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No nation is perhaps more synonymous with UFC greatness than Brazil. Since the promotion's very inception, Brazilian fighters have etched themselves into the halls of MMA legends. Each era can point to Brazilian mixed martial artists who set themselves apart from their contemporaries. Despite the shared greatness among the nation's countrymen, only one reigns above all others.
José Aldo followed in the footsteps of his predecessor—Anderson Silva—by announcing his retirement from mixed martial arts. Aldo left behind a legacy worthy of being mentioned in a discussion about the greatest Brazilian fighters in UFC and MMA history. While the likes of Wanderlei Silva and Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira certainly deserve recognition in such a discussion, most of their legendary accomplishments took place in other MMA promotions.
Nogueira's legacy was built by dominating PRIDE's heavyweight division. Similarly, Wanderlei Silva's claim to fame was his 20-fight unbeaten streak in PRIDE. However, as this is a list detailing the greatest Brazilian fighters in UFC history, only accomplishments in the promotion are considered. Nogueira's run included a UFC interim heavyweight title and a 5-6 record.
Meanwhile, Wanderlei Silva failed to capture UFC gold and ended his time with the promotion with a 5-9 record. This list details the five greatest Brazilian fighters in the promotion's history.
#5. Lyoto Machida
Lyoto Machida's placing on this list is challenged only by Vitor Belfort. However, Machida's impact on the sport of MMA, as well as his superior UFC record and better performance in title fights, earned him a place above Belfort. While 'The Phenom' owns the record for the third-most finishes in the promotion's history and is a former UFC light heavyweight champion, his inferior win-loss record and the PED scandal engulfing his career undercut his placing.
Not only did Lyoto Machida successfully defend his light heavyweight championship, but he revolutionized counter-striking in MMA as a whole. Before Machida's emergence, karate and all of its subsets were widely dismissed as ineffective in MMA. However, 'The Dragon' revealed how deadly Shotokan karate can be when applied correctly. Machida weaponized his karate blitz by fighting from an absurdly long distance.
If his foes refused to close the distance between them, Machida sniped them with kicks and punches while using his bladed stance to dart in and out of range. His real intention, however, was to frustrate opponents into lunging forward. Due to the long distance he maintained, he forced his foes to telegraph their intentions by taking additional steps to get close enough.
Once they committed to lunging forward, Machida sprung forward at the same time to intercept his opponents and create a collision between their chins and his straight left. This enabled 'The Dragon' to defeat the likes of Chael Sonnen, Maurício 'Shogun' Rua, Rashad Evans, Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz, Dan Henderson, Ryan Bader, Gegard Mousasi, and Vitor Belfort.
#4. Amanda Nunes
Amanda Nunes is arguably the greatest women's fighter of all time. The strength of her legacy is owed to countless reasons. She is the reigning women's featherweight and bantamweight champion, having defended both titles against the best challengers in her divisions. Furthermore, she has the most wins across all of the UFC's female divisions.
Her list of records is almost endless, but perhaps the most impressive statistic of her career is her performance against other champions, be they current or former. Nunes defeated Miesha Tate, Ronda Rousey, Valentina Shevchenko (2x), Cris Cyborg, Holly Holm, Germaine de Randamie (2x), and Julianna Peña. All seven women are either former or current world champions, with Cyborg, Rousey, and Shevchenko being widely regarded among the greatest-ever women's fighters.
Stylistically, Nunes weaponizes her length and seismic knockout power by operating from a distance that causes her foes to overextend. 'The Lioness' makes consistent use of her jab-right cross combination. Opponents who try countering her jab with a looping punch over the top are interrupted by her thunderous right cross. Furthermore, Nunes destabilizes her foes' stances by slamming hard low kicks into their thighs.
Opponents who try to wrestle her quickly find that 'The Lioness' possesses a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and effective wrestling skills. Since her foes are often preoccupied with the massive threat of her crushing knockout power, many underestimate her grappling, allowing Nunes to create openings for takedowns by flicking out a jab and ducking under her opponent's counter.
#3. Royce Gracie
Mixed martial arts was founded due to a universal desire to unearth the best martial arts style in the world. At UFC 1, fighters from countless disciplines and all corners of the globe were invited to participate in an interstylistic open weight tournament under a less restricted rule set than any other. Wrestlers, kickboxers, and men from other disciplines arrived en masse. Many were hulking phenoms, while Royce Gracie was far smaller.
Despite his unassuming appearance, Gracie made short work of all three of his opponents, including future Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock. None of the Brazilian's opponents survived longer than two minutes in the first round before surrendering to a submission. Royce Gracie emerged victorious, and the world of martial arts soon realized it had much more to learn as Gracie's Brazilian jiu-jitsu took the combat sports world by storm.
The Brazilian legend not only won UFC 1, but he claimed victory in the subsequent three tournaments, defeating another UFC Hall of Famer in Dan Severn, before earning a draw at UFC 5 against Shamrock. Gracie's unbeaten UFC run finally ended when he returned ten years later at UFC 60. By then, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu martial art he introduced to the world was well-known, and he lost via TKO to future welterweight champion Matt Hughes.
The existence of Brazilian jiu-jitsu forever changed the complexion of MMA and made the Gracie family part of MMA royalty.
#2. Anderson Silva
At the peak of his powers, Anderson Silva was a human highlight reel. Throughout his six-year unbeaten run in the UFC, Silva accumulated a series of records in the promotion. Before Demetrious Johnson eventually surpassed him, Silva's ten consecutive title defenses in the middleweight division were the highest in UFC history. Furthermore, he's credited with the promotion's longest-ever championship reign.
'The Spider' also owns the record for the most UFC middleweight title fight wins and the most finishes in UFC championship history. His journey through the promotion earned him a 16-fight win streak, the longest under the promotion's banner. For years, fighters were both mystified by and terrified of Anderson Silva. His counter-striking style was a puzzle that his contemporaries were ill-equipped to solve.
Silva fought with his hands low at waist level. By doing so, the Brazilian presented his head as an open target. Over-aggressive foes lunged forward yet overextended as Silva pulled back at the waist to evade their punches before countering them en route to an elusive KO. It earned him 16 consecutive wins, with names like Demian Maia, Chael Sonnen, Dan Henderson, Rich Franklin, Vitor Belfort, and Forrest Griffin on the list.
Unfortunately, the lower-level opposition Silva faced and the stain left by his positive PED tests undercut his standing.
#1. José Aldo
The former two-time featherweight champion is arguably the greatest Brazilian fighter in the promotion's history. At the height of his success, José Aldo was at the helm of an 18-fight win streak, with seven of those wins coming in the UFC, all of which were title defenses after the WEC featherweight championship he held was promoted to the UFC featherweight crown. The strength of his opposition was also a sight to behold.
While Urijah Faber and Cub Swanson tasted defeat at Aldo's hands during the Brazilian's WEC days, his UFC foes include Mark Hominick, Kenny Florian, Chad Mendes, Frankie Edgar, Chan Sung Jung, Ricardo Lamas, Jeremy Stephens, Renato Moicano, Marlon Vera, Pedro Munhoz and Rob Font. Additionally, not only was the strength of the competition that Aldo faced impressive, but he also beat the best fighters of multiple generations.
He defeated the greats of yesteryear like Frankie Edgar and Kenny Florian, dominated the best fighters of his generation like Chad Mendes and Chan Sung Jung, and bested skilled mixed martial artists of the generation after his own such as Marlon Vera and Renato Moicano. Stylistically, 'Scarface' always broke the mold, defying the evolution of MMA wrestling, revolutionizing low kicks, and unveiling exactly how to defend oneself from calf kicks.
