diff --git a/fuzz_helpers_test.go b/fuzz_helpers_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0831deb6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/fuzz_helpers_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,149 @@
+package pubsub
+
+import (
+	"encoding/binary"
+
+	pb "github.com/libp2p/go-libp2p-pubsub/pb"
+)
+
+func generateU16(data *[]byte) uint16 {
+	if len(*data) < 2 {
+		return 0
+	}
+
+	out := binary.LittleEndian.Uint16((*data)[:2])
+	*data = (*data)[2:]
+	return out
+}
+
+func generateBool(data *[]byte) bool {
+	if len(*data) < 1 {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	out := (*data)[0]&1 == 1
+	*data = (*data)[1:]
+	return out
+}
+
+func generateMessage(data []byte, limit int) *pb.Message {
+	msgSize := int(generateU16(&data)) % limit
+	return &pb.Message{Data: make([]byte, msgSize)}
+}
+
+func generateSub(data []byte, limit int) *pb.RPC_SubOpts {
+	topicIDSize := int(generateU16(&data)) % limit
+	subscribe := generateBool(&data)
+
+	str := string(make([]byte, topicIDSize))
+	return &pb.RPC_SubOpts{Subscribe: &subscribe, Topicid: &str}
+}
+
+func generateControl(data []byte, limit int) *pb.ControlMessage {
+	numIWANTMsgs := int(generateU16(&data)) % (limit / 2)
+	numIHAVEMsgs := int(generateU16(&data)) % (limit / 2)
+
+	ctl := &pb.ControlMessage{}
+
+	ctl.Iwant = make([]*pb.ControlIWant, 0, numIWANTMsgs)
+	for i := 0; i < numIWANTMsgs; i++ {
+		msgSize := int(generateU16(&data)) % limit
+		msgCount := int(generateU16(&data)) % limit
+		ctl.Iwant = append(ctl.Iwant, &pb.ControlIWant{})
+		ctl.Iwant[i].MessageIDs = make([]string, 0, msgCount)
+		for j := 0; j < msgCount; j++ {
+			ctl.Iwant[i].MessageIDs = append(ctl.Iwant[i].MessageIDs, string(make([]byte, msgSize)))
+		}
+	}
+	if ctl.Size() > limit {
+		return &pb.ControlMessage{}
+	}
+
+	ctl.Ihave = make([]*pb.ControlIHave, 0, numIHAVEMsgs)
+	for i := 0; i < numIHAVEMsgs; i++ {
+		msgSize := int(generateU16(&data)) % limit
+		msgCount := int(generateU16(&data)) % limit
+		topicSize := int(generateU16(&data)) % limit
+		topic := string(make([]byte, topicSize))
+		ctl.Ihave = append(ctl.Ihave, &pb.ControlIHave{TopicID: &topic})
+
+		ctl.Ihave[i].MessageIDs = make([]string, 0, msgCount)
+		for j := 0; j < msgCount; j++ {
+			ctl.Ihave[i].MessageIDs = append(ctl.Ihave[i].MessageIDs, string(make([]byte, msgSize)))
+		}
+	}
+	if ctl.Size() > limit {
+		return &pb.ControlMessage{}
+	}
+
+	numGraft := int(generateU16(&data)) % limit
+	ctl.Graft = make([]*pb.ControlGraft, 0, numGraft)
+	for i := 0; i < numGraft; i++ {
+		topicSize := int(generateU16(&data)) % limit
+		topic := string(make([]byte, topicSize))
+		ctl.Graft = append(ctl.Graft, &pb.ControlGraft{TopicID: &topic})
+	}
+	if ctl.Size() > limit {
+		return &pb.ControlMessage{}
+	}
+
+	numPrune := int(generateU16(&data)) % limit
+	ctl.Prune = make([]*pb.ControlPrune, 0, numPrune)
+	for i := 0; i < numPrune; i++ {
+		topicSize := int(generateU16(&data)) % limit
+		topic := string(make([]byte, topicSize))
+		ctl.Prune = append(ctl.Prune, &pb.ControlPrune{TopicID: &topic})
+	}
+	if ctl.Size() > limit {
+		return &pb.ControlMessage{}
+	}
+
+	return ctl
+}
+
+func generateRPC(data []byte, limit int) *RPC {
+	rpc := &RPC{RPC: pb.RPC{}}
+	sizeTester := RPC{RPC: pb.RPC{}}
+
+	msgCount := int(generateU16(&data)) % (limit / 2)
+	rpc.Publish = make([]*pb.Message, 0, msgCount)
+	for i := 0; i < msgCount; i++ {
+		msg := generateMessage(data, limit)
+
+		sizeTester.Publish = []*pb.Message{msg}
+		size := sizeTester.Size()
+		sizeTester.Publish = nil
+		if size > limit {
+			continue
+		}
+
+		rpc.Publish = append(rpc.Publish, msg)
+	}
+
+	subCount := int(generateU16(&data)) % (limit / 2)
+	rpc.Subscriptions = make([]*pb.RPC_SubOpts, 0, subCount)
+	for i := 0; i < subCount; i++ {
+		sub := generateSub(data, limit)
+
+		sizeTester.Subscriptions = []*pb.RPC_SubOpts{sub}
+		size := sizeTester.Size()
+		sizeTester.Subscriptions = nil
+		if size > limit {
+			continue
+		}
+
+		rpc.Subscriptions = append(rpc.Subscriptions, sub)
+	}
+
+	ctl := generateControl(data, limit)
+
+	sizeTester.Control = ctl
+	size := sizeTester.Size()
+	sizeTester.Control = nil
+	if size <= limit {
+		rpc.Control = ctl
+
+	}
+
+	return rpc
+}
diff --git a/gossipsub.go b/gossipsub.go
index 9b302322..f2880e82 100644
--- a/gossipsub.go
+++ b/gossipsub.go
@@ -1170,14 +1170,14 @@ func (gs *GossipSubRouter) sendRPC(p peer.ID, out *RPC) {
 		return
 	}
 
-	// If we're too big, fragment into multiple RPCs and send each sequentially
-	outRPCs, err := fragmentRPC(out, gs.p.maxMessageSize)
-	if err != nil {
-		gs.doDropRPC(out, p, fmt.Sprintf("unable to fragment RPC: %s", err))
-		return
-	}
-
+	// Potentially split the RPC into multiple RPCs that are below the max message size
+	outRPCs := appendOrMergeRPC(nil, gs.p.maxMessageSize, *out)
 	for _, rpc := range outRPCs {
+		if rpc.Size() > gs.p.maxMessageSize {
+			// This should only happen if a single message/control is above the maxMessageSize.
+			gs.doDropRPC(out, p, fmt.Sprintf("Dropping oversized RPC. Size: %d, limit: %d. (Over by %d bytes)", rpc.Size(), gs.p.maxMessageSize, rpc.Size()-gs.p.maxMessageSize))
+			continue
+		}
 		gs.doSendRPC(rpc, p, mch)
 	}
 }
@@ -1201,119 +1201,134 @@ func (gs *GossipSubRouter) doSendRPC(rpc *RPC, p peer.ID, mch chan *RPC) {
 	}
 }
 
-func fragmentRPC(rpc *RPC, limit int) ([]*RPC, error) {
-	if rpc.Size() < limit {
-		return []*RPC{rpc}, nil
+// appendOrMergeRPC appends the given RPCs to the slice, merging them if possible.
+// If any elem is too large to fit in a single RPC, it will be split into multiple RPCs.
+// If an RPC is too large and can't be split further (e.g. Message data is
+// bigger than the RPC limit), then it will be returned as an oversized RPC.
+// The caller should filter out oversized RPCs.
+func appendOrMergeRPC(slice []*RPC, limit int, elems ...RPC) []*RPC {
+	if len(elems) == 0 {
+		return slice
 	}
 
-	c := (rpc.Size() / limit) + 1
-	rpcs := make([]*RPC, 1, c)
-	rpcs[0] = &RPC{RPC: pb.RPC{}, from: rpc.from}
+	if len(slice) == 0 && len(elems) == 1 && elems[0].Size() < limit {
+		// Fast path: no merging needed and only one element
+		return append(slice, &elems[0])
+	}
 
-	// outRPC returns the current RPC message if it will fit sizeToAdd more bytes
-	// otherwise, it will create a new RPC message and add it to the list.
-	// if withCtl is true, the returned message will have a non-nil empty Control message.
-	outRPC := func(sizeToAdd int, withCtl bool) *RPC {
-		current := rpcs[len(rpcs)-1]
-		// check if we can fit the new data, plus an extra byte for the protobuf field tag
-		if current.Size()+sizeToAdd+1 < limit {
-			if withCtl && current.Control == nil {
-				current.Control = &pb.ControlMessage{}
+	out := slice
+	if len(out) == 0 {
+		out = append(out, &RPC{RPC: pb.RPC{}})
+		out[0].from = elems[0].from
+	}
+
+	for _, elem := range elems {
+		lastRPC := out[len(out)-1]
+
+		// Merge/Append publish messages
+		// TODO: Never merge messages. The current behavior is the same as the
+		// old behavior. In the future let's not merge messages. Since,
+		// it may increase message latency.
+		for _, msg := range elem.GetPublish() {
+			if lastRPC.Publish = append(lastRPC.Publish, msg); lastRPC.Size() > limit {
+				lastRPC.Publish = lastRPC.Publish[:len(lastRPC.Publish)-1]
+				lastRPC = &RPC{RPC: pb.RPC{}, from: elem.from}
+				lastRPC.Publish = append(lastRPC.Publish, msg)
+				out = append(out, lastRPC)
 			}
-			return current
 		}
-		var ctl *pb.ControlMessage
-		if withCtl {
-			ctl = &pb.ControlMessage{}
-		}
-		next := &RPC{RPC: pb.RPC{Control: ctl}, from: rpc.from}
-		rpcs = append(rpcs, next)
-		return next
-	}
 
-	for _, msg := range rpc.GetPublish() {
-		s := msg.Size()
-		// if an individual message is too large, we can't fragment it and have to fail entirely
-		if s > limit {
-			return nil, fmt.Errorf("message with len=%d exceeds limit %d", s, limit)
+		// Merge/Append Subscriptions
+		for _, sub := range elem.GetSubscriptions() {
+			if lastRPC.Subscriptions = append(lastRPC.Subscriptions, sub); lastRPC.Size() > limit {
+				lastRPC.Subscriptions = lastRPC.Subscriptions[:len(lastRPC.Subscriptions)-1]
+				lastRPC = &RPC{RPC: pb.RPC{}, from: elem.from}
+				lastRPC.Subscriptions = append(lastRPC.Subscriptions, sub)
+				out = append(out, lastRPC)
+			}
 		}
-		out := outRPC(s, false)
-		out.Publish = append(out.Publish, msg)
-	}
 
-	for _, sub := range rpc.GetSubscriptions() {
-		out := outRPC(sub.Size(), false)
-		out.Subscriptions = append(out.Subscriptions, sub)
-	}
+		// Merge/Append Control messages
+		if ctl := elem.GetControl(); ctl != nil {
+			if lastRPC.Control == nil {
+				lastRPC.Control = &pb.ControlMessage{}
+				if lastRPC.Size() > limit {
+					lastRPC.Control = nil
+					lastRPC = &RPC{RPC: pb.RPC{Control: &pb.ControlMessage{}}, from: elem.from}
+					out = append(out, lastRPC)
+				}
+			}
 
-	ctl := rpc.GetControl()
-	if ctl == nil {
-		// if there were no control messages, we're done
-		return rpcs, nil
-	}
-	// if all the control messages fit into one RPC, we just add it to the end and return
-	ctlOut := &RPC{RPC: pb.RPC{Control: ctl}, from: rpc.from}
-	if ctlOut.Size() < limit {
-		rpcs = append(rpcs, ctlOut)
-		return rpcs, nil
-	}
+			for _, graft := range ctl.GetGraft() {
+				if lastRPC.Control.Graft = append(lastRPC.Control.Graft, graft); lastRPC.Size() > limit {
+					lastRPC.Control.Graft = lastRPC.Control.Graft[:len(lastRPC.Control.Graft)-1]
+					lastRPC = &RPC{RPC: pb.RPC{Control: &pb.ControlMessage{}}, from: elem.from}
+					lastRPC.Control.Graft = append(lastRPC.Control.Graft, graft)
+					out = append(out, lastRPC)
+				}
+			}
 
-	// we need to split up the control messages into multiple RPCs
-	for _, graft := range ctl.Graft {
-		out := outRPC(graft.Size(), true)
-		out.Control.Graft = append(out.Control.Graft, graft)
-	}
-	for _, prune := range ctl.Prune {
-		out := outRPC(prune.Size(), true)
-		out.Control.Prune = append(out.Control.Prune, prune)
-	}
+			for _, prune := range ctl.GetPrune() {
+				if lastRPC.Control.Prune = append(lastRPC.Control.Prune, prune); lastRPC.Size() > limit {
+					lastRPC.Control.Prune = lastRPC.Control.Prune[:len(lastRPC.Control.Prune)-1]
+					lastRPC = &RPC{RPC: pb.RPC{Control: &pb.ControlMessage{}}, from: elem.from}
+					lastRPC.Control.Prune = append(lastRPC.Control.Prune, prune)
+					out = append(out, lastRPC)
+				}
+			}
 
-	// An individual IWANT or IHAVE message could be larger than the limit if we have
-	// a lot of message IDs. fragmentMessageIds will split them into buckets that
-	// fit within the limit, with some overhead for the control messages themselves
-	for _, iwant := range ctl.Iwant {
-		const protobufOverhead = 6
-		idBuckets := fragmentMessageIds(iwant.MessageIDs, limit-protobufOverhead)
-		for _, ids := range idBuckets {
-			iwant := &pb.ControlIWant{MessageIDs: ids}
-			out := outRPC(iwant.Size(), true)
-			out.Control.Iwant = append(out.Control.Iwant, iwant)
-		}
-	}
-	for _, ihave := range ctl.Ihave {
-		const protobufOverhead = 6
-		idBuckets := fragmentMessageIds(ihave.MessageIDs, limit-protobufOverhead)
-		for _, ids := range idBuckets {
-			ihave := &pb.ControlIHave{MessageIDs: ids}
-			out := outRPC(ihave.Size(), true)
-			out.Control.Ihave = append(out.Control.Ihave, ihave)
-		}
-	}
-	return rpcs, nil
-}
+			for _, iwant := range ctl.GetIwant() {
+				if len(lastRPC.Control.Iwant) == 0 {
+					// Initialize with a single IWANT.
+					// For IWANTs we don't need more than a single one,
+					// since there are no topic IDs here.
+					newIWant := &pb.ControlIWant{}
+					if lastRPC.Control.Iwant = append(lastRPC.Control.Iwant, newIWant); lastRPC.Size() > limit {
+						lastRPC.Control.Iwant = lastRPC.Control.Iwant[:len(lastRPC.Control.Iwant)-1]
+						lastRPC = &RPC{RPC: pb.RPC{Control: &pb.ControlMessage{
+							Iwant: []*pb.ControlIWant{newIWant},
+						}}, from: elem.from}
+						out = append(out, lastRPC)
+					}
+				}
+				for _, msgID := range iwant.GetMessageIDs() {
+					if lastRPC.Control.Iwant[0].MessageIDs = append(lastRPC.Control.Iwant[0].MessageIDs, msgID); lastRPC.Size() > limit {
+						lastRPC.Control.Iwant[0].MessageIDs = lastRPC.Control.Iwant[0].MessageIDs[:len(lastRPC.Control.Iwant[0].MessageIDs)-1]
+						lastRPC = &RPC{RPC: pb.RPC{Control: &pb.ControlMessage{
+							Iwant: []*pb.ControlIWant{{MessageIDs: []string{msgID}}},
+						}}, from: elem.from}
+						out = append(out, lastRPC)
+					}
+				}
+			}
 
-func fragmentMessageIds(msgIds []string, limit int) [][]string {
-	// account for two bytes of protobuf overhead per array element
-	const protobufOverhead = 2
-
-	out := [][]string{{}}
-	var currentBucket int
-	var bucketLen int
-	for i := 0; i < len(msgIds); i++ {
-		size := len(msgIds[i]) + protobufOverhead
-		if size > limit {
-			// pathological case where a single message ID exceeds the limit.
-			log.Warnf("message ID length %d exceeds limit %d, removing from outgoing gossip", size, limit)
-			continue
-		}
-		bucketLen += size
-		if bucketLen > limit {
-			out = append(out, []string{})
-			currentBucket++
-			bucketLen = size
+			for _, ihave := range ctl.GetIhave() {
+				if len(lastRPC.Control.Ihave) == 0 ||
+					lastRPC.Control.Ihave[len(lastRPC.Control.Ihave)-1].TopicID != ihave.TopicID {
+					// Start a new IHAVE if we are referencing a new topic ID
+					newIhave := &pb.ControlIHave{TopicID: ihave.TopicID}
+					if lastRPC.Control.Ihave = append(lastRPC.Control.Ihave, newIhave); lastRPC.Size() > limit {
+						lastRPC.Control.Ihave = lastRPC.Control.Ihave[:len(lastRPC.Control.Ihave)-1]
+						lastRPC = &RPC{RPC: pb.RPC{Control: &pb.ControlMessage{
+							Ihave: []*pb.ControlIHave{newIhave},
+						}}, from: elem.from}
+						out = append(out, lastRPC)
+					}
+				}
+				for _, msgID := range ihave.GetMessageIDs() {
+					lastIHave := lastRPC.Control.Ihave[len(lastRPC.Control.Ihave)-1]
+					if lastIHave.MessageIDs = append(lastIHave.MessageIDs, msgID); lastRPC.Size() > limit {
+						lastIHave.MessageIDs = lastIHave.MessageIDs[:len(lastIHave.MessageIDs)-1]
+						lastRPC = &RPC{RPC: pb.RPC{Control: &pb.ControlMessage{
+							Ihave: []*pb.ControlIHave{{TopicID: ihave.TopicID, MessageIDs: []string{msgID}}},
+						}}, from: elem.from}
+						out = append(out, lastRPC)
+					}
+				}
+			}
 		}
-		out[currentBucket] = append(out[currentBucket], msgIds[i])
 	}
+
 	return out
 }
 
diff --git a/gossipsub_test.go b/gossipsub_test.go
index 69194663..5ce3a041 100644
--- a/gossipsub_test.go
+++ b/gossipsub_test.go
@@ -2335,7 +2335,24 @@ func (iwe *iwantEverything) handleStream(s network.Stream) {
 	}
 }
 
+func validRPCSizes(slice []*RPC, limit int) bool {
+	for _, rpc := range slice {
+		if rpc.Size() > limit {
+			return false
+		}
+	}
+	return true
+}
+
 func TestFragmentRPCFunction(t *testing.T) {
+	fragmentRPC := func(rpc *RPC, limit int) ([]*RPC, error) {
+		rpcs := appendOrMergeRPC(nil, limit, *rpc)
+		if allValid := validRPCSizes(rpcs, limit); !allValid {
+			return rpcs, fmt.Errorf("RPC size exceeds limit")
+		}
+		return rpcs, nil
+	}
+
 	p := peer.ID("some-peer")
 	topic := "test"
 	rpc := &RPC{from: p}
@@ -2485,7 +2502,24 @@ func TestFragmentRPCFunction(t *testing.T) {
 			{MessageIDs: []string{"hello", string(giantIdBytes)}},
 		},
 	}
-	results, err = fragmentRPC(rpc, limit)
+	results, _ = fragmentRPC(rpc, limit)
+
+	// The old behavior would silently drop the giant ID.
+	// Now we return a the giant ID in a RPC by itself so that it can be
+	// dropped before actually sending the RPC. This lets us log the anamoly.
+	// To keep this test useful, we implement the old behavior here.
+	filtered := make([]*RPC, 0, len(results))
+	for _, r := range results {
+		if r.Size() < limit {
+			filtered = append(filtered, r)
+		}
+	}
+	results = filtered
+	err = nil
+	if !validRPCSizes(results, limit) {
+		err = fmt.Errorf("RPC size exceeds limit")
+	}
+
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
@@ -2500,3 +2534,20 @@ func TestFragmentRPCFunction(t *testing.T) {
 			results[0].Control.Iwant[0].MessageIDs[0])
 	}
 }
+
+func FuzzAppendOrMergeRPC(f *testing.F) {
+	minMaxMsgSize := 100
+	maxMaxMsgSize := 2048
+	f.Fuzz(func(t *testing.T, data []byte) {
+		maxSize := int(generateU16(&data)) % maxMaxMsgSize
+		if maxSize < minMaxMsgSize {
+			maxSize = minMaxMsgSize
+		}
+		rpc := generateRPC(data, maxSize)
+		rpcs := appendOrMergeRPC(nil, maxSize, *rpc)
+
+		if !validRPCSizes(rpcs, maxSize) {
+			t.Fatalf("invalid RPC size")
+		}
+	})
+}