Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has long been one of the most prominent martial arts in the sport of MMA, as proven by one of the best exponents of BJJ, Royce Gracie.
The legendary Brazilian fighter showed the world how effective it could be in the first-ever event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC 1, by defeating boxer Art Jimmerson.
Gracie’s defeat of the bigger and supposedly stronger boxer via submission was the first introduction of BJJ into the mainstream, proving that sheer power and size weren’t always a sure-fire way of winning any bout. That showed any fighter with the ability to utilize the submissions and techniques of BJJ could be just as effective in the fight game as anyone; a point highlighted when Gracie went on to become the first inductee in the UFC Hall of Fame.
Gracie’s legacy and that of BJJ continued when Georges St Pierre named Gracie as a hero of his, and GSP is now an icon in his own right. Although these two have retired, because of those two many active fighters still see BJJ as a crucial part of their armory in the competition, so we’ve picked out some of the best of the current crop.
Charles Oliveira
Oliveira is one of the best currently active in the UFC, and his record is startling when it comes to winning bouts by submission. He’s a 3rd-degree black belt BJJ master, and it shows as over half of his fights have been ended by submission, with no more prominent as his last as highlighted by ESPN. The victory over Dustin Poirier extended his record as the man with the most wins by submission in the UFC.
Bryce Mitchell
Although Mitchell is relatively a fresh face into the UFC, he’s already shown that he’s certainly got the skills that could see him become a big name. His win against Matt Sayles in late 2019 in only his third fight was notable in that he became only the second fighter in the history of the UFC to win his bout via the twister submission. In his professional career, Mitchell has already racked up almost double figures in wins via submission, so it’ll be interesting to see if he can keep up his percentages to these Oliveira-like levels as his career progresses.
Danilo Marques
Brazilian-born Marques is another fighter who is causing waves in the UFC despite only being involved in the past 18 months. After defeating Khadis Ibragimov in his maiden fight, he was the favorite going into his next bout against Mike Rodriguez, according to the UFC odds from Coral, and his performance certainly justified his position. Marques’ rear-naked choke on his American opponent showed his BJJ credentials were legit, and like Mitchell, Marques looks like he could be one to watch over the next few years.
Nate Diaz
Diaz is has been one of the most respected fighters in the UFC ever since he burst onto the scene over a decade ago. The triangle-choke he deployed on Kurt Pellegrino at UFC Fight Night 13 in 2008 highlighted his burgeoning talent and showmanship. He’s earned the title of winner of the fight of the night on eight occasions and submission of the night five times. Still, there was no more prominent victory for Diaz than the one against Conor McGregor in 2016 when he forced one of the greats of the UFC into submission causing one of the biggest upsets in history.
We hope you liked our look at some of the best exponents of BJJ in the UFC. If you want to keep in touch with the latest news and more in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, bookmark our homepage, which you can find here.
