Sherdog’s Top 10: Jiu-Jitsu Players in MMA

9. Ricardo Arona

A longtime veteran of Pride Fighting Championships, Arona is considered one of the best jiu-jitsu players of his generation. “The Brazilian Tiger” is a three-time gold medalist at the Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships, where he owns a 13-0 record and has never surrendered a point.

Arona carried his grappling brilliance into MMA, where he quickly became a major force. He took wins over Kazushi Sakuraba, Wanderlei Silva, Jeremy Horn (twice), Dan Henderson and Alistair Overeem. If there was a knock on Arona it was the he had a habit of playing it safe, resulting in only five finishes among his 14 career victories. Still, Arona’s jiu-jitsu skills speak for themselves, and they helped him win the 2001 Rings middleweight tournament and reach the final of the 2005 Pride middleweight grand prix.

Continue Reading » Number 8