Several mainstays in the UFC have maintained job security by consistently producing enthralling submissions.
Promotional staples like Joe Lauzon, Charles Oliveira and Jim Miller have each displayed phenomenal offensive grappling skills, submitting fellow Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts and garnering Submission of the Night bonus checks on several occasions.
But in the same vein, some of the UFC’s best offensive grapplers have ultimately found themselves on the other end of the spectrum. Lauzon has been submitted three times in his career, Oliveira tapped to a Miller kneebar, and Miller got guillotined by Nate Diaz.
George Sotiropolous floored Lauzon three times, and Kenny Florian and Jamie Varner each grounded him twice. Miller got taken down seven times by Benson Henderson and four times by both Mark Bocek and Gleison Tibau. And Oliveira surrendered a pair of takedowns to Nik Lentz and had his guard passed twice by Efrain Escudero.
Not to trivialize their ground games, but guys like Lauzon, Oliveira and Miller each have a bit of refining to do if they want to avoid tapping again in the future.
Here’s a look at five fighters who’ve honed their defensive grappling skills to near perfection.