10 Best Brazilian Fighters In UFC History

Highlights

• Brazilian fighters, especially BJJ stars, have dominated UFC history with their ground-game prowess and knockout power.
• Fabricio Werdum, Renan Barao, and Vitor Belfort are among the Brazilian legends who have left their mark in UFC history.
• Brazilian fighters like Jose Aldo, Wanderlei Silva, and Anderson Silva have solidified their place as all-time greats in MMA.

While there have been a number of effective MMA that have been used throughout UFC history, it’s hard to argue that Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) hasn’t been one of the greatest. BJJ isn’t the only incredible thing to come out of Brazil, however. Throughout the history of the UFC, some of the greatest fighters of all time have been Brazilian, and hardcore MMA fans are more than likely to be a fan of more than one Brazilian fighter.

While BJJ stars are usually the types that excel in ground-game more than any other style of fighting, that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been a ton of Brazilian knockout artists as well. It’s not a stretch to say that an argument could be made for Brazilians as some of the most dominant fighters in UFC history.

10 Fabricio Werdum Is A Four-Time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion

He Also Won The UFC Heavyweight Championship

Fabricio Werdum is a monster who has only been stopped by some other top-tier MMA talent. While Werdum has had success with submissions and striking, he got his start by learning Brazilian Jiu-jitsu.

With wins over the likes of Mark Hunt, Cain Velasquez, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Werdum has solidified his place in history as one of the greatest heavyweights to step inside of the octagon. While he does have a few losses, losing in bouts against people like Stipe Miocic and Alistair Overeem isn’t that big of a deal.

9 Renan Barao Went On A Great Run

He Had One Of The Longest unbeaten streaks In MMA

It’s not always common for fighters to have over forty different bouts in their career, but Renan Barao isn’t a common fighter. With thirty-four wins and a UFC Bantamweight Championship run, it’s safe to say that Barao was a formidable fighter in his prime.

Barao has competed against some of the best competition that the UFC has to offer and has earned numerous fight honours including three separate fight of the night honours. While his record isn’t as impressive today as it was in his prime, he still managed to pick up wins over top competition like Urijah Faber.

8 Vitor Belfort Had Serious Knockout Power

Belfort Competed In Three Divisions In The UFC

Just about any hardcore UFC fan can list the numerous accomplishments that the legend Vitor Belfort has under his belt. The man held the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship and he won the UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament Championship.

Belfort has competed in over forty different bouts, picking up wins and taking a few losses against multiple legendary competitors. He holds knock-out wins (technical included) over Dan Henderson, Luke Rockhold, Michael Bisping and plenty of others. His loss column is reserved for the likes of Jon Jones, Chris Weidman, and Anderson Silva.

7 Junior Dos Santos Had Great Boxing For MMA

JDS Had A Trilogy With Cain Velasquez

There are plenty of classic Junior Dos Santos wars against other all-time greats like Alistair Overeem, Cain Velasquez, and Stipe Miocic. At one point, he had a ten-fight win-streak against some of the absolute best that the UFC had to offer. He went on a five-fight skid before finding success in Bare Knuckle MMA against other veterans.

6 Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Made A Name Outside The UFC

Big Nog Was A Pride Heavyweight Champion

Antonio Nogueira is without a doubt a legend of MMA as he’s already been inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. With nearly fifty fights throughout his MMA career, it’s surprising that Nogueira only ever managed to snag interim gold in the UFC.

While he built a lot of his legacy outside of the UFC, that doesn’t mean he didn’t have his fair share of excellent bouts with the company. Despite most of his losses coming from his time with the UFC, he had some entertaining bouts against Tito Ortiz, Rashad Evans, and Sam Alvey.

5 Lyoto Machida Is An Unorthodox Fighter

He Was A Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion

Four knockouts of the night honors, three fight of the night honors, and two performance of the night honors are all accomplishments of Lyoto Machida. It’s also worth mentioning the fact that Machida is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion.

With twenty-six wins in his thirty-seven fight career, Machida is a legend of MMA. While he has lost his last three bouts, Machida holds emphatic victories over Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort, Dan Henderson, Randy Couture and plenty of other legends. He also started his career with a sixteen-fight win streak.

4 Jose Aldo Is An All-Time Great

Aldo Ruled The Featherweight Division For A Long Time

Some have said that Jose Aldo is arguably the greatest featherweight in the history of MMA. With four Fight of the Night honors, two Performance of the Night honors, two UFC Featherweight Championship wins, and an Interim UFC Featherweight Championship win, it’s hard to argue that Aldo isn’t a living legend.

The exciting striker has ended seventeen of his thirty wins via TKO/KO against some of the toughest competition the UFC could throw at him. Before his notorious loss to Conor McGregor, Aldo was on an eighteen-fight win-streak.

3 Wanderlei Silva Is A PRIDE Legend

He Was Inducted Into The UFC Hall Of Fame

Wanderlei Silva is a scary man with an impressive fifty-one bouts throughout his iconic career. Of those fifty-one bouts, Silva won thirty-five with twenty-seven of those wins coming via KO/TKO.

While much of Silva’s legacy would be formed during his time with Pride FC, he still took on the best of the best when he made his way to the UFC. He stacked up five fight of the night honors, two knockout of the night honors, and had absolute wars against top-of-the-line fighters like Michael Bisping, Cung Le, and Rich Franklin.

2 Anderson Silva Is The Greatest Striker In MMA

Silva Ruled The Middleweight Division

It would be surprising to find a UFC fan who doesn’t at least know who Anderson Silva is. Another fighter who’s been on the wrong side of the win-loss column as of late, there’s no denying how dominant Silva was in the prime of his career.

He was one of the most dominant UFC Middleweight Champions of all time, and he still holds numerous records in the UFC to this day. No mention of Silva is complete without mentioning his incredible bout with Forrest Griffin where he both seemed and was completely untouchable.

1 Royce Gracie Is One Of The Most Influential Fighters In MMA History

Gracie Brought Attention To Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

While Royce Gracie has only had twenty bouts in his MMA career, there are few fans from the UFC’s early days who wouldn’t credit him with a lot of the companies’ early success. Gracie was competing during the somewhat lawless phase of the UFC’s life, which led to him holding onto multiple impressive records.

Royce Gracie is a UFC Hall of Fame legend who holds the most wins in a single night of competition in the UFC with four wins. He has the most wins in a tournament and the most tournament wins in the UFC as well. Of course, Gracie also holds the record for the longest UFC match ever.