5. BJ Penn and other Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Champions
Even though BJJ is widely considered the most important fighting discipline for mixed martial artists, it doesn’t guarantee a fighter success.
Take Roger Gracie fro instance. Roger is the most successful Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitor in history. He is a 10-time World Jiu-Jitus champion. His UFC career however, only lasted one fight. He lost a decision to Tim Kennedy at UFC 162 and was gone. He is currently the ONE FC Light Heavyweight champ.
There is one former Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu champion that deserves a little special attention, and that is BJ Penn. Penn was just the second non-Brazilian to win a world BJJ title when he won in 2000, and to this day there have still only ever been 4. Penn had only been practicing BJJ for 3 years at the time, earning him the nickname “the Prodigy”.
Other notable Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu champions in the UFC include Gabriel Gonzaga and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza.
And one of the only other Americans ever to win a world BJJ championship, Robert Drysdale, is 1W-0L in the UFC, but he’s failed 2 drug tests and is now the light heavyweight champ for Legacy FC.
