Grapplers in UFC DFS: takedowns, control time and the wrestler's floor

How grappling scores

A takedown or reversal is worth 5 points. Control time, meaning time in a dominant position on the ground or against the cage, is worth 0.03 points per second. Five minutes of control is 9 points. A single takedown is worth almost three minutes of control on its own.

A fictional decision win with four takedowns and ten minutes of control scores 20 + 18 = 38 from grappling alone, before any strikes and the 30-point decision bonus.

Why wrestlers have a floor

Grappling points come steadily across a fight. A striker who wins a quiet decision may land too little to score well, while a wrestler who controls the same fight piles up points round after round. That makes heavy grapplers a common choice in cash games, where a reliable score matters more than a huge one.

The floor is not certain. A wrestler who cannot get the fight down, or who gets taken down instead, can score very little. Read the matchup, not only the fighter.

Submissions: the grappler's ceiling

A grappler's tournament upside usually comes from an early submission, which pays the same round bonuses as a knockout. A wrestler who takes the fight down and finishes it in round one or two can produce one of the top scores on a card. Check the sheet's submission and round-one columns together.

When a grappler beats a striker

A grappler is usually the better DFS play when:

• The opponent struggles to defend takedowns.
• The fight is three or five rounds and likely to go long.
• The striker's wins come mostly from decisions with modest volume.

A worked example: wrestler vs striker in a decision

Two fictional fighters each win a three-round decision. The striker lands 90 total strikes, 60 of them significant, with no takedowns and no control: 18 + 12 + 30 = 60 points. The wrestler lands 50 total strikes, 25 significant, four takedowns and nine minutes of control: 10 + 5 + 20 + 16.2 + 30 = 81.2 points.

The wrestler lands far fewer strikes and still outscores the striker by about 21 points, because takedowns and control add up quickly. The example is fictional; it shows why the same result, a decision win, can produce very different DFS scores.

Reading a grappling matchup

A grappler's score depends on the opponent as much as on the grappler. Things to look for on a fighter's page and in their recent fights:

• How often the opponent has been taken down, and whether they get back up quickly.
• Whether the grappler holds position or gives it up after the takedown; control time needs both.
• Fight length: a three-round fight caps control time at 15 minutes, a five-round fight at 25.
• Whether the grappler's recent fights show the volume, or only one or two takedowns per fight.

Grapplers in tournaments

In tournaments, a grappler needs either an early submission or a long, dominant fight to reach a winning score. The dominant-decision path works best in five-round fights, where control time can run past 15 minutes. Grapplers are also sometimes less popular than knockout threats, which can make a strong wrestler a useful way to differ from the field.

Common questions