2. 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: Fedor Emelianenko, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Cain Velasquez. “Vai Cavalo” hit his stride in Strikeforce, where he became the first man in more than a decade to defeat the great Emelianenko. Though he lost to Alistair Overeem in his next appearance, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt earned a return trip to the UFC in 2012. He has lost just once since. The Kings MMA rep 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 Cain Velasquez. The two met at UFC 188, where Werdum battered Velasquez before tapping him with a third-round guillotine choke to become undisputed champion. He surrendered the title to Stipe Miocic 11 months later in a crushing first-round knockout but bounced back to outpoint Browne across three rounds at UFC 203 in September. Now 39, Werdum has a trilogy bout lined up with Overeem at UFC 213 on July 8.
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