Olympic gold medallist surprisingly names UFC star amongst Jon Jones and Islam Makhachev as the best wrestlers in MMA today

Wrestling continues to be the dominant skillset in MMA, with some of the sport’s elite fighters doing their best work on the floor.

UFC champions like Islam Makhachev and Merab Dvalishvili might have become well-rounded fighters that can do it all but it’s their wrestling foundations that make them such imposing threats.

One man that could hold his own in a wrestling match with anyone on the planet is the former Olympic gold medallist Gable Steveson.

Steveson has recently committed to MMA as he looks to follow in the footsteps of fighters like Henry Cejudo who made a successful transition to the Octagon.

The former WWE and NFL signee recently used his area of expertise to weigh in on who the best wrestlers are in the UFC today, producing some surprising results.

READ MORE: Colby Covington and Henry Cejudo almost come to blows during Poker tournament

Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty ImagesGable Steveson namedrops Paddy Pimblett as one of the best wrestlers in the UFC todayDuring his interview on Mike Perry’s Overdogs podcast, Gable Steveson was tasked with naming the top three wrestlers who are currently active in the UFC.

The 24-year-old wanted to make a clear distinction between judging people strictly based on their credentials and their performances inside the Octagon, which would influence some of his picks.

With Steveson training with Jon Jones in the past, it wasn’t surprising to see ‘Bones’ make the list.

The former Olympian did decide to pass over one of the other most acclaimed wrestlers that America has produced in the past decade.

“I don’t want to be biased or nothing but you go to put Jon [Jones] number one. You have to, and then I would say you gotta put Bo Nickal two, from a wrestling stand… honestly, I’m sorry, Bo Nickal hasn’t really wrestled in a fight. So, I’m sorry, we can’t even put him number two.”

Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLCSteveson went on to add another name to the list whose grappling has been totally dominant in MMA before adding that if we were talking strictly about credentials, Nickal would take the top spot.

“We gotta put Khamzat [Chimaev] two. We gotta put Khamzat two so if we’re going to say overall wrestling, just from USA wrestling, Bo Nickal number one but we got to put Jon number one. We have to put Khamzat two.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLCHe then went on to throw out his most rogue suggestion by naming Paddy Pimblett and though ‘The Baddy’ didn’t make it into the final top three, his inclusion in the shortlist was surprising.

“You got to throw a Paddy [Pimblett] in there. Just from the last fight because [Michael] Chandler was a D1 wrestler and just from the up and down of Paddy, from the takedown, everything.”

Steveson ended up moving Pimblett out of the running after he admitted that he’d forgotten about the current pound-for-pound number one in the UFC.

“Islam [Makhachev], I’m sorry. I forgot about Islam. I would say let’s put Islam three. So we’re doing Jon, we’re doing Khamzat, we’re doing Islam. Top three.”

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Gable Steveson is set to face Jack Della Maddalena’s grappling coach in a super fightOn August 31, two of the best grapplers in the world are set to face off when Gable Steveson takes on the self-proclaimed ‘King of Jiu-Jitsu’, Craig Jones.

Jones achieved great success last year with his inaugural CJI event [Craig Jones Invitational] where he submitted Gabi Garcia.

The former IBJJF and ADCC world champion also coaches Alexander Volkanovski and Jack Della Maddalena, having been in the corner of the new welterweight champion this past weekend at UFC 315.

On the Overdogs podcast, Steveson broke down how he will approach taking on an elite submission specialist.

“Craig is seasoned on sitting on his back and being reliable in that position so we’re used to as wrestlers, especially me, is just pressure, pressure, pressure. But, I know that’s what he’s going to be looking for and so, just avoiding that, hitting the right turns, hitting the right angles and letting that body weight really get on him.”