Georges St-Pierre and the 10 Best Functional Wrestlers in the UFC

It's been said wrestling is the greatest base to have in MMA.

It allows you to dictate where the fight goes. If you want it standing, you can prevent the other man from taking you down. If you want it on the ground, you take your opponent to the mat.

The men on this list are the best at being able to use their wrestling background in MMA.

10. Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar is one of the most accomplished heavyweight wrestlers to ever compete in the UFC. He won a national championship at the University of Minnesota after placing second the year before.

He's the definition of raw horsepower. He's extremely fast for a guy his size but don't let the quickness fool you, he still has superhuman strength. When Lesnar grabs a hold of you, be prepared to have a mountain on top of you.

9. Cain Velasquez

Cain Velasquez earns his spot by taking down virtually all of his opponents but two. Those two opponents were both stopped in the first round.

Velasquez not only uses the takedown for offense, but defense as well. His ability to wrestle opponents to the ground gave him the victory against Cheick Kongo.

Velasquez was also able to take Brock Lesnar down even though most people would agree that Lesnar's amateur wrestling credentials are better than Velasquez's.

8. Jon Jones

Jon "Bones" Jones may not have as good of wrestling credentials as some of the people on this list, but that hasn't stopped him from taking virtually everyone he's faced to the ground.

Jones currently owns the ninth best takedown accuracy in UFC history.

Unlike some of the people on this list who are good at the double leg or shoot a lightning fast single, Jones can do it all. Whether its a trip, a double or even a German suplex, if Jones wants you on the mat, good chance is you're going there hard and fast.

7. Rashad Evans

Rashad "Sugar" Evans is one of the better examples of how to mix up strikes with takedowns.

His fight against Quinton Jackson is full of highlights where you can see Evans use his punches to set up lightning fast takedowns.

Evans hasn't always been the bigger, stronger man in his fights, but he definitely was the fastest. What Evans lacks in physical gifts, he makes up for with his speed.

6. Chuck Liddell

I know Chuck Liddell isn't still competing in the UFC, but Liddell's wrestling style was revolutionary and paramount to the growth of wrestlers in the sport.

Liddell belongs on this list because he used his "wrestling in reverse" as Mike Goldberg loved to point out.

When Liddell was on top of the 205 lb division, it was more likely that you could win the lottery than take Liddell down, as evidenced by his 81 percent takedown defense statistic.

Liddell showed another aspect of wrestling that fighters could use–the ability to keep the fight standing should they choose to.

5. Randy Couture

The Natural made his takedowns look just that, natural.

If Mark Coleman is to be considered "The Godfather of Ground and Pound," Randy Couture may be heralded as the "Godfather of Greco-Roman Wrestling" for the UFC.

Couture would clinch his adversaries, put them against the fence and then it was only a matter of time before they were falling to the canvas.

Along with being successful in the clinch, Couture was often times taking down men who outweighed him by a considerable amount during his tenure in the heavyweight division.

4. Jon Fitch

Jon Fitch knows about hard work.

After walking on to the Purdue wrestling team, Fitch would later go on to be the captain of the wrestling squad for the Boilermakers.

Fitch used his work ethic to make a name for himself in the welterweight division.

He's currently ranked fourth all time with 52 total takedowns and second in total strikes landed. Given that Fitch doesn't stand with his opponents for long, you can bet that the majority of the 1,973 strikes landed were after putting someone on the mat.

Fitch's ability to take opponents down and keep them there has made him the best welterweight in the world not named GSP.

3. Matt Hughes

Arguably the greatest welterweight champion of all time, Matt Hughes made a career out of destroying people on the ground.

When Hughes grabbed his opponents, you knew the takedown was going to be something special. His ability to pick up his opponent and carry them across the cage was something people had only seen superheroes do.

Mark Coleman may be "The Godfather" but Matt Hughes perfected the art of ground and pound.

Hughes will eventually be surpassed by Georges St-Pierre but don't forget about the farm boy from southern Illinois.

2. Chael Sonnen

He doesn't believe in an open or closed guard because he's a Republican.

But Chael Sonnen does believe in getting his adversary to the mat quickly and holding them there.

Sonnen's smothering attack frustrates opponents into being fatigued. Not only can they not get up, but then there's also Sonnen's right and left hand coming to say hello to your head and ribs.

His triangle defense may be a little shaky, but Sonnen's ability to use his wrestling in MMA is not.

1. Georges St-Pierre

Georges St-Pierre will go down as one of the top fighters ever to compete in MMA. He owes much of this success to his ability to take his opponents down.

GSP has completed the most takedowns in UFC history and also possesses the highest takedown success rate with an astonishing 77.3 percent.

The inevitability of GSP's opponent being taken down is right up there with the sky being blue and the sun rising.

What makes GSP's wrestling performances more impressive is that he has a small background in wrestling before competing in MMA.