3. Charles Oliveira
Oliveira is a curious choice here. He received one first-place vote, though I personally left him off entirely. And that's not because I don't love his BJJ, which in my opinion is the most aesthetically beautiful the sport of MMA has ever seen; sheer magic to watch. The way that he cycles from one submission to another quicker than his opponent can possibly keep up with is stupefying. And his mix of athleticism, blinding speed, and shocking physical strength is unlike anyone else in the sport. Oliveira's wrestling is awesome too, taking down strong, skilled wrestlers down at will, often through breathtaking, high-amplitude slams.
However, one must consider the other side here. Oliveira is perhaps the only fighter in this list who, in his prime, was not only outgrappled, but also brutally stopped by multiple opponents, including by submission, and even by those who weren't even especially good grapplers. So on the one hand, against other skilled grapplers, Oliveira has a gorgeous 41-second armbar of Darren Elkins, a rear-naked choke of Efrain Escudero, a guillotine choke of Nik Lentz in their second bout, a quick rear-naked choke of Will Brooks, a guillotine choke of Clay Guida, a 75-second rear-naked choke of Jim Miller in the rematch, a guillotine choke of Kevin Lee, a dominant grappling display against the legendary Tony Ferguson, whom Oliveira threw around like a ragdoll and put in multiple submissions, though Ferguson refused to tap, and of course, rear-naked chokes of Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje in title defenses. Utterly sensational.
On the other hand, Oliveira has been submitted four times, a kneebar by Jim Miller in their first fight, guillotine chokes —live by the sword, die by the sword—by Anthony Pettis and Ricardo Lamas, and most recently, an arm triangle by Islam Makhachev. He was also beaten through grappling by Frankie Edgar and shockingly, Paul Felder, who is considered relatively average in that regard. And while many of those could be argued to be before Oliveira's prime, the loss to Makhachev sure wasn't, who doesn't appear on this list at all. (I had him at fifth, personally.) Truly, Oliveira is a unique grappling great, as befitting an endlessly talented, but mercurial champion.
Continue Reading » Number 2