Sherdog’s Top 10: Jiu-Jitsu Players in MMA
Mike SloanApr 06, 2016
The current UFC heavyweight champion can point to his prolific submission skills as the backbone of his success in MMA, as they have led him to submission victories over three of the greatest heavyweights of all-time: Fedor Emelianenko, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Cain Velasquez.
Werdum burst on the scene in Pride Fighting Championships but did not come into his own until after being released by the UFC in 2008. He joined the ranks of Strikeforce soon after, besting Mike Kyle and Antonio Silva before drawing his assignment against the great Emelianenko on June 26, 2010. Werdum submitted “The Last Emperor” with a triangle armbar -- the loss was Emelianenko’s first in almost a decade -- and later earned a return call from the UFC. There, he continued his rise on the heavyweight ladder. In June 2013, Werdum tapped the aforementioned Nogueira with an armbar, joining Frank Mir as the only fighters to submit “Minotauro.” Two years later, he captured the UFC heavyweight crown by submitting Velasquez with a third-round guillotine choke at UFC 188.
The 38-year-old Werdum also owns submission wins over Alistair Overeem, Aleksander Emelianenko and Tom Erikson. Take one look at his grappling credentials, and it should come as no surprise. Werdum is a six-time medalist -- with two golds -- at the Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships, a multiple-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion and four-time winner at the Pan American Championships.