Editor’s Note: We run occasional guest posts from members of the jiu-jitsu community, and would love to run more. If you would like to submit one, please e-mail us. This post is the first in a series of four posts where Revolution BJJ black belt Daniel Frank evaluates the best sport jiujitsu competitors of each decade, starting the 1990s — and culminating in a post that crowns the greatest of all time. We will post a new entry every two or three days leading up to the final. This one covers the 2010s. Read the 1990s entry here and the 2000s entry here.

By Daniel Frank

The greatest of all time is a difficult moniker to bestow upon anyone or anything. Whether we are talking about astronauts, ant hills, or automobiles it is a designation that is earned, but not without severe competition and also not without intense debate.

In Brazilian jiujitsu the greatest of all time is a title that is very hard to define due to all of the factors that determine the result. There is a long list of factors, including: gi competition, no-gi competition, tournaments, super fights, mixed martial arts, belt levels, gender, era, longevity, and talent of the competition.

This article is meant to determine the greatest male, black belt, gi competitors in the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and of all time. Major International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) competition results were analyzed along with results from smaller IBJJF competitions. Larger, competing organizations results were also factored into the final determinations.

Using this method of data collection later articles can (and will) be written determining the best female black belt competitors, the best no-gi competitors (both male and female), and even the best at each belt level. The possibilities are endless.

The 2010s

By the year 2010, jiujitsu competitions were bigger than ever. Top competitors vied for the weight and absolute titles at the World Championship, The Pan-American Championship, the European Championship, along with the Brazilian National Championship. The newly created Abu Dhabi World Pro Championship offered lucrative cash prizes for black belt titles. The promise of riches attracted the best of the best to the Middle East each year. The competition amongst jiujitsu athletes became increasingly intense. In order to win a championship, an athlete had to battle the best in the world in each round. As the decade progressed more and more local tournaments were added to the competition calendar. Super fights on pay-per-view programs became common. Jiujitsu champions were now tested on a regular basis and new champions arose with each new season.

 

 

• Honorable mention: Bernardo Faria

 

   Bernardo Faria gets honorable mention for gi competitor in the 2010s, not only because he won a number of championships, but also the volume of hardware he won between the years 2010-2016. Bernardo has competed at every World Championship and Pan-American Championship in the current decade. He is a four-time Mundials champion, including an absolute championship in 2015. He has also secured silver in his weight class three times while medaling in the absolute division another five times (one silver, four bronzes). Bernardo is a six-time Pan-American champion with half of those gold medals coming in the absolute division. To add to those accomplishments, Bernardo has also won his weight class at the European Championship three times, been the South American weight and absolute champ (2011), and the Brasileiro absolute champ (2010). Add to these numerous, smaller accolades and it is easy to see that Bernardo Faria deserves a mention in the conversation about the best gi competitors of the 2010s.

 

5.      Rodolfo Vieira

Rodolfo Vieira made a big name for himself as a brown belt at the Abu Dhabi World Pro Championship with victories over established stars Braulio Estima and Antonio Peinado in 2009. Rodolfo received his black belt from Grappling Fight Team (GFT) leader Julio Cesar Pereira, at the airport, upon his return to Brazil. Since then Rodolfo has been a force in the black belt heavyweight division. Between the years 2011-2014 Rodolfo won his weight division four times in a row while also winning the absolute crown in 2011. He took the silver medal in the Mundials absolute division in 2013 and 2014. Aside from his accomplishments at the World Championship Rodolfo has also won the Pan-American Championship and European championship at both his weight class and in the absolute division. Between the years 2011-2014 Rodolfo also won his division at the Abu Dhabi World Pro Championship each year while winning the absolute title twice. For his remarkable run over a four-year span, Rodolfo earns his spot on our list.

 

4. Leandro Lo

Leandro Lo started practicing jiujitsu through the Projecto Social Lutando Pelo Bem (PSLPB), a social project that provides underprivileged children the opportunity to learn and to train jiu jitsu. Leandro has used that opportunity to become one of the best ‘pound-for-pound’ gi jiujitsu competitors in the world. Since 2011 Leandro has been using his exceptional guard and guard passing game to win a multitude of championships. Leandro has won his weight division at the World Championship each year since 2012. He has also done so in three different weight divisions. As he has moved up in weight Leandro has also ventured into the absolute divisions and taken bronze medals twice. Leandro has also won his weight division at the Pan-American Championship four separate times while winning the silver in the absolute division three times in a row. Lo has won the Brasileiro twice and taken five championships, at weight, at the Abu Dhabi World Pro Championship. Against world class competition, Leandro Lo has proven that he has what it takes to win gold and also to win a spot on the list of best competitors of the 2010s.

 

3. Bruno Malfacine

Bruno Malfacine has been a terror in the roosterweight division since 2007, but has been nearly unstoppable in the 2010s. The Alliance black belt has had wars at the Mundials with other rooster weight greats, Caio Terra and João Miyao. Bruno won the gold medal at the World Championship in 2010, 2011, and 2012. He lost in the finals in 2013 and took home the silver medal. He came back to win gold in 2014 and then again in 2015 and 2016. In seven editions of the Mundials, in this decade, Bruno has won six gold medals and one silver medal. Bruno’s accomplishments don’t end at the Mundials though. He has taken home the gold medal at the Pan-American Championship three times and the silver medal twice. Bruno is also a two-time Brasileiro champ and has won in Europe also, taking home a gold and a silver medal. One of the most accomplished gi competitors of all time, Bruno shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.

 

2.        Rafael Mendes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5etguXWG12s

The ascension of Rafael Mendes was no surprise. During the 2000s Rafael and his brother, Guilherme, were winning the World Championship at blue, purple, and brown belt. When Rafael received his black belt expectations were high. The competition was tough, too, as Rafael was jumping into the featherweight division owned by Cobrinha. From 2010-2012 Rafael won the gold medal at the Mundials three times in a row. Rafael was upset in the finals by Augusto “Tanquinho” Mendes in 2013, but came back and won the gold medal three more times from 2014-2016. In seven editions of the World Championship in the 2010s, Rafael has won six gold medals and one silver medal. Rafael has won the Abu Dhabi World Pro Championship once, along with two gold medals at the Pan-American Championship. Rafael has also taken gold at the European Championship twice while winning gold at the Brasileiro one time. Rafael has said that he wants to be the best of all time, which means that he is not done competing anytime soon. Expect more gold medals in the near future as he will probably be true to his word.

 

1.      Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida

Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida has won more World absolute championships than anyone in history. In 2010 Roger Gracie won his third absolute championship and was awarded for topping the likes of other two-time champs like Amaury Bitetti, Comprido, Pé de Pano, Jacare, and Xande. Since that time though Buchecha has won four World absolute championships. On top of the absolute championships Buchecha has won his weight class four times, giving him eight titles overall at the World Championship. Buchecha has also been impressive at both the Pan-American Championship and at the Abu Dhabi World Pro Championship. Buchecha won his weight class three times in a row at the Pan-American Championship and added an absolute title in 2013. The Abu Dhabi World Pro Championship has also been a good place for Buchecha to compete at. He has won his weight class three times while also winning the absolute titles in 2013, 2014, and 2015. In half of a decade Buchecha has racked up quite a medal haul and looks to continue in the upcoming years. Buchecha is definitely the top competitor of the 2010s.