5 UFC fighters with the best fight IQ, 1 with the worst

For a sport with the number of physical requirements like mixed martial arts, many would believe that size and strength are the deciding factors in most contests. This however, is not entirely true, as having the mental edge in a fight can be just as, if not, more important in emerging victorious and having a successful career. Let's take a look at five fighters with some of the best fight IQ, and one with the worst.

Best: Alexander Volkanovski

When Alexander Volkanovski is inevitably inducted into the UFC Hall-of-Fame and celebrated as one of the greatest champions in UFC history, he will ultimately be remembered for his well-rounded fight style and his incredible fight IQ.

Although Volkanovski has lost three of his last four fights, his fight IQ cannot be dismissed after just a few shortcomings in the Octagon. Since his UFC debut in November 2016, he has proven to be one of the greatest minds in the sport.

One of the best ways of highlighting Volkanovski's elite fight IQ is by looking at some of his previous matchups. Though Volkanovski has been at a height and reach disadvantage for much of his UFC career with fights against Max Holloway, Chan-Sung Jung, and Yair Rodriguez, he has always found a way towards the clearest route to victory.

He is able to use his impeccable timing along with a combination of striking and wrestling to neutralize nearly every opponent he has faced. Whether he is facing a great boxer like Holloway, a creative kick boxer like Rodriguez, or a dominant grappler like Islam Makhachev, he has always approached every fight with the correct game plan regardless of final result.

Best: Belal Muhammad

While Belal Muhammad may not be everyone's favorite fighter inside the Octagon, it is undoubtable that he has a world class fight IQ. Now that he is the undisputed UFC welterweight champion, Muhuammad is just now starting to receive the recognition of other fighters and fight fans around the world, but his fight intellect has always been one of his greatest attributes.

Much of Muhammad's current 11 fight unbeaten streak that has ultimately led to a world championship was done in a similar fashion every step along the way. Muhammad may not have the best technical striking or elite physical advantages like other fighters at welterweight, but he sticks to a game plan that allows him to absorb the least amount of damage on the way to what is usually a decision victory.

A style that has worked for several former UFC champions is the pressure wrestling style that forces the opponent to the cage, where the wrestler can control much of the fight and can attempt several takedowns instead of just one or two in the middle of the Octagon. Muhammad's takedown accuracy is only 39 percent, but his stamina and well-structured game plan allows him to coast to decision victories on a consistent basis.

Best: Israel Adesanya

Israel Adesanya is only recently removed from his middleweight championship loss to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 305 but is still easily among the best in terms of fight IQ in all of MMA.

Perhaps the single most important part of being a defensively sound fighter is distance management, which is what Adesanya specializes in. With his extensive background in kick boxing combined with his height and reach, Adesanya is very difficult to hit and has left opponents completely frustrated by the end of several fights.

His ability to control the distance allows him to use feints to set up kicks and freeze his opponents, something he has made a career doing better than just about anyone. Some have suggested that Adesanya's prime fighting days are behind him, but with one of the best IQ's in the sport, he still has plenty to offer if he so chooses.

Best: Cory Sandhagen

Cory Sandhagen may be most known for his amazing striking technique and a number of memorable knockout wins but his depth as a mixed martial artist is much greater than this. Though Sandhagen is the only non-UFC champion on this list, he has consistently been in the top five of arguably the most talent stacked division in the world, the UFC bantamweight division.

Like other fighters on this list, Sandhagen is very well-rounded, but this was largely unknown for the earlier part of his career. When he lost to Aljamain Sterling at UFC 250 via first round submission, many believed he had a glaring deficiency in his game. This may have been true at the time, but since that fight in June 2020, Sandhagen has evolved to another level and become a complete fighter.

His decision victory over Marlon Vera proved his ground game had taken a meaningful step forward to compete with the best grapplers at 135 pounds. He has similarly found ways to compete and win against the best of the best for years now and continues to show his world class fight IQ.

Best: Jon Jones

Jon Jones is 37 years of age, and outside of his highly contested disqualification loss to Matt Hamill in December 2009, he has remained undefeated. In his 29 fight professional career, Jones has managed to stay unbeaten while earning a number of championship victories across multiple weight classes.

To stay undefeated in a sport like mixed martial arts, especially in the UFC, an elite fight IQ is absolutely essential, and no list of the best minds in the sport would be complete without Jones. Some of Jones' career success has been credited to his usual height and reach advantage over his opponents along with his natural fighting ability. However, it is his unparalleled fight IQ that has allowed this sustained excellence for well over a decade.

Jones is obviously skilled in everything from wrestling to kick boxing and everything in between, but he always knows what to do, and when to do it when inside the Octagon. A great example of the many he has throughout his career is in his most recent fight against Ciryl Gane. Having stepped away from the Octagon for over three years and taking a fight against an elite heavyweight striker like Gane, many believed his timing and overall rhythm would force him to suffer his first true loss.

However, Jones took Gane down almost immediately and submitted him in just over two minutes. He knew, just like he has always known, the clearest path to victory and executed flawlessly, proving once again his elite fight IQ.

Worst: Jiri Prochazka

Jiri Prochazka is one of the most exciting fighters on the UFC roster and has already accomplished more than nearly every athlete who has ever stepped foot inside the Octagon. This thrilling, and borderline, reckless fighting style earned him a UFC championship in only his third fight in the promotion.

However, this same style has also cost Prochazka on two occasions and has nearly led to a number of other losses in the UFC alone. While Prochazka has won a total of five performance bonuses in his six fight UFC career, this can largely be attributed to his unique style inside the Octagon.

In previous fights against Volkan Oezdemir, Dominick Reyes, Glover Teixeira, and Aleksandar Rakic, Prochazka faced several instances where he could have potentially lost the fight. However, using his largely hands-down, forward-moving style, he was able to secure finish victories in all of these contests. He was however, unsuccessful, against UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira in each of their fights, fighting a similar style in which an elite striker like Pereira could easily counter.

While Prochazka may not have the fight IQ at the level of the other fighters mentioned on this list, his elite toughness and creativity inside the Octagon has still allowed him to produce an impressive 30-5-1 career record with a UFC championship on his resume, a list accomplishments any professional mixed martial artist would be ecstatic to have.