5 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Artists We'd Love to See in MMA
If you ask any one fan which martial art was key in the explosion of MMA, most would point to Brazilian jiu-jitsu. It was Royce Gracie's domination at UFC 1 that caused the world to go into a manhunt for BJJ gyms in the nearby areas.
These days, it's obvious that you need to be well-rounded to be successful in MMA. However, strong BJJ practitioners still seem to be strong competitors, even if they are one-dimensional fighters.
Here are five BJJ artists we'd love to see in MMA.
Note: Here is an earlier installment of five boxers we'd love to see in MMA.
Roberto "Cyborg" Abreu
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Belt Rank: Black Belt
Potential Weight Class: Heavyweight/Light Heavyweight
Brazilian Roberto "Cyborg" Abreu is one of the most dangerous heavyweight grapplers in the world, holding numerous accolades in the BJJ world.
In addition to placing numerous times at the prestigious ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships, Abreu is multi-time gold medalist in the No-Gi World Championship, something that would help if he transitioned to MMA. Obviously, in MMA, you can't wear a gi, so this may help the transition for Abreu.
Plus, his nickname, "Cyborg," comes from the fact that he still has glass in his arm from a car accident earlier in his life. That's pretty hardcore.
Kron Gracie
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Belt Rank: 1st Degree Black Belt
Potential Weight Class: Welterweight
Coming from the prestigious Gracie family, Kron Gracie is one of the family members MMA fans are most eager to see in the cage. This is no surprise, as he is the son of the legendary Rickson Gracie, who dominated the competition in his short career with his signature BJJ style.
Not only is he a first-degree black belt in BJJ, but he also holds a black belt in judo. That certainly helps him with his takedowns and clinch, which makes him a viable candidate to step in the cage.
If you're a fan of Kron Gracie, you may not have to wait long. He isย targeting a 2014 debut date to strap on the fingerless gloves and go to battle.
Kyra Gracie
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Belt Rank: 2nd Degree Black Belt
Potential Weight Class: Bantamweight
What's that? Two Gracies in a row? Get outta town!
All joking aside, Kyra Gracie is possibly the best female BJJ artist in the world. She is also in the weight range of the only UFC women's division of 135 pounds.
Champion Ronda Rousey is submitting people left and right, but that might be tough to do against Gracie. She is a four-time world champion, as well as a three-time ADCC champion.
Jeff Glover
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Belt Rank: 1st Degree Black Belt
Potential Weight Class: Featherweight
The lone American on this list, Jeff Glover is a Pan-Am and World No-Gi champion known as "The Pipelayer." His awesome career includes tapouts of world champions Caio Terra and Robson Moura. That's saying something.
The Californian has won nearly 30 Grapplers Quest championships and lost just four times in eight years with that event. The dude is the real deal on the mat and could get some good potential paydays if he transitions over to MMA.
Knowing how many good MMA gyms there are in California (Team Alpha Male, anyone?), Glover could become a good mixed martial artist if he made the transition.
Pablo Popovitch
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Belt Rank: 4th Degree Black Belt
Potential Weight Class: Middleweight
OK, so Pablo Popovitch actually has one MMA fight. But as a fan, I'm craving more from this BJJ ace.
Popovitch trains some MMA fighters, including UFC veteran Vagner Rocha. Theย multi-time No-Gi champion won an MMA fight back in 2010 against Jeff Savoy to put his career record at 1-0.
Here are just a few names of guys he has defeated in grappling: Hermes Franca (kimura), Kenny Florian (points), Diego Sanchez (points), Jake Shields (points twice), Renzo Gracie (points), Ben Askren (foot lock), Gregor Gracie (points) and Sergio Moraes (points).
The dude is legit.
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