Most Combined Control Time in a UFC Fight

Most control time by both fighters combined in a single fight. UFC bouts with round-by-round data, 1994–present.

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50 record performances
1
Randy Couture
Randy Couture vs Tito Ortiz
26 Sep 2003
23:23
2
Sean Sherk
Sean Sherk vs Hermes Franca
7 Jul 2007
22:59
3
Tito Ortiz
Tito Ortiz vs Vladimir Matyushenko
28 Sep 2001
22:42
4
Dricus Du Plessis
Dricus Du Plessis vs Khamzat Chimaev
16 Aug 2025
22:33
5
Max Holloway
Max Holloway vs Charles Oliveira
7 Mar 2026
22:25
6
Jailton Almeida
Jailton Almeida vs Derrick Lewis
4 Nov 2023
22:07
7
Georges St-Pierre
Georges St-Pierre vs Dan Hardy
27 Mar 2010
21:07
8
Cory Sandhagen
Cory Sandhagen vs Rob Font
5 Aug 2023
20:46
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9
Matt Hughes
Matt Hughes vs Sean Sherk
25 Apr 2003
20:45
10
Curtis Blaydes
Curtis Blaydes vs Alexander Volkov
20 Jun 2020
20:38
11
Raquel Pennington
Raquel Pennington vs Mayra Bueno Silva
20 Jan 2024
20:26
12
Anderson Silva
Anderson Silva vs Chael Sonnen
7 Aug 2010
20:23
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12
Mackenzie Dern
Mackenzie Dern vs Angela Hill
20 May 2023
20:23
14
Sean Sherk
Sean Sherk vs Kenny Florian
14 Oct 2006
20:21
15
Demetrious Johnson
Demetrious Johnson vs Tim Elliott
3 Dec 2016
20:14

The most control time ever logged in a single UFC fight — total minutes spent dominating from top position or the clinch.

The Most Control Time in a Single UFC Fight

Control time is the quiet stat of total domination — the accumulated minutes a fighter spends pinning, mounting, and smothering an opponent. This record book ranks the most suffocating single-fight control performances in UFC history, in minutes and seconds, by one fighter and by both combined.

Topping out above twenty-two minutes of control in a single fight means an opponent barely had a moment of freedom across five rounds. Use the Single Fighter and Combined tabs and filter by division to explore the most complete grappling shutouts on record.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the record for the most combined control time in a UFC fight?
Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz, with 23:23 of control time between them. Set at UFC 44: Undisputed, September 2003. Second: Sean Sherk vs Hermes Franca (22:59). Measured over UFC bouts with round-by-round statistics recorded on MMA.SOCIAL. A bout with no per-round data cannot appear here.
What does control time actually measure?
Control time counts every second a fighter spends controlling an opponent on the ground or against the cage in the clinch — mount, back, half guard, side control, or a pinning clinch. It is the clearest single number for positional grappling dominance.
What is the difference between the single and combined control records?
The single view ranks one fighter's control across a whole bout; the combined view adds both fighters together for the same bout. Combined control is best read as how much of the fight was spent with somebody in control, so it surfaces the bouts fought almost entirely on the mat or against the fence.
Why is control time shown in minutes and seconds?
Because it is a duration, not a count. A figure like 22:18 means twenty-two minutes and eighteen seconds of accumulated control across the fight. In a five-round bout with 25 minutes of total action, that represents near-complete positional domination.
Does high control time always mean a boring fight?
Not necessarily. Elite control often comes with ground-and-pound damage, submission attempts, and constant advancement. The most memorable control performances pair suffocating position with real offense, which is why many appear alongside high strike and submission-attempt counts.
Most Control Time in a UFC Fight - top 10 (MMA.SOCIAL): 1. Sean Sherk vs Hermes Franca (22:18), 2. Khamzat Chimaev vs Dricus Du Plessis (21:40), 3. Tito Ortiz vs Vladimir Matyushenko (21:32), 4. Randy Couture vs Tito Ortiz (21:14), 5. Jailton Almeida vs Derrick Lewis (21:10), 6. Charles Oliveira vs Max Holloway (20:49), 7. Georges St-Pierre vs Dan Hardy (20:31), 8. Marvin Vettori vs Kevin Holland (20:01), 9. Chael Sonnen vs Anderson Silva (19:53), 10. Curtis Blaydes vs Alexander Volkov (19:52)
Most Control Time in a UFC Fight - top 10, updated Oct 23, 2026.
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Most Control Time in a UFC Fight: top 10

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What is the record for the most combined control time in a UFC fight?

Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz, with 23:23 of control time between them.

Set at UFC 44: Undisputed, September 2003. Second: Sean Sherk vs Hermes Franca (22:59).

Measured over UFC bouts with round-by-round statistics recorded on MMA.SOCIAL. A bout with no per-round data cannot appear here.