Who Are the Best Kickboxers of All Time in MMA?

There are several fighting styles in mixed martial arts, and one of those is kickboxing. Kickboxing has many different forms such as American-style kickboxing, muay thai and karate. 

In this article, we will discuss the advantages and weaknesses of the kickboxing style, as well as listing some of the best kickboxers to ever compete in MMA. 

The first advantage is plainly obvious; kickboxers are extremely accurate when the fight is on the feet. They can use their speed and technique to attack from different levels and angles, which can often bamboozle their opponents. 

A lot of the time in modern day MMA, kickboxers focus on demobilising their opponent by targeting the lead leg. The calf kick, for example, is just as important to a kickboxer as a jab is to a boxer.

Secondly, the thing that makes kickboxers so difficult to face is their superior range management. World class kickboxers have the ability to glide in and out of range within milliseconds, so they can land their strikes whilst avoiding their opponents. You can see this when you watch fighters like Stephen Thompson and Israel Adesanya.

Lastly, kickboxers are often very active, whether that's throwing out feints or actual strikes, or with their lateral movement. This requires excellent stamina in order to maintain that same volume throughout the fight, and most of the time a high-level kickboxer does have the stamina advantage over most other disciplines. 

One huge weakness to kickboxers in MMA is that when they come up against a top wrestler, they are reluctant to actually use their kicks for the fear of them being caught and then being tripped or taken down. Unless you have a legendary takedown defence like Jose Aldo then you can throw caution to the wind because you back your ability to stuff any takedown attempt.

Following on from the previous point, the majority of kickboxers don't really have a good ground game, which is why it is important to have very good takedown defence. In the past, we have seen Israel Adesanya be taken down and he has no idea how to get up from the bottom, so his only hope was to lay and hold his opponent for dear life to drain down the clock. 

Clinch work is another weakness of kickboxing in MMA. Unless you come from a muay thai background, you won't really have an idea how to fight in close quarters in the clinch. Traditional kickboxing style is only effective from kicking range and mid-distance. If you're put into the clinch then your best weapon, your kicks, will be ineffective. 

The Best Kickboxers in MMA History 

There have been many top-level kickboxers to enter MMA, and it is going to be difficult to rank them because of the sheer quantity of the quality, but here goes.

6. Joanna Jedrzejczyk 

Image Credits: Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images

The former UFC women's strawweight champion, Joanna Jedrzejczyk is one of the best female kickboxers of all time, and she single-handedly put the UFC women's strawweight division on the map. Her fights often had a ridiculously high pace to them, and she was the one who mostly came out on top in the striking exchanges. 

5. Stephen Thompson 

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Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson is one of the most supported fighters on the current UFC roster. Not just because he's a legend of the game, but because he is one of the nicest guys you could ever come across. But, when he's in the octagon with you, he's trying to kick your head into the front row. 

After going 57-0 in kickboxing, his karate-based style still works in modern day MMA, even at the age of 41. Thompson is still an elite fighter in the welterweight division, and he has seemingly not yet declined despite his age.

4. Mirko Cro Cop 

Mirko Cro Cop of Croatia celebrates his TKO victory against Tsuyoshi Kosaka of Japan//Getty Images

At one point in time, Mirko Cro Cop was one of the most feared men to walk planet earth, but “walking” was certainly something his opponents couldn't do for a while after facing him. He was known for forcing his opponents to quit after destroying their legs with brutal kicks. And because fighters invested too much in protecting their legs, the window to land head kicks began to increase, and he would produce some terrifying knockouts during his prime.

Cro Cop's signature phrase was “Right leg, hospital. Left leg, cemetery”. We still haven't seen a kickboxer in MMA as violent as him since his PRIDE days. 

3. Anderson Silva 

Anderson Silva kicks Derek Brunson//Getty Images

His resume speaks for itself. Anderson Silva was an elite kickboxer, but you couldn't really pinpoint his style if you watched his prime UFC years because he mixed up his attacks that well. He could box and also grapple, and this made him a difficult puzzle to solve as he held the UFC middleweight title for almost seven years.

2. Israel Adesanya 

Image Credits: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Israel Adesanya had an incredible kickboxing record of 75-5 before stepping into MMA. Within a few years of competing in MMA, Adesanya went from a UFC prospect to the UFC middleweight champion, where he reigned supreme for several years with his excellent counter-striking ability, before losing to Alex Pereira and then winning it back off him. Despite his recent loss to Dricus Du Plessis for the 185-pounds belt, he still remains one of the best strikers to grace the sport.