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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This list fails without Mario Sperry, Ricardo Delariva, Jean Jacques Machado etc…..
i feel like Royce needs to be in here
and so does Alfred Thomkins
Hi John,
The list is based on achievements, and although you could make an argument for sperry, the others didn't win any significant tournament, because there wasn't any in their time. There are a ton of guys I would have really liked to place here, but this is a list based on tournent victories (BJJ). I will do another list soon based on a different rule though.
All the best,
Andre
de la riva never had guard passed in comp
The So Called "Holy Trinity" Of BJJ…Jacare Souza, Roger Gracie And Marcelo Garcia…..Jacare's not on the list.
Omar, that name was used to define a generation, not BJJ as a whole. Jacare could of made it if he competed in BJJ for a longer period. Unfortunately (for jiu jitsu) he moved to MMA at his prime and achieved 3 World titles. Any of the guys here on this list has a better acomplishment list then him.
Fair Enough.
Vitor Shaolin was also left off of the list, he was incredibly relevant and went on a tare where he dominated the worlds
What about Gurgel he has a pretty good bjj resume if i remember correctly.
Hi guy's, we all have our favourite fighters and Gurgel and Shaolin are excellent candidates to best fighters of all time. I have my favourites also which are not on this list. But what I did with this list I tried to make a list based on majour tournament wins. Any of the fighters here has a slightly better record then these two. When tied in World Championship wins I loked at Pan Ams, Brazilian Nationals or ADCC wins.
Gurgel and Shaolin are amazing, I personally love Shaolin's style he is one of my top 5 personal favourites, but basing the list on facts I had to leave him out.
Hope this explains your questions.
this list is incomplete and incorrect without "The General" Fabio Gurgel no matter what the admin says!
General, is that you?
Gurgel has 4 World Titles and 3 European titles (one as a senior) and one Brazilian National title as his greatest achievements. ANY of the guys on this list has a bigger trophey list then his (relevance wise). This is NOT a personal favourite list. Prove me why I need to put someone on this list and I will, objectivity is my goal here…
Regards,
André
I think the problem a lot of people are having here is that you said Top 10 BJJ Fighters "of all Time"…not "the last 15 years when big tournaments were happening." If you are going to say "all time" then you HAVE to start throwing in guys like Rickson, Carlson, Rolls, the General, etc.?
HI Ninja,
You make a valid point but it doesn't make a very good title
, but it is a list of the best competitors of all time. Maybe the list should be called the best "competitors" of all time. Be it as it may, when you make a top 10 list, there are important people that will stay out, regardeless, as in any sport. I based my list on competition results, not on "hearsay" or my personal favourites (really, they are not). I can make 10 different top 10 based on 10 different subjects, this is ONE. And based on the criteria, I believe it to be accurate and fair… Of course, I may be a little biased 
André
roberto traven should def be on this list
Ok this is a okay list but you put Marcelo Garcia up and he lost recently to Pablo Popovitch. I train with Popovitch everyday.my question is why isn't he up there?
J, this is called the top 10 BJJ LIST! not J's list… do you know anything about BJJ? how many world titles does Popovitch have at black belt? Plus, Marcelo has won twice against Pablo's 1. Stupid argument
Where is Rickson, Rolles, Carlson, Delariva
I agree in that I think that some of the previous comments, that the list is missing certain fighters that may have in fact been better than those on this list p4p are unfair, based on the fact that this list is purely based on tournament prowess. However I was wondering if you took into account the fact that the heavier fighters have a huge advantage in that they're weight helps them in the 'absolute' division, which allows them to gain two world championship titles in one year far more easily than a lighter fighter. If not then I think that the list should take this into account, especially if it is a lighter fighter winning the absolute division over a heavier fighter, as I think that this is the ultimate achievement in bjj. thanks
How about Daniel Moraes? I dont know how many world titles he has, but from the small amount of time I trained with him at Gracie Jacksonville, I know he seemed to be very very popular at tournaments. Where do you all think he stands, whether on this list or not? Thanks!
Where's Leo Vieira? Without him, this list is incomplete.
Leo is there.. 9th place.
Where is Leo Vieira??? This list is absolutely ludicrous! How did you decide what title and competition is more valid than another? Without Leo this list is not valid.
Hi Rich and Bakshi, this is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu website, so it makes sense that BRAZILIAN JIU JITSU tournaments have more relevance then other competitions in other styles. Leo has 1 Mundial as black belt and 2 Pan Am, not close to anyone in this list. In fact there would be quite a few people in front of Leozinho for this list. He is an amazing fighter, hands down, but he would not be part of this sort of list.
I don't feel like I should explain the list to every single one that contests it, but I opened an exception for you guys.
André
I have to make a case for Rodrigo Comprido Medeiros? Multiple time Absolute winner, Mundial champion, pan am champion.
I think it's quite obvious that the list puts a greater weight on the "number of times one won the mundials", then followed by pan-ams, Brazilian national and ADCC.
The list fails to mention that not all those mundial titles were won in the blackbelt division. Take Robson Moura for example, he's not exactly a '6-time blackbelt world champ' as he won 1997 mundial as a purple belt. Same goes for Terere, you list him as a 6-time mundial champ', but did not disclose that only two of those came in the blackbelt division.
Also, just because one wins more mundials than the others, doesn't necessarily mean that they are the greatest. some great fighters like Shaolin,Feitosa and L. Viera had fewer medals because they had to compete among themselves to get one!
Also your argument states that this is a primarily BJJ list, and not "JJ list", then how did the ADCC weigh on your selection? you may better off call this article 'the Greatest BJJ Gi Fighters' or something like that.
I think we can agree that Roger is hands down the best ever BJJ fighter ever. However the top 10 list such as this one will not do justice for many other great BJJ fighters who are left out. I actually like Graciemag's effort of compiling the list of greatest BJJ competitors by decades and voted by the BJJ authorities a few years back.
Hey People,
You are right, the list is more based on BJJ achievements, though I also rate submission wrestling events to an extent (in case of draw). The argument you state doesn’t make much sense though. It is true that one of Robinho’s titles is as a purple, but he achieved 5 Mundials after that (5!!), he also has 1 World Cup title (arguably the hardest title to get in those days at the lighter weights). He also has a Brazilian National title.
As for Terere, he has 4 world cup titles, 2 world titles and 2 silver world medals (one fighting 4x above his weight class, just because he felt like it).
Any of these two guys has more relevant titles then Shaolin (who is one of my favourite fighters of all time, by the way), who has 3 world titles and one Brasileiro. The fact that Ribeiro, Vieira and Feitosa had to fight amongst themselves makes even less sense… Everybody has to fight hard people to win a title, it’s the Worlds! Terere fought Schembri, Marcelo Garcia, Portugues and many others, same thing with Robinho
And by the way, ADCC is not a BJJ tournament, it is Submission Wrestling. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu does involve the gi, so there is no need to write “Gi” in the title, it is understood…
[...] About 3 years ago someone gave me a DVD of some of his matches and it blew me away. Interestingly, BJJ Heroes totally disagrees with [...]
gracie mag voted leo in the top 10 fighters of all time!!! he needs to be on this list . Rico vieira also won nine world titles and beat robson to win the black belt !!!! and to leave sperry out and ??? strange
Entiendo perfectamente la lista … pero donde esta Leozinho ??
Guys, Guys, Guys, Guys… I have answered these questions so many times… read the previous comments… and Ricardo has 6 world titles (1 at black belt). The other 3 titles were at World Cup (CBJJO). I love him, I trained with him and he is one of the best coaches ever. I would really like to have him on the list, but (for the 1.000.000.000 time) this list is not about what I personally like, it is about competitive achievements, and these are undeniable facts!
Awesome list! I agree with you as far as basing this on significance and # of world titles. While there are many honorable mentions I feel these guys are the top 10 competitive grapplers of all time.
Thanks Dennis!
All Wrong!
Rickson…. the best bjj fighter of all time… even better than Roger (who I love and respect immensely as well)!!!
Who can and would argue that… not even the best BJJ practioners today… just ask Paulo Filho!!!
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulo_Filho
Antonio Braga Neto
Even though he is some what young in the sport, I would definitely rate Rafael Mendes as one of the top 10 in the world.
What about Ronaldo Souza? He has 2 wins over Roger Gracie and a win over Marcelo Garcia and he's one of the best BJJ fighters IMO.
I like this kist and find it to be fairly accurate I think another good criteria judgement would be quality of opposition!
No andre galvao?
Was just wondering where Ricardo Liborio would rank on an all-time list?
Thanks
I think you need to put in this site a page with "the legends of bjj" and finish de discutions…
Rickson? Rolls? this seems like a list of the best BJJ players in the era since IBJJF/CBJJF started holding championships. To make it an all time list it should be more open to include BJJers who didnt have the opportunity to compete in sanctioned organized tourns like there are today. Can anyone really say that Rickson or Rolls dont deserve to be on the list of all time greats.
Hi D
when Rolls was around there weren’t many significant tournaments so it is very hard to assess. This list is based on sporting achievements.
Just want to put it out there that I absolutely enjoy this site. Tons of information on fighters, videos of their matches. Can't ask for more really. A really great source of inspiration!
Although a little disappointed I couldn't find Shinya Aoki in the figher's database.
Hi Joel,
Thanks for the compliments, it’s nice not to read about who should and shouldnt be on this list for a change
.
I am trying to get good information on alot of Japanese fighters. It is hard to do, because I dont speak Japanese, but I hope to have a lot more Japanese fighters in soon and Aoki is one of them.
great list. what about that other guy that won he should be there toooooooo
big names
Guys,
This is meant to be a list of 10 best competitors and everyone has favourites etc. There are lots of people that an argument could be made individuals, but this is a Top 10 not a top 40! To mention fighter x beat fighter y therefore fighter x should be on the list is the equivalent of saying that Blackpool should be on the list of best English football teams because they beat Manchester Utd this year?
I think Andre has based his list on major competition wins, naturally favouring the Mundials. There are a lot exceptional individuals ie. The General, Shaolin, Vieira Bros, Galvao, Comprido,Traven etc. But where would you put all the others on the Top 10 who have arguably achieved more in the biggest competitions?
Just take the list for what it is, a top 10 list and its not meant to be exhaustive!
great list
Great list! Too bad jacare did't make it. How about top 10 most exciting jiu jitsu fighters or best coaches.
"the only man to survive his onslaught was Ricardo Abreu in 2010." Am I missing something? The only guy ever not to have been submitted by the guy you have ranked #1 "without a shadow of a doubt," was left off this list? Ricardo Cyborg Abreu has been tearing through all competition the last couple years. He won a 32man superfight event held by grappler's quest. Beat Rolles Gracie (who i'm a huge fan of) in an amazing superfight held in 2010. As far a competitions, some of his accolades are; 2x World Nogi Champion (2010 – weight and absolute);
8x State Open Class Champion ( Mato Grosso, Brazil);
Brazilian National Champion;
3x Panamerican Champion;
South American Champion (weight and open Class);
European Champion;
7x Grapplers Quest Open Class Champion;
4x Copa America Open Class Champion;
12x World Championships and world cup medallist;
Brazilian Wrestling National Champion (Brazilian National team member).
If there was a Superfight held next week pitting Cyborg vs Roger, I would give a slight nod in Cyborg's favor.
Correction* Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu, not Ricardo Abreu. List of accomplishments are accurate, but I do not believe Cyborg is the one you are referring to when you say “the only man to survive his onslaught was Ricardo Abreu in 2010.” Both men are great BJJ competitors, but it is Cyborg who I believe would beat Roger in a superfight next week.
Hi Chip,
I think Miad answered your question above, and no. Ricardo Abreu is not the same person as Roberto Abreu. I have added a link in Roger's text to make it simpler to distinguish.