bit of a forgotten fighter in the UFC's middleweight division after a lengthy injury layoff.

Herman quickly reminded everyone of his presence by dispatching of Tim Credeur in less than a minute in June.

6 KO/TKO's in 19 wins

Tyson Griffin

Tyson Griffin (R)
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Xtreme Couture fighter Tyson Griffin has developed a well-rounded attack in his MMA career.

Griffin's base is wrestling, but his boxing and power have helped him finish a number of big names in the sport, including Urijah Faber, Duane Ludwig and Hermes Franca.

Griffin recently cut to featherweight and picked up a win over Manny Gamburyan in June.

5 KO/TKO's in 15 wins

Vladimir Matyushenko

Vladimir Matyushenko (L)
Nick Laham/Getty Images

"The Janitor" is one of the most experienced fighters in the UFC.

His time spent with the Soviet wrestling team has suited him well throughout his career, but his standup has also been a weapon.

The Belarusian picked up an impressive KO over Jason Brilz at UFC 129 in April.

9 KO/TKO's in 26 wins

Tim Kennedy

Tim Kennedy (R) - Strikeforce

Army Ranger Tim Kennedy could easily be the toughest man in the sport.

Kennedy has survived wars with top stars such as Jason "Mayhem" Miller, Robbie Lawler and Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza.

5 KO/TKO's in 14 wins

Michael Chandler

Michael Chandler - Bellator

Undefeated fighter Michael Chandler is yet another Xtreme Couture product.

The former Missouri wrestler won the Bellator Season 4 lightweight tournament and will now face current champion Eddie Alvarez for the belt.

3 KO/TKO's in 8 wins

Daniel Cormier

Daniel Cormier (R) - Strikeforce

An argument could be made that Cormier is the best wrestler ever to enter the sport of MMA

Cormier's Olympic experience would give him an edge against nearly every competitor in the heavyweight division.

The scary part?  Cormier has quickly picked up kickboxing while training with AKA in San Jose, Calif.

His knockout of Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva in September earned him the chance to face Josh Barnett for the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix title.

4 KO/TKO's in 9 wins

Roy Nelson

Roy Nelson (R) - UFC

"Big Country" is famous for his physique...or lack thereof.

The heavyweight fighter is a very accomplished grappler and used his superior ground skills to earn a spot in the final of The Ultimate Fighter.

Once there, Nelson's standup shone through as he knocked Brendan Schaub to win the reality show.  Nelson also knocked out Dutchman Stefan Struve in his next bout.

8 KO/TKO's in 15 wins

Eddie Alvarez

Bellator's lightweight kingpin grew up a wrestler, but quickly transformed into a boxer.

The Philadelphia native has finished accomplished standup fighters such as Andre Amada and Roger Huerta.

In his most recent bout against Pat Curran, Alvarez put on a striking clinic to defeat the rising contender.

12 KO/TKO's in 22 wins

Rick Hawn

Rick Hawn (R) - Sherdog

Olympic judoka Rick Hawn's transition to MMA was one of the most fluid of recent memory.

Even with his grappling edge, Hawn let his hands do the talking, winning his first eleven bouts.

In the process, Hawn made it to the Bellator welterweight tournament finals, where he suffered his first career loss.

7 KO/TKO's in 11 wins

Jake Ellenberger

Jake Ellenberger (R)

How can a fighter with 17 wins by KO/TKO make this list you might ask?

Well, it's easy.  No one talks about Jake Ellenberger.

At least they didn't until he became only the second fighter ever to finish Jake Shields in their September contest.

The heavy-handed wrestler has skyrocketed toward title contention in the UFC's welterweight division.

17 KO/TKO's in 26 wins

Muhammed Lawal

Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal (R) - Strikeforce

Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal is another example of what happens when a wrestler falls in love with the art of striking.

The light heavyweight fighter claimed the Strikeforce championship in only his seventh pro fight.

Now training with the likes of K-1 fighter Tyrone Spong and the team at American Kickboxing Academy, Lawal's ceiling is hard to imagine.

His recent knockout of Roger Gracie after a long injury layoff showed the "King" is always dangerous on the feet.

6 KO/TKO's in 8 wins

 

Rob Tatum is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. You can also find Rob’s work at TheMMACorner.com.  For anything related to MMA, you can follow Rob on Twitter @RobTatumMMA.