Top 10 BJJ Fighters of all Time
Ok, so a few tweaks here and there have occurred since the creation of this page and this last one is probably the biggest change of them all. In order to keep the list as unbiased as humanly possible, BJJ Heroes has built a score system, as shown on the board below. The points were awarded for medals in the black belt division of all 4 major competitions in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. The two main competitions (World Championship/Mundial and ADCC) were given more relevance as they are the cream of the crop of BJJ tournaments while the other two (that arguably are just as hard as the aforementioned) are seen as lower in overall significance.
The Scoring:
| Competition | Points Awarded Per Medal | ||
| Gold | Silver | Bronze | |
| Mundial | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| ADCC | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| Pan Am | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Brasileiro | 3 | 2 | 1 |
As someone mentioned in the comments section of this page (below), the article could be called something else rather then the top BJJ Fighters of all time, maybe something along the lines: “Comprehensive list of all the greatest BJJ fighters that have competed since records began” but lets face it, it is not a great title and the current one (as it stands), is as close to an unbiased truth as possible.
Greatest BJJ Competitors of All Time
1st Place – Alexandre Ribeiro (Xande): 71 Points
It may come as a surprise to a few of you out there, but Alexandre Ribeiro is by far the greatest Jiu Jitsu competitor to have entered a mat. Alexandre is known for his cerebral approach to BJJ and competition, a weapon he has used to defeat great names of the sport such as Marcelo Garcia and Roger Gracie. Xande spent a few years concentrating on MMA, a shame for Jiu Jitsu as he could have built himself an even bigger lead over the competition, still, not bad at all!
Medal Tally
| Competitions | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| Mundial | 5 | 2 | 4 | 11 |
| ADCC | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| Pan Am | 4 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| Brasileiro | 2 | 2 | ||
| Totals | 13 | 5 | 9 | 27 |
2nd Place – Saulo Ribeiro: 63 Points
Marking the Ribeiro family one of the strongest in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu history, Saulo Ribeiro is the older brother of “Xande” who carved his name on the BJJ world champions list in the 1990’s and was still running strong in the new millennium. Saulo has fought in several different weight divisions, always testing himself against the best of the best and winning against most. His battles against Roberto Magalhães (Roleta), Nino Schembri, Fabio Gurgel and many others will forever be remembered and so will his competitive spirit and his long lasting career.
Medal Tally
| Competitions | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| Mundial | 5 | 3 | 8 | |
| ADCC | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Pan Am | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Brasileiro | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Total | 11 | 7 | 1 | 19 |
3rd Place – Marcelo Garcia: 60 Points
The Alliance prodigy has been at the top of the most stacked divisions in BJJ for years on end, master of many trades (arm drags, guilhotina, north south chokes, X-Guard, etc), Marcelinho has helped shape the landscape of Jiu Jitsu both in Kimono and without it (Nogi). A true living legend of the sport, he is also one of the most entertaining grapplers in the world.
Medal Tally
| Competitions | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| Mundial | 5 | 1 | 6 | |
| ADCC | 4 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| Pan Am | 1 | 1 | ||
| Brasileiro | 3 | 1 | 4 | |
| Total | 13 | 4 | 1 | 18 |
4th Place – Roger Gracie: 59 Points
There cannot be an article in the world about “the best at BJJ” where this man is not mentioned. Many have argued that Roger is the best ever, though he does not put his grappling prowess on display as many times as some of his fellow Jiu Jitsu competitors, when he does, the world stays in awe of his accomplishments. He was the first man to conquer 3 open weight divisions in the Mundial, and he was the first man to win both his weight and the weight division of an ADCC (2005) tournament winning every fight by submission.
Medal Tally
| Competitions | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| Mundial | 9 | 3 | 12 | |
| ADCC | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Pan Am | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Brasileiro | 0 | |||
| Total | 12 | 4 | 1 | 17 |
5th Place –Marcio Feitosa: 54 Points
Another fierce competitor, Marcio Feitosa was one of the most famous light weights in the history of the sport, reaching sequential podium spots for 7 years in a row at the world championships. Not always the flashier competitor of the tournament, Marcio excelled at strategy and timing which worked perfectly as his record remains as the best amongst the lighter weight competitors.
Medal Tally
| Competitions | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| Mundial | 3 | 4 | 7 | |
| ADCC | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Pan Am | 2 | 2 | ||
| Brasileiro | 3 | 3 | 6 | |
| Total | 9 | 7 | 1 | 17 |
6th Place – André Galvão: 52 Points
Considered a phenom since his teenage years, Andre Galvao lost a couple of years to dedicate himself to an MMA career; otherwise his score could have been higher. This Tererê black belt was always a believer in keeping a very high competitive pace, often fighting in smaller shows just to keep active for the big tournaments… his hard work paid off often.
Medal Tally
| Competitions | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| Mundial | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| ADCC | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Pan Am | 5 | 5 | ||
| Brasileiro | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Total | 11 | 4 | 4 | 19 |
7h Place – Marcio Cruz (Pé de Pano): 49 points
One of the world’s best ever Super Heavyweights, Marcio Cruz was L’enfant terrible of Jiu Jitsu in the beginning of the XXI century. His antics against some of his rivals were sustainable on the mats where he destroyed many of his opponents making better use of his famous guard and fatal triangle choke.~
Medal Tally
| Competitions | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| Mundial | 3 | 2 | 5 | |
| ADCC | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Pan Am | 5 | 1 | 6 | |
| Brasileiro | 3 | 1 | 4 | |
| Total | 12 | 2 | 4 | 18 |
8th Place – Roberto Magalhães (Roleta): 43 Points
The creator of the Inverted Guard (Tornado Guard), Roleta was one of the most exciting grapplers of his time. Through his creativeness, his heated battles (with Wallid Ismail, Saulo Ribeiro or Margarida and many others), as well as his achievements, Magalhaes became one of the starlets in the golden era of Gracie Barra, and will always be associated with the Barra da Tijuca team of the 1990’s.
Medal Tally
| Competitions | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| Mundial | 4 | 3 | 7 | |
| ADCC | 0 | |||
| Pan Am | 4 | 1 | 5 | |
| Brasileiro | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Total | 9 | 5 | 0 | 14 |
9th Place – Leo Vieira (Leozinho) & Rubens Charles (Cobrinha): 40 Points
These two grappling magicians have both placed 9th on this chart, Leo Vieira is a well known fighter who established himself as one of the best Nogi Jiu Jitsu practitioners in the game through successive wins at the ADCC. His acrobatic and slick style made him a fan favourite, and his fights against Mark Kerr, Shaolin Ribeiro, Rany Yahya will forever be remembered as some of the most entertaining grappling matches of all time. As for Rubens Charles Maciel, he was the king of the featherweights for 4 years, winning against everyone in his division and his use of the De-La-Riva guard was one of his weapons of choice, he was still active in 2011 and if he continues to compete he might reach higher ground on this list.
Medal Tally
| Cobrina | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | Leozinho | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| Mundial | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 | Mundial | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| ADCC | 2 | 2 | ADCC | 2 | 2 | 4 | |||
| Pan Am | 4 | 4 | Pan Am | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| Brasileiro | 1 | 1 | Brasileiro | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 8 | 4 | 1 | 13 | Total | 7 | 6 | 2 | 15 |
10th Place – Royler Gracie: 38 Points
Another historic figure for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Royler Gracie has been a pillar of sport BJJ both as a competitor and as a coach and his contribute to Jiu Jitsu is not only displayed here by his own achievements but also by the achievements of his students Alexandre and Saulo Ribeiro at number 1 & 2 of this list. Royler was a fierce competitor from the 1980’s well into the 2000’s era, covering 3 decades of BJJ at the highest level. He was also the first featherweight in history to medal at the open weight division of the Mundial.
Medal Tally
| Competitions | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| Mundial | 4 | 1 | 5 | |
| ADCC | 3 | 3 | ||
| Pan Am | 2 | 2 | ||
| Brasileiro | 1 | 1 | ||
| Total | 10 | 0 | 1 | 11 |
Honorable Mentions
Though this list is based only on competitive achievements, there are certain figures of BJJ that deserve their mention in the top of all time. These are Jiu Jitsu black belts who were part of an era where competition was active but records were poorly kept, and though they cannot be in an official listing of this website, they deserve the admiration of this great BJJ community by the strength of their achievements. And without any specific order, these men are:
Rickson Gracie: Often regarded as the best Jiu Jitsu fighter of all time, Rickson competed for years in hundreds of matches in several different disciplines (No Holds Barred, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Sambo, etc) with the only loss on record coming in a Sambo competition by points.
Rolls Gracie: Rolls is another member of the Gracie family that is always present as one of the top athletes of all time, he was a creator of positions and one of the first people in Jiu Jitsu to believe in cross training, bringing a lot of Judo and Wrestling techniques to help grow BJJ. He was also the family’s top competitor in the 1970’s.
Cassio Cardoso: A student of Carlson Gracie, Cassio only had one loss in his competitive career, a loss to Marcelo Behring (which he avenged afterwards in an epic 90 minute battle). Cassio was regarded as the best student in the Carlson Gracie gym and one of the most complete fighters that ever lived.
João Alberto Barreto: Famous for being Gracie Jiu Jitsu’s top representative in the 1950’s, Joao Alberto spent his entire career without tasting the bitter flavour of defeat. He competed extensively (mainly in Vale Tudo matches) and is known to have never lost a fight.
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OMG, Eddie Bravo isnt on the list?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
But I hear he is revolutionizing BJJ!!
Oh wait… he hasnt one anything, LOL, my bad, you actually have to win stuff as a black belt to make this elite list. Sorry.
“One” anything! Bwhahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. He beat royler, and what he is evolving is the no gi game. Just look at how many people are using rubber guard in not only nogi but mma
@ nate eddie wont agree to a superfight with royler again. people like caio terra call out eddie but hes to scared. he hasnt created any champions he hasnt one anything
also @ Nate: This a list of people who have won medals, not a list of people who have built a career on winning one match and then hastily exiting (by complete domination from Leo Vieira) the tournament the next round. Comments like yours belong on youtube…. Perhaps attached to some submissions 101 video.
Comprido Medeiros should be in the list.. 2x Absolute World Champion and winner of some other big tournaments, he is one of the best in history
What about Jacare????
wtf wheres jacare!!!
I'll agree with most of the talent up there, the one main thing I'd change is having Marcelo Garcia up higher because he is an absolute monster!!
Where is jacare…?? He've ever beat roger up before.
Theere are so many great guys, it hard to say who the top 10. But I have to say, glad to see that my coach is number 2.
http://www.robsonmoura.com
By your own criteria Saulo should be ahead of Roleta. Looks like you gave it to Roleta for having more Pan titles, which is silly considering Saulo has more Mundial Gold, as well as No Gi and ADCC Gold.
What about RICKSON Gracie? I know wasn’t much tourneys in his time but I gaurentee he would smash all of these competitors!!!
What the best grappler in 2010 Joao Assis should definantlt.be on the list
List needs to be more scientific. It seems like a child is just voting for his personal favorite superheroes – the only thing that seems to count are the heroes of the author’s time period. Not an unbiased list in the slightest. This list is dripping with personal opinions and bias.
What about Rolls, Rickson, and Carlson?
Where's Jean-Jacques Machado on this list?!
where is Andre Galvao and Pablo Popovitch ?
I think that the admin is correct in his approach in trying to come up with a fair and unbias list of fighters, however I think that the real dispute about the list is what to do about people who came up in a era where there where few if any tournements to fight in. Guys like rickson, de la riva, rolls would then have a home on this list and the matter would be settled. So, I purpose that a list of the greatest bjj fighters of all time be compose of tournement win but also impact of the bjj community. For instant, de la riva and the guard he created is now standard bjj practise no matter which academy you train in. Now I'm not saying that de la riva should apart of this list, but with the combine thinking of tournement success and impact to the bjj community this list would be more accurate about the greatest bjj fighters of all time.
Perhaps if the admin changed that disclaimer at the top to a huge font and it started flashing, more people would actually bother reading it before commenting.
Good list, as it uses an objective criteria (though I guess I'm a little biased, as Roger is the guy who gave me my purple belt). As others have mentioned, it might be worth changing the title to "Top 10 BJJ Competitors of All Time", but I can understand that 'Fighters' sounds better.
you're (the admin) is saying this list is the "Top 10 Most Accomplished Major Tournament BJJ Practitioner" so why did you title it "Top 10 BJJ Fighters of all Time"? THE TITLE is misinterpreted. 1) Marcelo Gracie 2) Rickson Gracie 3) Roger Gracie. That's the real order…
rofl at Jacare not being on this list.. this list although subjective is clearly faulty.. this is how the admin shitted this out:
add up championships (mind you regardless of ranking), have no regard for era (2011 BJJ is clearly deeper and more competitive than 1990 BJJ) and theres your top 10 hahaha..
thats like disregarding Jim Brown's accomplishments at running back because he retired in his prime; Jacare has beaten Roger and Marcelo and is clearly top five all time
Wow, the voice of reason has spoken! So according to you we should chose Jim Brown for the top 10 of all time… You are right, how did I miss that? I apologise, I will update the list ASAP.
lol i love how you addressed the football aspect of my post but have no response (there is none really) to my critique of your ranking
and if you knew about football, its clear that Jim Brown is top 3 all time at running back.. skill is skill regardless of how many years you play.. your rankings give absolutely zero weight to level of competition faced and the sport's progression in terms of talent field
/thread
Voice, I am not american, football for me is played with the feet (thus the name foot-ball) and the greatest player that ever lived was Pelé. I had no idea who Jim Brown was (and I still dont).
As for Jacaré, it is pretty easy to reply, and I expected even you to understand that according to the rules of the article, titles win you a spot there, facts without favoritism. Jacaré was an outstanding fighter, but he changed to MMA to soon and did not win enough in BJJ to be in the list, I think that is pretty clear. He might have wins against Roger (though Roger also has wins over Jacare) and Marcelinho (who is lighter then him) but when it comes to tournaments, as a black belt, both Marcelo and Roger have more titles then him, and that is that!
Also, saying that BJJ now is more competitive then in the 1990s is absolutely crazy! just because you started looking at BJJ for the last 5 years doesnt mean this is all that happened. Maybe you need to start reading some of the other articles posted on this website and get in touch with the history of the sport… Dont mean to be rude, but people like you seem to think they know it all and that pisses me off.
By the way, this is just an article on the subject, there is alot more articles out there, each with their format. I dont know how you would do one, but if you think you could do it better, go for it!
eheheheheheheh……primooooo, amazed, and by the way great professionalism.
Perfect!
Roger, Saulo, Marcelinho, Xande, Roleta and Pe de pano. All the greatest are on the list.
I believe pretty soon we will be seeing Rodolfo Vieira and Rafael Mendes on this list.
Modern BJJ fighters are favored on this list because the sport is much bigger and more competitve than in the past. Rickson, Rigan, Gurgel are conspicuously missing but thats to be expected. Roger Gracie's achievements in this day and age are nothing short of phenomenal !
I think you meant "taking into account" (the competitive achievements) and not "talking into account."
PORRA!
How did Robson Moura go from #3 last time to not even on there now? More Mundials wins then most these guys!
Hahaha Porra Monstrinho, nao tem como errar, é por pontuacao! Embora eu goste muito do Jiu Jitsu do Robinho (um dos meus favoritos), na lista anterior eu so marquei a pontuacao dos primeiros lugares e nao contei com o Brasileiro, essa lista eu acho mais completa e mais justa. Pois um 2nd lugar tambem é importante!
Excellent list, i like the objectiveness and transparency in the voting criteria. Good job.
How many pooints does Comprido Medeiros had? I think he is one of the bjj players with most titles… 7x World Champion (2 time absolute)
I don't have the file with me, but he had 20 something points. he won 3 world titles at the mundial (bb division)
i cant believe rigan machado's name hasn't even been mentioned. 396 wins in a row. black belt at 17. pretty good resume.
For Roger's points he as well as other participated in super fights in ADCC because he won the absolute in the previous tournament. So it looks as if he only participated in 3 ADCCs when he received the ultimate honor of fighting in the super fight. I do not think you system takes that into account.
This is a good point, however I did not account for superfights, only the major tournaments… The same happened to Ze Mario Sperry who was won 3 ADCC superfights and did not have any points for it (thus staying away from the list).
I just wanted to mention or update your numbers because I believe that Marcio Cruz has more medals than he is being credited with. I believe that you have missed his gold and silver at the Pans in 2002. Not your fault however, because he went by his Brazilian Portuguese name back then Marcio Ribeiro (da Cruz). And, interestingly enough – he gave the gold to his team mate Fabio Leopoldo in the Absolute. Here's the link and the clips.
http://www.ibjjf.org/results/2002panamericano.htm
SUPER-PESADO
1-Alexandre Dantas
Gracia Barra
2-Rodrigo Medeiros
Alliance
3-Roberto Tozi
Godoi JJ Club
3-Roberto Godoi
Godoi JJ Club
PESADISSIMO
1-Marcio Ribeiro
Graacie Barra
2-Alex Paz
Silveira Brothers
3-Garth Taylor
Claudio Franca
3-Carlos Santos
Silveira Brothers
ABSOLUTO
1-Fabio Leopoldo
Gracie Barra
2-Marcio Ribeiro
Gracie Barra
3-Eduardo Telles
Alliance
3-Alexandre Ribeiro
SR JJ
Thanks for your consideration and we hope this didn't cause too many problems!
uh Carlson Gracie duh
Where is the name of the Grand Master Pedro Hemeterio? 9° degree, red belt and unfeat like Joao Alberto Barreto, and the first black belt under Helio and Carlos Gracie.. a brazilian legend!
Oss
^Does a Gold in Absolute division , worth as many points as a category gold ?????
That wouldnt be fair to the lower weights (Galos, Plumas and Pena) as no one ever won the absolute at the higher level from those weights…
Cobrinha has a bronze in the pan ams absolute division. I think it was 2009?
good list, but its probably better to adjust the title (to something like top 10 bjj medalist and maybe adding a coupla more comps to the already 4) cos of all time is a bit misleading given that many if not all of those comps havent been around since the formation bjj and like people have pointed out they think certain grapplers are missing. i think to avoid the confusion its probably better to change the title of this list and come with another "of all time list" where your using another criterion over comp medals.
Maia?
It says Rickson lost his one Sambo match by points. This is incorrect. He lost by "Total Victory", which is the Sambo equivalent of Ippon.
what happened to Robson ??? 7x world champ should be on that list ….