2. Shinya Aoki
When it comes to functional jiu-jitsu in MMA, virtually no one has been as lethal as Aoki -- a man who can seemingly do anything he pleases on the mat. He has won a number of grappling tournaments in his native Japan, and he has parlayed those skills into becoming one of the most successful Japanese mixed martial artists of all-time.
Aoki has left a path of destruction in his wake, having captured titles in Shooto, Deep, Dream and One Championship, and he shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. The one knock against him: He has not yet competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Aoki, 32, has used a wide variety of techniques to pile up 25 submission wins in MMA, from the twister, armbar and rear-naked choke to the neck crank, Achilles lock and heel hook. He was also the second fighter to ever record a gogoplata submission in mixed martial arts competition. Aoki’s long list of fallen adversaries includes Tatsuya Kawajiri, Rich Clementi, Rob McCullough, Joachim Hansen, Mizuto Hirota and Eddie Alvarez.
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