The Countdown:Top Five Best Strikers in MMA

Coming from primarily a striking background, I have always been intrigued with the art of stand up fighting in mixed martial arts. Sure I enjoy watching a tactical battle on the ground as well but my favorite aspect of MMA just like most fans is the striking aspect.

In MMA we have several athletes who are widely respected for their striking ability, but who are the top five? Everyone has their own opinion and today I am going to tell you mine as I go in depth and list who I believe are the best strikers in the sport.

Let the countdown begin!

No. 5: Mirko “Cro-Cop” Filipovic

The new fans of MMA are probably laughing at me for even mentioning Cro-Cop on this list, but I’m sure the old school PRIDE fans know exactly where I’m coming from. Sure, Cro-Cop has had some ugly performances lately, but the fact of the matter is he’s still one of the most dangerous strikers in the whole world.

Back in the PRIDE days Cro-Cop was on a huge tear and would knock out pretty much anyone that was put in front of him including the likes of Wanderlei Silva, Josh Barnett, Aleksander Emelianenko, Heath Herring, and several others.

Known for his vicious head kicks and crisp striking combinations, Cro-Cop was considered one of the best Heavyweights in all of MMA. However, ever since suffering a brutal head-kick knock out from Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 70, Cro-Cop just hasn’t been the same since.

He might not be a top ten Heavyweight anymore, but I still say as far as striking is concerned he is one of the best in the world and a true legend in the sport of mixed martial arts.

No. 4: Rich “Ace” Franklin

There was a time when Rich Franklin was considered to be the most feared striker in the Middleweight division. Obviously, Anderson Silva proved this theory wrong twice by completely man-handling Franklin in the stand up—but other than that I still think Franklin is one of the best strikers you can find in this sport.

Other than Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida—another fighter who knocked out Franklin—I really don’t think there are very many people that can out strike Rich Franklin.

Franklin is a southpaw (left handed) fighter, and he presents a very unorthodox style. He fights from strange angles and is able to hit you with a lot of power from these angles. Anytime you fight a southpaw it’s very awkward and hard to deal with, and this goes double for anyone that fights Franklin.

He has 13 TKO victories to his name and I see plenty more in his future. At UFC 99 he will take on another feared striker in Wanderlei Silva, and, in my opinion, Franklin’s technical striking will prove dominant over Wanderlei’s wild brawling.

No. 3: Thiago “Pitbull” Alves

The current number-one-contender to Georges St. Pierre’s welterweight title and one of the most destructive strikers in all of MMA is Thiago “The Pitbull” Alves. Alves is a Muay Thai machine and is coming off huge wins over Karo Parisyan, Matt Hughes, and Josh Koscheck.

He’s the biggest and most explosive fighter in the welterweight division, and he has the power to knock out anyone that is put in front of him—regardless of weight class. If you put a Heavyweight in there against him, Thiago has the power to knock him out.

However there is a lot more to Thiago Alves than just explosive power and pure strength. He might be a very aggressive fighter, but he’s also very smart. He isn’t the type of guy that goes into a fight just to brawl and completely abandon the game plan, he listens to his coaches and he knows exactly when to explode at the right moment.

The most lethal strike in Thiago Alves arsenal is his leg kicks. He times them very well, and with his thick legs and flawless technique it’s like getting hit in the leg with a cinder block!

Thiago will be fighting Georges St. Pierre for the welterweight title at UFC 100 in July and don’t be too surprised if Alves shocks the world and knocks GSP out cold in the middle of the octagon!

No. 2: Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida

This undefeated karate specialist is the most unorthodox striker in the world today, and, in my opinion, one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the whole sport.

Many people criticize Machida’s elusive style, but I personally love watching him fight and find it very interesting how he is able to frustrate opponents. I, myself, am a first degree blackbelt in Shaolin Kempo Karate, so watching someone take all the good things from karate and mix them in with all the other aspects of MMA is very intriguing to me.

Machida uses a lot of feints and sweeps to throw his opponents off guard and his technique is executed flawlessly in all of his fights. He is 14-0 with wins over the likes of Rich Franklin, B.J Penn, Stephen Bonnar, Sokoudjou, Tito Ortiz, Thiago Silva, and more.

In my opinion, he is the second best striker in MMA and will defeat Rashad Evans for the Light Heavyweight title next month at UFC 98!

No. 1: Anderson “The Spider” Silva

If anyone is crazy enough to say that Anderson Silva isn’t the best striker in MMA, please smack yourself in the face ten times because you clearly have no idea what you’re talking about!

Anderson Silva is, pound-for-pound, one of the best fighters in this sport and he is, pound-for-pound, the greatest striker to ever step into a cage—that’s a fact. Every technical aspect of striking has been mastered by Silva, and he has the ability to make world class fighters (like Rich Franklin) look like complete amateurs.

He’s a southpaw fighter with very long limbs and ever since coming to the UFC he has dominated top competition and made it look easy. His striking is very precise and accurate and he has used it to destroy opponents like Chris Leben, Rich Franklin (twice), Nate Marquardt, Travis Lutter, Dan Henderson, and James Irvin among others.

There is nobody out there—and I mean nobody—that can out-strike Anderson Silva. You might be able to beat him on the ground but even there he’s got a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu under the Nogueira brothers.

The fact of the matter is you cannot find a better striker in MMA than Anderson “The Spider” Silva!

(Honorable mentions: Semmy Schilt, Wanderlei Silva, Chuck Liddell, Mauricio Rua, Quinton Jackson, and Marcus Davis.)