I don't have a wealth of MMA knowledge, I'm more of a boxing guy, but the best three I've seen are probably Big Nog, Fedor, and Royce Gracie, though Demian Maia will be up there if he can pull off his submissions vs a higher level of opponent. Who would you guys have as your top 3?
demian maia vinny magalhaes shinya aoki jeff monson? royce ain't the best, he just looked the best back in the day because no one knew what the **** bjj was and how to defend against it
I'll tell you what, Dustin Hazelett might be up there one day. He might not have the very best BJJ pedigree but that guy is able to pull off some amazing subs in MMA.
Do you mean the three best submission artists in terms of pure grappling ability, or the three fighters who have used submissions most effectively in mixed martial arts competition?
probably..those 3 are known for their submission even though rickson only fought couple of times in MMA matches.
Definitely Nogueira at the top of the list. Although Rickson submitted everyone he ever fought - he never fought in the mixed martial arts era and was a holdover from the no-holds barred era so it's hard to include him. Sakuraba is a good choice. I would go with Renzo Gracie as well. He has submitted a wide range of opponents from former UFC heavyweight champion Maurice Smith to former UFC lightweight champion Pat Millitech.
Id go with Big Nog, Shinya Aoki and Sakuraba for the time being atleast. All 3 have had a nice versatilty to their submission games, have submitted atleast a dozen opponets and did it vs quality if not great oppostion which to me means everything just like if you talk about great punchers in boxing I wont care that John Mugabi knocked alot of bums I care more about Hearns KTFO of high level fighters. Nogueira vs Herring II, Go to about 3:35 Nog shows something you dont see to often and thats how to submitt guys off the sprawl. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wzIHNj8oZk[/ame] Sakuraba vs Newton, Go to 7:10 just textbook submission skills here. Newton made the classic mistake of leaving his leg inbetween Sakuraba's when he had his back and look what happened. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cp_oycm8eEE[/ame] Aoki vs Hansen I, Go to about 3:20 just watch the beautiful work being done. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTPZbkJmyG0[/ame]
aoki has some insane submissions,even if that's apparently all he can do. Fedor is a monster with his ****.I decided I'd rather get raped by Freddie Kruger than have to fight him in a submission match in my worst nightmare. When you can do a perfect suplex on him,dump him entirely on his head,and he still just calmly rolls out and kimura's you,then **** that.
