Top BJJ Fighters in MMA today

This is the updated version of the top BJJ fighters in MMA today. The previous list was based on the BJJ achievements of the fighters which may or may not have translated well into Mixed Martial Arts, however, the list was rather out of date and I chose to re-think the selection process. For this article, I chose the fighters that use the best quality Jiu Jitsu in their Mixed Martial Arts bouts and against high quality opposition. This is a tricky subject as is the Top BJJ Competitors of All Time list, so I expect some disagreement, but for now these are the guys that BJJ Heroes sees displaying the “arte suave” best. I also chose to leave a few guys that have competed in MMA, such as Xande Ribeiro or Marcelo Garcia, but that haven’t really embraced the career and have kind of left MMA in the back burner.

Best Jiu Jitsu Fighters in MMA

1. Ronaldo Jacare Souza (Middleweight)
The powerful middleweight from Vila Velha in Brazil has had a fantastic career since his debut loss against Jorge Patino, collecting submission wins on his way to the top of Strikeforce Middleweight Division. An Henrique Machado black belt, Jacaré is at the top of this pile not only because he has one of the best BJJ records on paper, but also because his jiu jitsu prowess is unrivalled in the middleweight division.

Notable Career Wins:

• Jason Miller (decision)
• Matt Lindland (submission)
• Robbie Lawler (submission)

2. Roger Gracie (Light Heavyweight)
Understandably, BJJ fans had a lot of hope for Roger as he stepped in to MMA. The Gracie is the most decorated Jiu Jitsu fighter in the world, and though he is yet to meet the top fighters in his weight division, he has managed to submit several seasoned fighters as he tested MMA waters. His career is still in shaky ground after his loss to “King Mo” Lawall, but there is still hope he will make a run in MMA.

Notable Career Wins:

• Trevor Prangley (submission)
• Kevin Randleman (submission)
• Yuki Kondo (submission)

 

3. Fabricio Werdum (Heavyweight)
The former world BJJ Champion has had his ups and downs in the heavyweight division, fighting against several high profile fighters in different shows such as the now extinct Pride FC, UFC and more recently Strikeforce. Having struggled with the striking and wrestling aspect of the game for years, he managed to sustain an MMA career using almost solely his high level ground game, and the fact that he has submitted true legends of MMA grant him the 3rd place.

Notable Career Wins:

• Alistair Overeem (submission)
• Fedor Emelianenko (submission)
• Ebenezer Fontes Braga (TKO)
• Antonio Silva (decision)

4. Gilbert Burns (Lightweight)

The 2011 World Jiu Jitsu champion has fully committed to Mixed Martial Arts and joined the Vitor Belfort camp leaving his Atos team mates behind. He has stacked a few victories already in a very short amount of time and if he follows through with this enthusiasm he should be making it to a bigger platform very shortly.

5. Rousimar Palhares (Middleweight)
Try rolling with “Toquinho” and I can almost guarantee you will leave the mat limping. The Jiu Jitsu black belt from Brazilian Top Team seems to have somewhat of a foot fetish as most of his wins come by ankle lock, a submission that fighters (should) know is coming, but Palhares still manages to finish.

Notable Career Wins:

• Daniel Acacio (submission)
• Ivan Salaverry (submission)
• Jeremy Horn (decision)
• Tomasz Drwal (submission)
• Dan Miller (decision)

6. Vinny Magalhaes (Light heavyweight)
After a very short spell at the UFC, Vinny Magalhães has returned to the cage stronger and more committed, keeping extremely busy in the year of 2011 at the M1 Global organization. His creative style is very enjoyable, and as he evolves in MMA, hopefully we will see more and more of Mr Magalhães in the top events in the world.

Notable Career Wins:

• Chris Davis (submission)

7. Leonardo Santos (lightweight)
Still dipping his toes in the MMA world is the 4 time BJJ World Cup champion from Nova Uniao. After a very rough patch with the BAMMA organization with several complications and complete lack of respect for the fighter that is Leonardo Santos took place, Leo was left without a MMA event worthy of his name. Still BJJ fans hope to see this great champion and awsome BJJ stylist on display very shortly.

Notable Career Wins:

• Rafael “Manteiga” (decision)

8. Shinya Aoki (Lightweight)

Love him or hate him, the “Tobikan Judan” (which means 10th dan/degree in flying submissions) is one of the most gifted submission fighters in the world. The lack of respect for his opponents may have cost him his job as an assistant instructor beside his beloved coach Yuki Nakai, but he still manages to entertain BJJ fans throughout the world with his use of the guard and his offensive grappling game, a style that has granted him an over 60% submission rate.

Notable Career Wins:

• Tatsuya Kawajiri (submission)
• Marcus Aurelio (decision)
• “Shaolin” Ribeiro (decision)
• Eddie Alvarez (submission)
• Joachim Hansen (submission)
• George Sotiropoulos (DQ)

9. Bibiano Fernandes (Featherweight)
The real life “Flash” is not Barry Allen, but the man from Manaus, Bibiano Fernandes. The 5 time BJJ world champion earned his nickname as he tore Jiu Jitsu’s featherweight division apart. Now in MMA, he has managed to reach the top of mixed martial arts in the same division fighting mainly in Japan.

Notable Career Wins:

• Antonio Banuelos (TKO)
• Takafumi Otsuka (submission)
• Joachim Hansen (decision)
• Masakazu Imanari (decision)
• Joe Warren (submission)

10. Demian Maia (Middleweight)
Just like the fighters above him, Demian Maia is one of the most decorated BJJ fighters in mixed martial arts. The man that was at one point one of the main figures of the “revolution” at the Alliance team, Demian is also a former ADCC champion, a title only worthy of the best submission grapplers in the world. His superior Jiu Jitsu helped him make a serious run to the UFC title, losing by decision to the best middleweight fighter in the world (Anderson Silva) at UFC 112. Maia has one of the best “killer instincts” in the division having achieved several “Submission of the Night” awards by Ultimate Fighting Championship organization.

Notable Career Wins:

• Chael Sonnen (submission)
• Ed Herman (submission)
• Gustavo “Ximu” (decision)

11. Renan “Barão” (Bantamweight)
The student of Jair Lourenço from Kimura-Nova União in Natal, Brazil, has gone from strength to strength in the Bantamweight division. Coming from such a strong jiu jitsu team (one of the most dominant in the North-East region of Brazil) it doesn’t come as a surprise that his Jiu Jitsu is top notch. Now in the UFC “Barão” is able to showcase his skills to the fullest.

Notable Career Wins:

• Paulo Dantas (decision)
• Cole Escovedo (decision)
• Brad Picket (submission)
• Chris Cariaso (submission)

12. Masakazu Imanari (Bantaweight)
A healthy word of advice to fighters when entering a cage to face Imanari would be: hide your ankles. This Jiu Jitsu black belt under Marco Barbosa has fought in 3 different weight classes, a weight shift that may show the fighter’s heart but that hindered his fight record. Still, though many times finding himself as the smaller fighter in the ring, he managed to sink submission wins over many big names in MMA always making better use of his flexible and deadly guard. Imanari is a historical figure in mixed martial arts, a very seasoned veteran and his career is a submission highlight reel.

Notable Career Wins:

• Jorge Gurgel (submission)
• Mike Brown (submission)
• Yoshiro Maeda (submission)
• Jean Silva (submission)

13. Nate Diaz (Lightweight) & Nick Diaz (Welterweight)
Love them or hate them, the Diaz brothers are amongst the most gifted fighters in the MMA scene today, incredible boxing and top notch BJJ, Nate and his brother Nick should be part of any list of fantastic grapplers in MMA. It is hard to separate the two on this list as they have very similar styles so we have left them in a 13th place simultaneous.

Notable Career Wins:

• Nick: BJ Penn (decision)
• Nick: Hayato Sakurai (submission)
• Nick: Gleison Tibau (TKO)
• Nate: Donald Cerrone (decision)
• Nate: Takanori Gomi (submission)
• Nate: Melvin Guillard (submission)

14. Jim Miller (Lightweight)
An powerful grappler that studied BJJ with the best of the best, Jim Miller has had a tremendous career in the UFC, utilizing his superior Jiu Jitsu and Wrestling with these weapons as his strong point he has managed to reach the top of the lightweight division where he is considered one of the top contenders.

• Melvin Guillard (submission)
• Charles Oliveira (submission)
• Gleison Tibau (decision)
• Duane Ludwig (submission)

15. Jake Shields (Welterweight/Middleweight)
A former wrestler that adapted extremely well to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, this Cesar Gracie black belt has managed to sustain an MMA career utilizing first and foremost his grappling skills (much like Fabricio Werdum), harvesting from that the reputation of being a boring fighter (a vision we highly disagree with). Boring or not, his slick ground game has kept him unbeaten for 6 years (2005 until 2011) against some of the cream of the crop in MMA.

Notable Career Wins:

• Dan Henderson (decision)
• Jason Miller (decision)
• Paul Daley (submission)
• Carlos Condit (decision)
• Yushin Okami (decision)
• Milton Vieira (decision)
• Hayato Sakurai (decision)

Honourable Mentions:

Charles Oliveira (featherweight)
Rany Yahya (featherweight)
Miguel Torres (bantamweight)
Jussier Formiga (flyweight)
Rodrigo Nogueira (heavyweight)
Evan Dunham (lightweight)
Kenny Florian (bantamweight/lightweight)
Benson Henderson (lightweight)
Mark Bocec (lightweight)
Rafael dos Anjos (lightweight)