1. Royce Gracie
Though he did not corner the market on the “Giant Killer” moniker -- Keith Hackney and Ikuhisa Minowa earned that distinction -- Gracie was the first mixed martial artist who taught us that superior technique trumps size when properly applied.
At UFC 2, Gracie stormed through the competition yet again, winning four fights by submission. His final two victories came over natural heavyweights Remco Pardoel and Patrick Smith. At UFC 4, wrestler Dan Severn used his 250-plus pounds to keep Gracie pinned to the canvas for the majority of their bout but fell victim to a triangle choke after the pay-per-view went off the air. That night, angry viewers who missed the ending to the bout felt the same confusion that many of Gracie’s larger, stronger opponents experienced upon going to the mat with the grappling whiz.
Gracie’s jiu-jitsu expertise translated to the spectacle of K-1 when he submitted sumo wrestler Chad “Akebono” Rowan in a little more than two minutes in 2004. Over time, the jiu-jitsu popularized by Gracie and the rest of his family became more of an MMA necessity than a curiosity. While a fighter could no longer hope to overwhelm larger, clueless opponents as Gracie once did, a schooling in the art of BJJ became essential on the path to “well-roundedness.” It would not have gotten started, however, if Gracie had not empowered the little guy nearly two decades ago.