10 Best Brazilian Fighters Currently In UFC

Highlights

• Renato Moicano known for striking and grappling, aims for the top with power and resolve.
• Jéssica Andrade, a power puncher, seeks gold and aims for dominance in women’s MMA.
• Paulo Costa, a kickboxing force from South America, eyes top middleweight rankings.

The lates fight card in Brazil was UFC 301 and the card featured the sensational return of Jose Also along with homegrown talent and Brazilians who have finessed their craft across Europe and the Americas. The event didn’t garner the hype of UFC 300, with an attendance of only 14,514 and no live gate announced for that very reason.

Despite that, Brazil remains of the most emblematic countries affiliated with, not just jiu-jitsu, but MMA in general. Royce Gracie won the UFC 1 open weight tournament in 1993 in Colorado. Since then, the “Land of Samba” has sunk its roots deep into Dana White’s company. And will continue to. With that in mind, here are the best Brazilian talents on the roster as of 2024.

10 Renato Moicano Wants Money!

‘Money Moicano’ Is Inconsistent But An Entertainer

Renato Moicano is known for his striking and grappling. He has been around for nearly a decade, beating Jeremy Stephens and Calvin Kattar by decision. He also tapped Cub Swanson, Jai Herbert, and Brad Riddell along the way.

The rear-naked choke is his go-to, but as seen with his win over Drew Dober, he has power in his hands. Whether it’s at lightweight or featherweight, he only loses to elite fighters like Rafael dos Anjos or Brian Ortega. Despite the minor hiccups, the 10th-ranked lightweight has the grit, which he showed when he overcame a knockdown to finish the surging Jalin Turner at UFC 300. He is remarkably versatile and always down for a fight, even on short notice.

9 Jéssica Andrade Has Fists of Fury

Andrade Comes To Box And Break Faces

Jéssica Andrade doesn’t like to beat around the bush in women’s MMA. She comes to crack skulls. Notably, with Amanda Nunes retired and Cris Cyborg out of the UFC, Andrade is easily the best female Brazilian fighter around. Amanda Lemos might rival her, but Andrade beat her and is ranked fourth at strawweight and fifth at flyweight.

Andrade once knocked Rose Namajunas out with a slam to win strawweight gold too, but power punchers like Zhang Weili, Valentina Shevchenko and Yan Xiaonan do give her problems. Still, as she showed with a TKO smashing of Mackenzie Dern, she can get back into title contention quickly. Andrade has KO/TKO wins over Cynthia Calvillo, Katlyn Chookagian, and Karolina Kowalkiewicz to reiterate she can dominate. Fans expect to see her seeking to reclaim gold soon.

8 José Aldo Is On A Comeback

‘The King of Rio’ Has Greatness That Cannot Be Denied

If it’s one Brazilian that never says die, it’s José Aldo. He is one of the best featherweights ever, not to mention he contended at lightweight and bantamweight. Aldo is back for UFC 301 against Jonathan Martinez, leaving fans curious if he will have one last dance or just fight out his contract and box again.

Either way, folks are stoked to see him come out of MMA retirement and he did just that at UFC 301 when he defeated Jonathan Martinez, who was on a six-fight win streak. The UFC Hall of Famer is one of the best leg-kickers around, as well as a dynamite boxer. Just ask victims like Chad Mendes, Frankie Edgar, the ‘Korean Zombie,’ and Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera. If Aldo can rediscover a sliver of his prime, he will be magnetic must-see combat TV.

7 Paulo Costa Has A Diverse Arsenal

‘Borrachinha’ Just Needs Consistency

Paulo Costa is one of the most impressive kickboxing imports from South America. He has TKO wins over Johny Hendricks and Uriah Hall, and decisions over Yoel Romero and Luke Rockhold. Sure, he can be scrappy, but even guys who beat him like Israel Adesanya and Marvin Vettori considered him a major threat.

Costa came into the UFC unbeaten and has just been finished once in his career — by the then-champ in ‘Stylebender’ in 2020. But even after Costa lost to Robert Whittaker via decision at UFC 298, his loyalists can see that once he is fit, he can rekindle that magic of old. He has power in the legs and arms, and remarkable takedown defence that can push him from seventh in the middleweight charts into the top three again.

6 Gilbert Burns Is Still A Force To Be Reckoned With

‘Durinho’ Has The Ability To Fix Things And Contend

Gilbert Burns is ranked sixth at welterweight, but he oscillates so much. He lost a title fight to Kamaru Usman in 2021, but he has potential. Burns is a master striker and grappler, carving out wins over Demian Maia (TKO), and decisions over Tyron Woodley, Jorge Masvidal and Stephen Thompson.

Burns needs to get over the hump, especially after almost beating new blood like Khamzat Chimaev and Jack Della Maddalena. No matter what, even if Burns is a gatekeeper, he is one of the more exciting ones in the promotion.

5 Jailton Almeida Has A Long Road To Go

Almeida Has Time On His Side

Jailton Almeida has won a lot at both light heavyweight and heavyweight. He is ranked seventh in the latter, but he needs to be more impressive on the feet, especially after losing to Curtis Blaydes via TKO at UFC 299. Despite that failure, he is an exquisite grappler.

Almeida has subbed Jairzinho Rozenstruik, TKO’d Shamil Abdurakhimov, and beaten Derrick Lewis by decision. His technical prowess is there; he just needs to refine it more. That said, he is very lethal on the ground once he takes enemies down. More importantly, he is in a division where he can fight late into his ’30s for gold.

4 Deiveson Figueiredo Is Robust And Savage

The ‘God of War’ Wants Bantamweight Blood

Deiveson Figueiredo won the UFC flyweight title on a couple of occasions. He had that epic rivalry with Brandon Moreno, losing twice, drawing once and winning once. Plus, he has choked out the likes of Joseph Benavidez in gruesome fashion. He even beat the current champion, Alexandre Pantoja.

Now, Figueiredo is working his magic at bantamweight, where he is ranked eighth. He took out Rob Font via decision and has his eyes set on Cody Garbrandt at UFC 300. With his speed, power and precision, Figueiredo is primed to make waves there and remind folks that he has that ability, like Aldo, to fight up in weight class and succeed.

3 Charles Oliveira Has Experience And Ferocity

‘Do Bronx’ Wants Lightweight Gold Back

Charles Oliveira may have had a tough go in the early stages of his career at featherweight, but he has come into his own at lightweight. He slept Michael Chandler, submitted Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje, before relinquishing gold to Islam Makhachev.

Then came the dismantling of Beneil Dariush. ‘Do Bronx’ has power in his hands and a slick grappling game that UFC 300 opponent, Arman Tsarukyan managed to overcome by winning a split decision. Despite the loss, Oliveira is as dominant as they come on a good night, which is why Makhachev still has designs for a rematch down the line.

2 Alexandre Pantoja Has Power, Resilience And Ferocity

Pantoja’s Steel Chin Makes Him Near-Unstoppable

Alexandre Pantoja has encountered some holes in the road, but he has rounded out his game well. He has three wins over Moreno, two over Brandon Royval, as well as victories over Manel Kape and Matt Schnell. Cleaning out so many names left the UFC struggling to find an opponent who could compete with him at UFC 301.

Luckily, the Australian, Steve Erceg, was chosen and gave the champion a hard fight but ultimately lost by decision. Pantoja boasts dogged wrestling, and that granite chin. Pantoja has never been finished in his career, coming off like a Brazilian zombie, if you will. His style may not look pretty, but he is wildly effective at smothering, tiring and drubbing the opposition like Khabib Nurmagomedov did at lightweight.

1 Alex Pereira Sends People To The Shadow Realm

‘Poatan’ Is Leading The Modern Brazilian Charge

The UFC has Brazilian icons such as the ‘Nog’ brothers, Wanderlei Silva, Anderson Silva, etc. But none has accomplished what ‘Poatan’ has achieved in such a short space of time. Pereira came over to the UFC in 2021, headlined Madison Square Garden twice, and is doing so for UFC 300 again.

He used his ‘Hands of Stone’ to win middleweight gold and then claim the light heavyweight strap. Pereira had his career fast-tracked, winning as if he is speed-cheating. He has earned it, though, with unbelievable kickboxing skills that saw him topple Adesanya, Sean Strickland, Jiří Procházka and Jan Błachowicz. Pereira is the biggest Brazilian talisman around, and with a new eight-fight contract signed, he made quick work of Jamahal Hill at UFC 300 with a first round knockout.