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

6. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Beloved and extolled as one of the most exciting fighters the sport has ever seen, Nogueira defined heart, courage and skill. He embodied the warrior spirit of never giving up, never giving in and fighting until the last breath. He pulled off almost unthinkable comebacks during his career, many of them via submission.

Nogueira tied Japanese icon Kazushi Sakuraba for the most submission victories (11) in the history of Pride Fighting Championships, where he captured the heavyweight title in 2001. A longtime Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, “Minotauro” put his skills to good use in MMA. He racked up 21 submission wins by the time he retired. Gary Goodridge, Valentijn Overeem (twice), Mark Coleman, Semmy Schilt, Mirko Filipovic, Bob Sapp and Heath Herring were among his victims.

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