The Top 20 Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu Fighters in MMA Today

In MMA, most fighters have a speciality or a base.

There are strikers, like Anderson Silva, wrestlers, like Chael Sonnen, or clinch fighters, like Randy Couture.

In addition to those, there are some fighters who can tap you out from anywhere at anytime.

The top jiu-jitsu fighters in the sport can make others afraid to go to the ground with them.

These 20 fighters have outstanding jiu-jitsu, and their opponents should be afraid to go to the ground with them for fear of getting tapped out.

So without further ado, here are the top 20 jiu-jitsu fighters in MMA today.

Note: Fighters must have fought in the past year or must have a fight scheduled in the next six months to be considered for the list

Demian Maia

Demian Maia (14-2) is a current UFC middleweight and a one-time title challenger.

Maia is a fourth degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and is one of the most accomplished grapplers in the UFC today.

Maia won the ADCC (Abu Dhabi Combat Club) Submission Wrestling Championship in 2007 in the 77-87 kg division, and was the runner up in 2005.

Out of his 14 victories, he has won eight by submission. Lately, he has been showcasing his stand up, but his next fight is against Mark Munoz, who is a BJJ purple belt and a good striker.

Look for Maia to take this one to the ground and work for the submission.

Roger Gracie

Roger Gracie (4-0) is a current Strikeforce light heavyweight.

Gracie is a second-degree black belt in BJJ and has won all four of his pro fights with submissions in under 10 minutes.

Gracie was the 2005 ADCC Champion in the 88-98 kg division, and he was the champion in the Absolute division. He has also won many, many other championships.

In Gracie's last fight, he submitted Trevor Prangley with a rear-naked choke in 4:19 of the first round.

His next fight will be against former NCAA D-1 wrestler and former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion, Muhammed Lawal.

Ronaldo Souza

Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza (14-2, one NC) is the current Strikeforce Middleweight Champion.

Jacare is a BJJ black belt, and a five-time world champion, including gold medals in the Openweight class in 2003, 2004 and 2005.

He is the 2005 ADCC Champion in the 77-87 kg division (beating Demian Maia), and the runner-up in the Absolute class in 2007, where he lost to Roger Gracie.

Of his 14 wins, three are by submission to strikes and eight are legitimate submission.

Jacare is said to be one of the greatest BJJ practitioners of all time.

In his last fight, he submitted Robbie Lawler with a rear-naked choke, two minutes into the third round.

Shinya Aoki

Shinya Aoki (27-5 [1 NC]) is the current DREAM Lightweight Champion. He's the WAMMA Champion too, but that obviously means nothing.

Aoki is a BJJ black belt and is known for excellent flexibility and for surprising his opponents with submissions.

Aoki won the ADCC Japan in the 66-76 kg division.

Aoki is also known for pulling off a gogoplata in two separate fights, from two separate positions. Once when his opponent was in his guard and the other time when Aoki had the mount on his opponent

Of Aoki's 27 wins, he has won 17 by submission.

In Aoki's last fight, he defeated Lyle Beerbohm with a neck crank in 93 seconds. 

I feel bad for whoever is in the cage opposite him.

Fabricio Werdum

Fabricio "Fedor Slayer" Werdum (14-4-1) is a current Strikeforce heavyweight.

Many will know Werdum as the first man to legitimately defeat Fedor Emelianenko, but he is so much more than that.

Werdum is a two-time ADCC Champion in the 99-plus kg division and has finished in the top three five times.

Of Werdum's 14 wins, eight of them have been submissions. Some of his victims include Alistair Overeem, and the Emelianenko brothers (Fedor and Aleksander).

Werdum will have a rematch with Alistair Overeem as part of the Heavyweight Grand Prix on June 18th, at Strikeforce: Overeem vs Werdum.

Jon Olav Einemo

Jon Olav Einemo (6-1) is a current UFC heavyweight.

Einemo won the 2003 ADCC's in the 88-98 kg division. He is also the only man to defeat Roger Gracie in the ADCC tournament.

Einemo has won five of his fights with submissions (two to strikes), one fight with a TKO, and the only loss he has in MMA, is to Fabricio Werdum.

Einemo was recently signed to the UFC, and he will make his debut at UFC 131 against former title challenger, Shane Carwin. In addition to it being his UFC debut, it will be his first fight in nearly five years.

This one should be interesting.

BJ Penn

BJ Penn (16-7-2) is the former UFC Lightweight Champion, former UFC Welterweight Champion and a current UFC welterweight.

BJ Penn isn't called "The Prodigy" without reason. Penn started training in BJJ in 1997, and by 2000, he had earned his black belt. Penn is thought to have earned the fastest black belt of all active BJJ practitioners.

In 2000, Penn became the first non-Brazilian to win the black belt division of the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship.

BJ then made the switch to MMA, and has since won world titles in two weight classes, one of only two people to do so.

Penn only has six submission wins in MMA, but that doesn't mean he isn't a top BJJ fighter.

Nick Diaz

Nick Diaz (25-7, one NC) is the current Strikeforce Welterweight Champion and now, an aspiring boxer.

Diaz is a BJJ black belt under Cesar Gracie, and he has eight wins by submission in his MMA career. He would have a ninth, but it was later overturned due to him testing positive for marijuana.

Diaz, like Penn, may not have an astounding number of submissions wins, but that is because they both have some sick striking to complement their ground games.

Diaz' next fight is set to be a boxing match against Jeff Lacy, which was recently signed.

After that, Diaz may very well be the next challenger to UFC Champion Georges St-Pierre's welterweight belt.

Nate Diaz

Nate Diaz (13-7) is the Season 5 winner of The Ultimate Fighter and a current UFC welterweight (probably dropping to lightweight).

Nate is the younger brother of Nick, and they have trained together since they were little kids.

Nate is a brown belt in BJJ under Cesar Gracie, but just because he isn't a black belt doesn't mean he isn't dangerous on the ground.

Of his 13 wins, nine have been submissions, and six of those have been in the UFC.

In Diaz's last fight, he suffered a unanimous decision loss to Rory MacDonald, and it was later announced that Diaz would probably drop back down to lightweight.

Jake Shields

Jake Shields (26-5-1) is the former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion, the former EliteXC Welterweight Champion, and the former No. 1 contender to the UFC Welterweight Title.

Shields uses his strong wrestling and jiu-jitsu skills to stifle his opponents.

He has 10 wins by submission and 13 by decision.

Shields' jiu-jitsu is so strong, that not even Georges St-Pierre wanted to go to the ground with him, for fear of getting submitted.

Joe Lauzon

Joe Lauzon (19-6) is a lightweight in the UFC.

Lauzon is a purple belt in BJJ, but don't let that fool you. This guy is nasty on the ground. Of his 19 wins, 15 are by submission.

Lauzon is a very entertaining fighter, and he is a six-time fight night award winner, with three Fight of the Nights and three Submission of the Nights.

One of Lauzon's most impressive performances came at UFC 118 against BJJ black belt, Gabe Ruediger. In a totally one-sided contest, Lauzon submitted Ruediger at 2:01 of the first round with an armbar. According to Joe Rogan, Gabe "was never in it for a second."

Lauzon's last fight saw him gas out badly in the second round and succumb to kimura from George Sotiropoulos.

His next fight will be against Curt Warburton at UFC Live: Marquardt vs Johnson.

Mayhem Miller

Jason "Mayhem" Miller (24-7, one NC) is a current UFC middleweight. Man do I love saying that.

Many will know Mayhem from him hosting the TV show Bully Beatdown on MTV, but he is much more than that.

Mayhem is a black belt in BJJ, and he has won 14 fights via submission. Not just that though, he almost tapped out Jake Shields. Five more seconds and he would have had him. That's impressive.

In his last fight, Mayhem became only the second man to submit Kazushi Sakuraba, when he submitted him with an arm triangle choke in the first round.

Mayhem then signed with the UFC, and he is set to fight Aaron Simpson at UFC 132 in July.

Rousimar Palhares

Rousimar Palhares (12-3) is a current UFC middleweight.

Palhares is a black belt in BJJ and has nine wins via submission.

Not only is Palhares a sick jiu-jitsu fighter, but he is considered one of the best in the world at leg locks such as the kneebar and heel hook.

He is so confident in his leg locks, then when Nate Marquardt slipped out of a heel hook, he immediately accused him of greasing.

It was stupid, but it also shows the incredible confidence he has in those leg locks.

In his last fight, he submitted Dave Branch with a kneebar in the second round.

His next fight will be against Alexandre Ferreira at UFC 134: Rio.

Cody McKenzie

Cody McKenzie (12-1) is a current UFC lightweight.

McKenzie will be remembered by most as the guy from The Ultimate Fighter who got a lot of guillotines. And for someone to get that many of the same submission, they must be really good.

McKenzie is a purple belt in BJJ, he has won 11 fights with submissions and he won 10 in a row with guillotines.

Everybody knows what's coming, they know what he wants to do and to still get caught in that move shows how good he is at it.

He suffered the first loss of his career at UFC: Fight For For The Troops 2 when Yves Edwards put him to sleep in a rear-naked choke.

Miguel Torres

Miguel Torres (39-3) is the former WEC Bantamweight Champion and a current UFC bantamweight.

Torres is a BJJ black belt and has won 23 of his fights with submissions. Although I'm sure if you ask him, that number would be significantly higher, as Torres claims a record of 51-3.

Torres won the belt by submitting Chase Beebe at WEC 32, and he then defended it three times before losing it to Brian Bowles.

After that he was submitted by Joseph Benavidez, putting him on the first two fight losing streak of his career.

He has since rebounded to win two in a row and is now set to fight Demetrious Johnson later this month at UFC 130.

Kenny Florian

Kenny Florian (14-5) is a former No. 1 contender to the UFC lightweight title and a current UFC featherweight.

Florian is a second-degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and has won 10 of his fights via submission.

Two fights ago, Florian submitted former Pride Lightweight Champion, Takanori Gomi, with a rear-naked choke in the third round.

In Florian's last fight, he dropped a unanimous decision to Gray Maynard, after that, and the addition of the bantamweight and featherweight classes, Florian decided to drop down to featherweight.

Florian's featherweight debut will be at UFC 131 against Diego Nunes, and with a win, he could be in line for a title shot at Jose Aldo.

Frank Mir

Frank Mir (14-5) is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion, former UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion and current UFC Heavyweight.

Mir is a black belt in BJJ and has won eight of his fights via submission.

Mir last got a submission at UFC 107, when he put Cheick Kongo to sleep with a guillotine choke. Before that, he had submitted such fighters as Brock Lesnar and Tim Sylvia.

In Mir's last fight, he knocked out Mirko Cro Cop in a largely uneventful fight.

Mir's next fight is set to be against Roy Nelson at UFC 130.

These two had a grappling match several years back which Nelson won. I wonder if that advantage remains.

George Sotiropoulos

George Sotiropoulos (14-3) is a current UFC lightweight.

Sotiropoulos is a black belt in BJJ and has won eight fights via submission.

Sotiropoulos' last fight was against Dennis Siver, and he couldn't get him to the ground, so he was forced to stand with him and he lost a unanimous decision.

Sotiropoulos has a great ground game, and he has submitted such fighters as Joe Lauzon and George Roop.

Sotiropoulos' next fight was supposed to be against Evan Dunham at UFC 132, but Dunham was injured, and Sotiropoulos will now be taking on another jiu-jitsu ace in Rafael dos Anjos.

Urijah Faber

Urijah Faber (25-4) is the former WEC Featherweight Champion and a current UFC bantamweight.

Faber is a brown belt in BJJ and has won 13 of his fights with submissions.

Faber was the poster boy of the WEC and is still a big name in the UFC. He is going to be part of the first UFC card headlined by a fight in the bantamweight or featherweight class.

This is going to happen when he takes on Bantamweight Champion, Dominick Cruz.

He has already submitted Cruz once with a guillotine choke, so maybe he'll do it again.

Faber is always a risk to pull out a submission, and he may be looking to do it again.

Anderson Silva

Anderson Silva (28-4) is the current UFC Middleweight Champion.

Silva is a black belt in BJJ under Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and he knows how to use it.

Silva may only have five wins by submission, but that's because he has some of the best striking around.

Two fights ago, Silva was on the brink of defeat against Chael Sonnen, and he pulled out a triangle/armbar to win the fight.

In addition to that, he submitted an Olympic caliber Greco-Roman wrestler, and he caught an outstanding jiu-jitsu fighter in Travis Lutter, in a triangle choke.

Silva's next fight will be against a strong wrestler, Yushin Okami. Maybe another triangle choke is in his future?