Most Takedown Attempts in a UFC Fight
The most takedown attempts ever recorded in a single UFC fight — pure grappling persistence, whether or not they finished the shot.
50 record performances
1
Merab Dvalishvili vs Petr Yan
49
TD Attempts
2
Merab Dvalishvili vs Cory Sandhagen
37
TD Attempts
3
Cain Velasquez vs Junior Dos Santos
33
TD Attempts
4
Per Eklund vs Sam Stout
30
TD Attempts
5
Merab Dvalishvili vs Umar Nurmagomedov
30
TD Attempts
6
Anthony Hernandez vs Michel Pereira
29
TD Attempts
7
Merab Dvalishvili vs Petr Yan
29
TD Attempts
8
Matt Serra vs Din Thomas
28
TD Attempts
9
Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Abel Trujillo
27
TD Attempts
10
Farman Hasanov vs Eric Nolan
27
TD Attempts
11
Diego Sanchez vs BJ Penn
27
TD Attempts
12
Eduarda Moura vs Denise Gomes
26
TD Attempts
13
Aaron Simpson vs Mario Miranda
26
TD Attempts
14
Muhammad Mokaev vs Charles Johnson
26
TD Attempts
15
Caol Uno vs Jens Pulver
25
TD Attempts
16
Curtis Blaydes vs Alexander Volkov
25
TD Attempts
17
Eryk Anders vs JunYong Park
24
TD Attempts
18
Anthony Ivy vs Bryan Barberena
24
TD Attempts
19
Merab Dvalishvili vs Casey Kenney
24
TD Attempts
20
Dan Argueta vs Cody Haddon
24
TD Attempts
21
Jacob Malkoun vs Abdul Razak Alhassan
24
TD Attempts
22
Myktybek Orolbai vs Chris Curtis
24
TD Attempts
23
Wilson Reis vs Dustin Ortiz
23
TD Attempts
24
Quillan Salkilld vs Yanal Ashmouz
23
TD Attempts
25
Bryan Caraway vs Cody Stamann
23
TD Attempts
26
Merab Dvalishvili vs Frankie Saenz
23
TD Attempts
27
Aljamain Sterling vs Petr Yan
22
TD Attempts
28
Rafael Estevam vs Charles Johnson
22
TD Attempts
29
Merab Dvalishvili vs Ricky Simon
22
TD Attempts
30
Demian Maia vs Rory MacDonald
22
TD Attempts
31
Victor Altamirano vs Vinicius Salvador
22
TD Attempts
32
Rafael Dos Anjos vs Paul Felder
22
TD Attempts
33
Demetrious Johnson vs Kyoji Horiguchi
22
TD Attempts
34
Phillip Miller vs James Zikic
22
TD Attempts
35
Mateusz Gamrot vs Arman Tsarukyan
21
TD Attempts
36
Edmen Shahbazyan vs Darren Stewart
21
TD Attempts
37
Yizha vs JeongYeong Lee
21
TD Attempts
38
Rei Tsuruya vs Joshua Van
21
TD Attempts
39
Nik Lentz vs Diego Nunes
21
TD Attempts
40
Loik Radzhabov vs Esteban Ribovics
21
TD Attempts
41
Demian Maia vs Tyron Woodley
21
TD Attempts
42
Tatsuro Taira vs Joshua Van
21
TD Attempts
43
Ryan Bader vs Ovince Saint Preux
21
TD Attempts
44
Demian Maia vs Belal Muhammad
21
TD Attempts
45
Yui Chul Nam vs Mike de la Torre
21
TD Attempts
46
Darren Elkins vs Eduardo Garagorri
21
TD Attempts
47
Arman Tsarukyan vs Damir Ismagulov
21
TD Attempts
48
Jonathan Brookins vs Erik Koch
20
TD Attempts
49
Justin Edwards vs Clay Harvison
20
TD Attempts
50
Jimy Hettes vs Nam Phan
20
TD Attempts
The Most Takedown Attempts in a Single UFC Fight
Landed takedowns tell you who won the grappling; takedown attempts tell you who never stopped trying. This record book ranks the most persistent single-fight wrestling performances in UFC history by total takedown attempts, whether or not each shot finished.
Merab Dvalishvili's 49 attempts against Petr Yan is the gold standard of relentless pressure, but the full list is a celebration of cardio and grappling will. Switch between Single Fighter and Combined and filter by division to find the busiest wrestling nights ever recorded.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the record for most takedown attempts in a single UFC fight?
Merab Dvalishvili holds the single-fight takedown-attempts record with 49 attempts against Petr Yan at UFC Fight Night in March 2023 — a staggering display of chain-wrestling pressure where the shots simply never stopped coming.
Why track takedown attempts separately from takedowns landed?
Attempts measure a fighter's grappling intent and relentlessness, not just their success. A wrestler who shoots forty times against elite takedown defense shows a completely different kind of dominance than one who lands cleanly on his first few tries, so the two lists tell separate stories.
Do lots of takedown attempts tire a fighter out?
They can, which is what makes the top of this list so impressive. Repeatedly shooting, driving, and re-shooting for fifteen or twenty-five minutes demands elite cardio, and the fighters here maintained that pressure without gassing, often winning decisions on volume and control.
Is a high attempt count a sign of strong takedown defense by the opponent?
Often, yes. A huge number of attempts frequently means the opponent was defending well, forcing the wrestler to keep working. The landed-takedowns record and this attempts record therefore complement each other in judging a grappling battle.