UFC 128 Fight Card: Jim Miller and the 10 Best Lightweight Grapplers
At UFC 128, Jim Miller will be fighting to lock up a lightweight title shot. And I mean that literally (Or close enough anyway).
In a division replete with (and primarily known for) high-energy strikers, Miller is something of an anomaly. He's a grappler's grappler, with 80 percent of his offense coming from takedowns and submissions, according to UFC statistics.
Miller may lead the lightweight pack when it comes to the ground game, but he's far from the only one employing this approach. Here's a list of 10 guys at 155 lbs who can all get the job done when the melee hits the mat.
10. Kamal Shalorus
1 of 10
Record: 7-0-2
Miller's UFC 128 opponent is mainly known as a knockout artist, but the WEC product is an accomplished wrestler. If Miller's goal is to win this fight on the groundโwhich it isโthe Prince of Persia will make him work for it.
9. Charles Oliviera
2 of 10
Record: 14-1-0
In throwing Efrain Escudero to the ground and slapping on a choke for the win, this BJJ brown belt proved he has legitimate ground skills. In his next fight he tapped out to Jim Miller, proving he still has a long road to contender status.
8. Joe Lauzon
3 of 10
Record: 19-6-0
The versatile Lauzon has had a slightly up-and-down UFC career, but the popular fighter has done it against top competition. Four of his six wins have come by submission, and he gave elite contender Kenny Florian a run for his money on the ground. Though no one will confuse him with Georges St. Pierre any time soon, Lauzon's mat game is legit and perhaps even a bit underrated.ย
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7. Jacob Volkmann
4 of 10
Record: 12-2-1
Volkmann is a classic journeyman in the lightweight division, but his grappling is elite-level. All but one of his MMA victories came by decision or submission, and though he is not averse to swinging he is truly in his element on the ground.
6. Kurt Pellegrino
5 of 10
Record: 17-5-0
This Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt has 10 submission victories in his MMA career. After dropping a decision to George Sotiropoulos last July, Pellegrino will try to get back in the win column against Gleison Tibau at UFC 128.
5. Clay Guida
6 of 10
Record: 28-11-0
Guida is well-known and loved by fans for his tendency to resemble a bloody hairball at the end of every encounter, but his reputation as a whirling dervish, while deserved, does tend to mask his rock-solid ground and submission skills. After all,ย 23 ofย The Dude'sย 28ย MMA victories came by way of submission or decision.
4. Sean Sherk
7 of 10
Record: 33-4-1
Not only is he one of the best grapplersย in the lightweight division, he's one of the biggest grinders in the whole UFC. And in this case, grinding is not euphemistic for lay-and-pray.ย ย
For many years and many fights now, Sherk has relied on grinding his opponents into pulp on the mat.ย Andย heย really seems toย relish every minute of it.
3. George Sotiroupolos
8 of 10
Record: 14-3-0
George (as I will now refer to him) may have just dropped one to Dennis Siver, but it wasn't as a result of a deficiency in the grappling department. On the other hand, if this was a list of the division's best takedown practitioners, George would be a long way from contention.
2. Jim Miller
9 of 10
Record: 19-2-0
Jim Miller has a bad attitude in the cage. Miller combines jiu-jitsu expertise with a wrestling base to pull of some very physical submissions. Miller tends to work for the choke, but as his recent kneebar submission win over Charles Oliveira proved, he has some versatility.ย
1. Gray Maynard
10 of 10
Record: 10-0-1
Still undefeated, this grappler remains the division's best grappler until Miller, or someone else, proves otherwise in the cage.ย
Maynard stalemated champion Frankie Edgar, and though Miller could give Gray a run for his money on the ground, Maynard's rugged ground-and-pound gets the edge right now.
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