You can’t tell the story of mixed martial arts without talking about Brazil.
A country that’s hosted Vale Tudo (a Portuguese term for “anything goes”) fights since the 1920s, it’s no surprise to see that the martial arts mecca of Brazil continues to carry a strong presence throughout MMA.
Whether there’s a fight card going down in Russia or Japan, it’s still not uncommon to see Brazilian competitors being flown in to test the local talent. The Ultimate Fighting Championship, most famously, has had a major Brazilian presence since Royce Gracie won the first tournament at UFC 1.
The UFC, which was in part created by Brazilians like Rorion Gracie back in 1993, initially served as not just an amazing spectacle — but also a successful way of selling the effectiveness of both Brazilian jiu-jitsu and the Gracie brand alike.
The sport would quickly evolve into the 21st century, which saw the UFC, under its new ownership of the Fertitta’s and Zuffa, steadily take over the landscape as they helped bring MMA to the mainstream.
Knowing the importance of Brazil and its history with the organization, the UFC would end up repaying Brazil’s faithful by investing in the Brazilian market with everything from a plethora of live shows to talent cultivation in the form of “The Ultimate Fighter: Brasil” during its world-expansion era.
With the UFC set to host yet another pay-per-view in Brazil, it’s a great excuse to take a stroll down memory lane to pay homage to the great Brazilian fighters of our time.
It’s almost unfairly impossible to list and rank all of Brazil’s finest, so I limited this list to Brazilians who have competed in the UFC. Though this caveat will likely tinker with the rankings given that a lot of these fighters had fantastic accomplishments outside of the octagon, I did my best to recognize each combatant and their contribution to the landscape as a whole.
I purposely left Royce Gracie off the list in order to make room for all the fighters that he opened the proverbial door for, but make no mistake: This list doesn’t likely exist without what he was able to accomplish with his early tournament wins.
As usual, these lists reflect my personal tastes and biases and are not meant to serve as some ultimate authority. That said, I feel very strongly about not only my list – but also my honorable mentions at the end.
So, without further ado …
The UFC’s 25 greatest Brazilian fighters of all time, ranked
