Sherdog’s Top 10: Brazilian Mixed Martial Artists

Mike SloanFeb 11, 2016

4. Fabricio Werdum

Werdum’s career remains criminally underrated, even though it seems certain he will go down as one of the greatest heavyweights of all-time. Just look at his resume.

A two-time Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships gold medalist, Werdum has beaten -- and finished -- three of the best heavyweights in history. After something of a lukewarm start to his MMA career that included losses to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Andrei Arlovski, Junior dos Santos and Sergei Kharitonov, “Vai Cavalo” found another gear.

Werdum hit his stride in Strikeforce, where he became the first man in more than a decade to defeat the great Fedor Emelianenko. Though he lost to Alistair Overeem in his next appearance, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt earned a return trip to the UFC. He has not lost since. He beat up Roy Nelson and Mike Russow before submitting Nogueira in their rematch. From there, Werdum snuffed out challenges from Travis Browne and Mark Hunt, as he captured the UFC interim heavyweight title and landed a unification bout with Cian Velasquez. The two met at UFC 188, where Werdum battered Velasquez before tapping him with a third-round guillotine choke to become undisputed champion.

Number 3 » Jose Aldo