Sherdog’s Top 10: Ground-and-Pounders

5. Matt Hughes
Hughes at his best was unstoppable. Takedowns, black belt-level jiu-jitsu and ferocious ground-and-pound made him the sport’s premier welterweight for a time, as he won 35 of his first 38 fights and captured UFC gold at 170 pounds. A two-time NCAA All-American wrestler at Eastern Illinois University, Hughes exacted a majority of his damage on the mat.

The farmer turned wrestler turned mixed martial artist relished the chance to scoop up opponents and slam them to the canvas. From there, they were afforded little chance to survive, as Hughes was a methodical, ruthless monster from top position. Whether he was in mount, side control, half guard or full guard, Hughes utilized elbows and punches as well as anyone; and many elite fighters wilted under his pressure. B.J. Penn, Hayato Sakurai, Royce Gracie, Carlos Newton and Frank Trigg were all victimized, some more than once.

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