Today, few are the people who are not familiar with the terms MMA and UFC. In fact, Mixed Martial Arts has become the most popular out of all martial arts. Of course, that happened for a reason.
Although MMA is likely to be the best fighting style globally, many fighters that compete in it—use karate, a Japanese martial art. These fighters are able to involve many traditional fighting techniques. This cooperation between traditional martial arts—positively impacts their ability as fighters.
Today, numerous fighters use different styles of karate to dominate their competition. When looking at the facts, some UFC fighters that use karate—are at the top of the rankings. Heck, some of them are current champions.
Mixed Martial Arts, notwithstanding the fact that karate is prominent, is still the best fighting style you can learn for self-defense. As a result, if your goal is to study self-defense in the most realistic way possible, consider to learn MMA.
The MMA fighters with a karate background are able to dominate their competition, since they’re more likely to pull an ace from their sleeves. Imagine fighting against someone, and you’re unfamiliar with his fighting style; wouldn’t that give your opponent an immediate advantage?
If you want to know how to train karate at home without spending money on dojo classes, follow the link to an article of mine.
Enough introduction. Let’s move over to the fighters.
#11– Takanori Gomi
Takanori Gomi, also known as The Fireball Kid, is a leading UFC fighter. Gomi incorporates numerous martial arts, including MMA, karate, and boxing in his fighting style. As a result, he’s able to dominate his competition, since his style is more complete.
Standing at 1.73 m, Gomi began his career in Pride Fighting Championships. Then, he joined the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC.)
When you see The Fireball Kid fight, you immediately notice something odd. That odd feeling is the karate coming out through his moves. Truly, such a sight is remarkable and highly practical in Mixed Martial Arts.
Notice the amount of sheer force Takanori is able to generate through a single knee. That knee was the first and last blow Ralph Gracie has experienced.
#10– Bas Rutten
Bas Rutten is one of the best karate fighters globally. In fact, when you watch him fight, you immediately notice glimpses of a unique fighting style. When you do, you’ll know it’s karate.
But, Rutten doesn’t only know karate. Rather, he also trains in MMA, kickboxing, and wrestling. Truly, that makes him highly dynamic and unpredictable. That way, he’s able to surprise his opponents with unexpected, effective hits.
The style Bas Rutten trains in—is Kyokushin karate. If you’re unfamiliar with it, it’s considered to be the toughest style in the history of martial arts. If you want to learn all about it, follow the link to an article of mine.
#9– Robert Whittaker
Standing 1.83 m, Robert “The Reaper” Whittaker is a black belt in Goju-Ryu karate. Traditional fighting styles are usually rawer. Hence, they include fighting techniques, specifically designed for self-defense and fighting.
Although Whittaker claims to use Goju-Ryu more often than people see, truly, he’s an MMA fighter. If we had to decide which martial art he primarily uses, it would be Mixed Martial Arts.
However, you can notice some glimpses of Goju-Ryu in his fighting style.
Additionally, Whittaker is a black belt in BJJ, a highly effective grappling martial art. Fighters who combine various martial arts are the ones who are eventually the most competent ones. That’s because they can surprise their opponents and be more unexpected.
#8– Michael Page
Michael Page is one of the leading fighters, currently, in MMA. His main roots originate from kickboxing. However, he’s also a black belt in karate. Finally, he’s a 5th Dan black belt in kickboxing, an incredible rank to be in.
The combination of kickboxing and karate—creates a beautiful style to witness. Page is able to cause massive damage quickly by using quickness and weight-transfer.
Watch the following video to understand how Page uses karate to land quick hits and be unexpected.
#7– Frank Mir
Frank Mir, one of the greatest, most dynamic fighters to step foot in the heavyweight division. He knows and uses various martial arts, including Kempo karate, BJJ, and MMA.
As a result, Mir is able to control his opponents simply by knowing various ways to both guard and attack. For example, watch this fight of Frank Mir VS Brock Lesnar.
Watch how Mir is able to withstand countless fierce punches, a remarkable sight. Moreover, he’s able to use his skills from BJJ to eventually surrender Lesnar.
Lastly, Mir holds black belts both in Kempo karate and in BJJ, which both extremely hard to attain.
#6– Guy Mezger
Guy Mezger, one of the best MMA fighters, holds 6th Dan in Kyokushin karate. He’s able to use his dynamic skills to become unexpected and thus dominate his opponents. Also, he competes in full-contact karate.
If you’re not familiar with full-contact, it’s similar to sparring – but, knockouts are legal. Frequently in karate, knockouts are frowned upon, as they cause more harm than good. However, that’s not the case with full-contact.
Mezger is able to utilize his vast knowledge in Kyokushin karate to dominate his opponents. Watch the following video if you want to see his skills in action.
In this video, he uses kickboxing as his main martial art. However, you can see many techniques which are unrelated to kickboxing in action. For example, watch how Mezger takedowns Fairn with a fabulous throw. Additionally, watch how he’s able to maintain a wonderful upper, dominating position.
#5– Uriah Hall
Uriah Hall, an extremely pleasing to watch fighter, uses karate in some of his fights to surprise his opponents. We see that most often when he uses a spinning hook kick to quickly finish a fight.
I mean, just watch the following video to notice how entertaining to watch his fighting style is.
Hall was never a UFC champion. However, his sheer force and beautiful fighting style makes him a fantastic fighter. Truly, his karate knowledge contributes to his unexpected nature.
#4– Stephen Thompson
Now, we’re starting to dive into the top karate fighters in the history of MMA. From here on, karate is a detrimental part of these elite fighters’ style. So, let’s examine the 4th position, Stephen Thompson.
Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, is a kickboxer and a karate fighter. He trains in American Kenpo, which is a unique karate style that focuses on self-defense and many other values, such as discipline and work ethic.
Wonderboy was never a UFC champion. However, throughout his career, he was able to dominate current or previous champions. As a result, in his skill level, he’s regarded to be at their level—if not better.
When you watch him fight, you immediately notice karate in his style. Right from the beginning, his stance is from karate. His feet are wide, and his hands sit low. Such a stance is characteristic to American Kenpo.
Watch the fierce kicks he’s able to generate with his unique style. I mean, it comes unexpected that his opponents can help but be surprised by them.
#3– Chuck Liddell
In the respectable #3 spot, Chuck Liddell is our next fighter. The moment you watch some of Liddell’s fights, you immediately understand why he got this spot. In fact, I’ll go as far as to say—he’s my favorite Heavyweight MMA fighter.
In his career, he earned the spot as the Heavyweight UFC champion. Now, for a fighter whose style is high;y dynamic, such an achievement is incredible.
Chuck Liddell is an 8th Dan black belt in Kajukenbo, one of the most dynamic martial arts. Kajukenbo has roots from various fighting styles, such as karate, kenpo (a style of karate), and even Judo and Jiu-Jitsu. Most likely, you wouldn’t desire to face a fighter that knows Kajukenbo.
What I truly fancy about Liddell is his ability to explode on his opponents. When you see him fight in action, you’ll understand what I mean. In the video, watch how he’s capable of creating brutal combinations that force his opponents to go to sleep.
That’s what makes Chuck Liddell such a well-remembered fighter. Where else would you witness a heavyweight contender having such effective combinations with speed?
#2– George St-Pierre
Although I ranked George St-Pierre in the second spot, he’s considered to be one of the best fighters that stepped foot in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
GSP is a 3rd Dan black belt in Kyokushin karate. As I’ve previously mentioned, it’s considered to be the toughest karate style worldwide. Of course then, because he has mastered it, he’ll be an exceptionally tough fighter.
Now, I encourage you to watch the following video if you want to see a karate master in action. 3rd Dan black belt in any martial art—is a sign of sheer force and dedication. Because of that, I didn’t hesitate to grant St-Pierre the second spot in the best karate fighters in MMA.
Watch him in action!
#1– Lyoto Machida
In our first position, an incredibly honorable spot to be in, we have Lyoto Machida. Indeed, he attained his spot as the best karate fighter in MMA history.
When you watch the prior UFC heavyweight champion, Lyoto Machida, fight—you immediately understand what makes him such an incredible fighter. In fact, Machida has been on the top of the rankings for quite some time now – while using karate as his primary martial art.
Of course, he does other martial arts, including BJJ and combines it with his notorious karate style. As a result, the outcome is a highly dynamic fighting style. So, if you ever wondered what the best karate fighter in MMA looks like, watch the following video.
In the video, you’ll notice how respectful Machida is to the opponents he knocked off. Eventually, this shows how fantastic of a fighter he really is.
If there’s any proof that karate does, indeed, work in the UFC, it’s Lyoto Machida.
If you want to read more about Lyoto Machida’s distinguished journey, do follow the link to a study about his MMA career.
Do MMA fighters use karate?
Some MMA fighters use karate as their primary fighting style. Most of them utilize traditional karate styles, such as Kyokushin and Shotokan, which is the first style to explode in popularity. Some of these fighters are George St-Pierre, Lyoto Machida, and Guy Mezger.
These elite MMA (UFC) fighters are able to dominate their competitions by surprising them with unexpected throws. You can see this phenomenon most clearly with the hook kick, as many fighters utilize it.
Is karate better than MMA?
MMA is better than karate because it utilizes more fighting techniques and approaches, and thus, it’s more dynamic. As a result, Mixed Martial Arts fighters inevitably become more competent than karate fighters, since their skill set includes more fighting techniques and approaches.
If comparing these two fantastic martial arts for self-defense, the answer remains the same. Karate simply includes less effective fighting techniques than its peer. As a result, MMA is going to be more useful for such scenarios.
It is no surprise that the elite of the elite of fighters come from the UFC.
Does Kyokushin work in MMA?
Kyokushin karate works in MMA because it utilizes numerous highly effective fighting techniques, primarily kicks and punches. One of the leading fighters which uses it is—Guy Mezger. Mezger is able to dominate and surprise his competition by causing massive damage quickly with Kyokushin karate movements.
Final words
To end this article, I want to emphasize how much karate positively impacted the lives of many. In fact, its consequences were so detrimental to its trainees that they can’t look back anymore.
Once you start doing karate, you’ll understand why you must stick with it. Simply, the benefits overrun the sacrifices by plenty. You’ll experience both physical and mental benefits, including better confidence and mental health.
If you want to read the full list of karate benefits, follow the link to another piece of mine.
Indeed, karate is one of the best martial arts worldwide. Therefore, many MMA fighters, who can involve whichever fighting style they want in their routine—choose karate. Moreover, they’re able to dominate their competition with it.