Brock Lesnar and the 15 Most Dominant Top Position Fighters in the UFC

The title says it all folks. These are my picks for the most dominant top position fighters in the UFC.

There are multiple factors I'm taking into consideration.

Perhaps the most important is control. It's vital to maintain control when on top in order to keep the position and shutdown your opponents offense.

Ability to pass the guard is another key factor. After all, you need to pass guard to get a dominant position.

I also took into consideration ground and pound and how aggressive their submission game is from the top.

Honourable Mentions

Mark Coleman: If he was still a more active fighter, Coleman would definitely be on this list. He is the godfather of ground and pound and what point was a devastating force in the UFC. I wanted to try and keep the list to fighters who are still relevant, however, and so Coleman missed the cut.

Forrest Griffin: Due to his tendency to stand and bang, a lot of people forget that Forrest Griffin has a tight ground game. He has seven submission victories and has never been submitted. He has proved in multiple fights that when he gets on top of his opponent he is a force to be reckoned with (examples: Mauricio Rua, Rich Franklin, Rampage Jackson)

Sean Sherk: Another guy who just missed the cut because he's been out of action for a while. In his prime, Sherk had a devastating top game and it earned him an impressive win-loss record. Sherk has fought over forty times, losing just four times in his career and only to elite competition.

Phil Davis: This is a guy who could be very near the top of this list in a couple years. Davis is an undefeated fighter that been steamrolling his weight through the light heavyweight division. If Davis had faced some more high level competition, he would have made the list easily.

Cain Velasquez: Cain should maybe be on the list. I really struggled with whether or not to include him. He's been more of a stand up fighter lately and he doesn't have that many fights. That being said he does have really good wrestling and managed to take Brock Lesnar down and control him for a bit, which is huge.

No. 15: Tito Ortiz

I know that I said I was going to try and stick to relevant fighters for the list, but exceptions can be made.

It's been quite some time since Tito Ortiz could be considered a force in the UFC's light heavyweight division. However, he is arguably the best ever at doing damage from inside a fighter's guard. He beat down a lot of tough guys because he was good posturing up and landing shots from guard.

Notable victories over: Vitor Belfort, Forrest Griffin, Ken Shamrock (3 times), Vladimir Matyushenko

No. 14: Kenny Florian

People forget how dangerous a fighter Kenny Florian is because he tends to choke in high profile fights.

Trust me, this is not a guy you want to go to the ground with. He has devastating elbows. In preparation for his fight with Florian, Din Thomas specifically grew out his Afro to have a little extra padding against them.

Florian also has a daunting seven victories in the UFC by rear-naked choke.

Kenny recently moved to the featherweight division after losing to Gray Maynard. Look for him to be a force in that division.

Notable victories over: Sam Stout, Din Thomas, Roger Huerta, Joe Stevenson, Clay Guida, Takanori Gomi

No. 13: Josh Koscheck

Josh Koscheck could be much higher on this list if it weren't for his tendency to stand and trade. He started his career as a pure wrestler, but recently has fallen in love with striking.

That being said, Koscheck is one of the best wrestlers in the history of MMA. The only man to out-wrestle Koscheck was Georges St. Pierre and there is no shame in that.

In their second fight GSP actually had some degree of difficulty taking Koscheck down and Koscheck managed to score a takedown of his own.

Notable Victories Over: Diego Sanchez, Chris Lytle, Anthony Johnson, Paul Daley

No. 12: George Sotiropoulos

Sotiropoulos has one of the tightest ground games in the lightweight division and, given the depth of the division, that's saying something.

He sometimes has trouble getting the fight to the ground, but if he gets it there his opponent is in big, big trouble.

George's ground game functions much more around Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu than wrestling and so he is often able to pass his opponents' guard and gain a dominant position.

Sotiropoulos' slick ground game earned him seven straight victories inside the Octagon before dropping a unanimous decision to Dennis Siver.

Notable victories over: Joe Lauzon, Kurt Pellegrino, Joe Stevenson

No. 11: Randy Couture

Like Tito Ortiz, Couture's spot on this list is more ceremonial than anything.

It's been some time since we've seen The Natural dominate a significant opponent on the ground.

However, in his prime the natural looked unbeatable from the top position. He managed out-muscle other guys who made their living off ground and pound, namely Tito Ortiz.

Although he's nearing the end of his career, Couture has proven that can still be a handful. In 2008 he lost to Brock Lesnar by TKO in the second round, but in the first round the grappling was actually competitive. Given the age and size difference, that's extremely impressive.

Notable victories over: Vitor Belfort, Pedro Rizzo, Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Tim Sylvia, Gabe Gonzaga

No. 10: BJ Penn

BJ Penn is one of the most talented Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners in the history of MMA.

Unless you're an elite grappler, you do not want to roll with this guy. Even if you're an elite grappler you might want to think twice.

What makes BJ's ground game really scary is the freakish dexterity he has in his legs. We've all heard Joe Rogan say before that they're like an extra set of arms and that's not far from the truth. BJ loves to get his opponent's back and trap one their arms with his leg. It's a tricky thing to do for most people, but Penn makes it look easy.

He has also shown devastating ground and pound at times. He rocked Matt Hughes with a huge punch before submitting him in their first fight. He busted up Joe Stevenson's face very badly in their fight, as well.

Notable victories over: Kenny Florian, Diego Sanchez, Matt Hughes, Joe Stevenson, Sean Sherk

No. 9: Gray Maynard

Gray Maynard is known as "The Bully" for good reason. He has made a career out of putting guys on their backs and keeping them there.

He is easily the most dominant wrestler in the lightweight division. I could go on forever about this guy, but let his notable victories speak for itself.

Notable victories over: Jim Miller, Dennis Siver, Frankie Edgar, Nate Diaz, Kenny Florian

No. 8: Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar is a beast of a man. He's relatively new to MMA, but his star power got him big fights right out of the gate. The fact that he can hang with the toughest fighters in the UFC is remarkable given his lack of experience.

He moves incredibly well for a man of his size and that athleticism usually allows him to get takedowns whenever he wants them. And once he gets on top of his opponent he is an animal.

Notable victories over: Frank Mir, Shane Carwin, Randy Couture

No. 7: Demian Maia

Forget top or bottom position, you just don't want to go to the ground with Demian Maia. He has maybe the best Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in all of MMA. He is as dangerous on the ground as Anderson Silva on his feet.

Demian has never lost a fight when he was able to get it to the ground. He doesn't do much ground and pound, but his ability to pass guard and control his opponents is extraordinary.

What's really impressive is how dominant Maia is given that he is not naturally athletic, he just has flawless technique.

Notable victories over: Chael Sonnen, Dan Miller, Kendall Grove

No. 6: Jake Shields

Jake Shields is a guy who has the potential to be closer to the top of this list once he has some more fights in the UFC. He's only had one fight so far, beating Martin Kampmann with a controversial split decision, but he has many impressive victories outside of the UFC.

Shields is riding a 15 fight win streak and hasn't lost since 2004. The key to each of these victories has been his grappling ability. He is one of the most decorated grapplers in MMA, having competed in over 600 grappling matches in his lifetime.

Notable victories over: Dan Henderson, Jason Miller, Robbie Lawler, Paul Daley, Carlos Condit

No. 5: Chael Sonnen

Chael Sonnen is the definition of unrelenting. He works for the takedown until he gets it (which is almost all the time) and once he gets you down he does not stop working. Many of the punches he throws aren't particularly hard, but he does not let you rest.

His ground game is different than most because when gets an opponent's back, he doesn't try to put the hooks in. He just stays on them and when they roll, he rolls with them and ends up on top. Without putting in hooks it's harder to finish the fight, but he doesn't have to worry about being reversed.

Chael proved his top position dominance at UFC 117 when he came way closer to beating Anderson Silva than anyone else in the UFC.

Notable victories over: Jason Miller, Nate Marquart, Yushin Okami

No. 4: Matt Hughes

Hughes could probably be #2 or maybe even #1 on this list, but I dropped him a bit because of his ever waning significance in the welterweight division.

That being said, Hughes is one of the most dominant figures in the history of MMA and debatably the most dominant welterweight. He boasts an astounding record of 45-8.

He is one of the most dominant wrestlers to grace the octagon and also has very tight Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He isn't ranked in BJJ, but most feel that would be a black belt.  With submission victories over the likes of Ricardo Almeida and Georges St. Pierre, it's difficult to argue otherwise.

Notable victories over: Matt Serra, Georges St. Pierre, BJ Penn, Royce Gracie, Sean Sherk, Carlos Newton, Frank Trigg (twice)

No. 3: Jon Fitch

Jon Fitch probably has the ugliest ground game in the UFC, but is one of the most effective. He sticks on his opponents like glue and doesn't let them rest. What's amazing about his fighting style is that the UFC has put opponents of all different disciplines in front of him and the results have been the same (exception: fight with GSP). He just shuts his opponents down time and time again.

A lot of people criticize Fitch's fighting style, but with only one loss in 15 fights in the UFC you can't argue it's effectiveness.

Notable victories over: Diego Sanchez, Thiago Alves (twice), Paulo Thiago

No. 2: Jon Jones

Jon Jones is a scary guy. He's only 23 years old and already he's the champion in arguably the most talent rich division in the UFC. He has only lost once in his career, by disqualification, and he's yet to have an opponent even challenge him.

Jones has proven that he is capable of taking pretty much anyone to the ground, having dominated several accomplished wrestlers. He has also shown that he has brutal ground and pound and a slick submission game.

Jones is on the fast track to becoming one of the best ever in MMA.

Notable victories over: Mauricio Rua, Ryan Bader, Brandon Vera, Stephan Bonnar

No. 1: Georges St. Pierre

Georges St. Pierre is the most complete fighter in mixed martial arts, but in the passed couple years it's been his ground game that's winning him most of his fights.

His athleticism is otherworldly and he's the best there's ever been at covering distance. Before entering MMA, he had no wrestling experience and has gone on to outclass many high level wrestlers.

He can do it all on the ground. He's yet to encounter a guard he couldn't pass. He's also shown that he can finish fights with ground and pound as well as submissions.

Since his loss to Matt Serra, he has had maybe the toughest fighting schedule (in terms of difficulty, not frequency) of any fighter in the UFC and he has come out on top every time. Not only has he come out on top, he hasn't lost a round.

Notable victories over: Josh Koscheck (twice), Thiago Alves, Jon Fitch, Matt Hughes (twice), Matt Serra, BJ Penn (twice)