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The Best Grapplers in Jiu-Jitsu

by matmartial · Published February 12, 2020 · Updated May 18, 2020

Who are the best grapplers in jiu-jitsu today?

There are many great martial artists training and competing in Jiu-Jitsu today, but who is the best? Here is my list of the best grapplers in Jiu-Jitsu today:

The Best Grapplers in Jiu-Jitsu

Gordon Ryan

1. Gordon Ryan – All of the men on this list are world class grapplers. Many people say that Gordon Ryan is the best grappler in jiu-jitsu today. Undoubtedly, he is great. He was awarded his black belt under fellow great Garry Tonon, and he trains under the legendary John Danaher. If you have ever seen any of Gordon Ryan’s instructionals on BJJFanatics, you will notice that he has even adopted John Danaher’s manner of speaking and explaining techniques.

At 143 total grappling contests, the 24-year-old phenom has never been afraid to put his skills to the test. According to Wikipedia, Gordon Ryan’s grappling record is a staggering 132-8-3. Not all of his wins have been by submission, but many of them have, including some impressive submissions. I was especially impressed by Ryan’s triangle choke victory over Josh Barnett at Quintet 3, on October 5, 2018. It was pretty amazing.

The Best Grapplers in Jiu-Jitsu

Josh Barnett

2. Josh Barnett – Despite his loss via triangle choke to Gordon Ryan in 2018, Josh Barnett is one of the all-time best grapplers in history. At 42 years-old, he is a true legend of grappling and mixed martial arts. The list of his titles is quite impressive and includes holding the former UFC Heavyweight Championship, King of Pancrase Openweight Championship, the Pride Openwieght Grand Prix and the Strikeforce Heavyweight Championship Gran Prix, to name a few of his impressive MMA crowns.

Perhaps the incredible achievements in MMA has swayed my opinion to place him so high on the list. However, I have been equally impressed by his display of grappling prowess. Particularly, when he out-grappled Dean Lister, submitting him with an incredible scarf-hold submission at Metamoris IV in 2014. Then, he submitted Ryron Gracie on May 9, 2016, at Metamoris VI. It must be noted that Barnett outweighed Gracie by about 50 pounds. Still, his catch wrestling lineage has served him well throughout his fighting career, and he ranks high on my list of best grapplers of all time.

Josh Barnett vs. Dean Lister

The Best Grapplers in Jiu-Jitsu

Felipe Pena

3. Felipe Pena – The 28 year old Pena is a Gracie Barra Black Belt under Vinicius Draculino and Marcelo Azevedo since 2012. According to BJJHeroes, Pena has an impressive grappling record of 130 wins with 19 losses, 63 of those wins were by submission. Besides this impressive record, the main reason Felipe Pena ranks so high on my list of the best grapplers in jiu-jitsu today is because he is the only man to submit Gordon Ryan in competition. Pena defeated Ryan by rear naked choke on December 17, 2016, in Solana Beach, CA at Studio 540. Then, on September 24, 2017, at the ADCC Championships in Espoo, Finland, Pena defeated Ryan again. But this time the victory came by way of point advantage 6-0.

The Best Grapplers in Jiu-Jitsu

Craig Jones

4. Craig Jones – Australia’s finest has made a big splash on the jiu-jitsu scene. Just take one look at 6′ 4″ Craig Jones, and you can tell that is a monster on the mats. At the ADCC in 2017 in Finland, Craig had one of the best performances of the tournament. He submitted 5x Black Belt World Champion Leandro Lo, and he submitted Unity BJJ coach and competitor Murilo Santana. Just check out this technique to catch the inside heel hook:

The Best Grapplers in Jiu-Jitsu

Roger Gracie

5. Roger Gracie – A true giant in the realm of jiu-jitsu, Roger Gracie is simply one of the all time best grapplers in jiu-jitsu. His grappling record stands at 71 wins with just 7 losses and 1 draw. It is significant to point out that Roger has never been submitted in competition (and I highly doubt anyone is submitting him in the gym). One of the greatest gi matches I have ever seen was his last victory over the always tough Marcus Almeida “Buchecha”. You can watch the whole match here:

And you can watch a brilliant breakdown of the same match here:

Spolier alert: Roger submitted Buchecha with a beautiful gi choke from the back.

The Best Grapplers in Jiu-Jitsu

Buchecha Marcus Almeida

6. Marcus Almeida aka Buchecha – What made Roger Gracie’s submission victory at the 2017 Gracie Pro superfight so super, was that it was a submission win over another one of the best grapplers in jiu-jitsu today, Marcus Almeida, a.k.a. Buchecha. Almeida also boasts a staggering record of 128-13-1. That is an incredible amount of high level grappling with a ridiculous winning record. Not to mention, that Almeida has grappled with some of the greats in the game, including Gordon Ryan (#1 on this list), in just his most recent match on September 29, 2019. Buchecha ended up losing that match but only by negative points 0-1.

Buchecha even has a 2016 submission victory via armbar over Felipe Pena (#2 on this list). It should be noted that on September 24, 2017, at the ADCC, Pena submitted Buchecha via rear naked choke. None-the-less, Buchecha is a fierce competitor and possesses undeniable grappling skills and experience to go along with his tremendous record.

The Best Grapplers in Jiu-Jitsu

Kyle Chambers

7. Kyle Chambers – Rounding out the list with an honorable mention is the up-and-coming, 10^th Planet Jiu-Jitsu ace, Kyle Chambers. I first noticed Chambers when I watched the January 2, 2019 Tenth Planet Team Duel on YouTube. You can watch it for yourself here (the time links are below the video):

Here are the time links to Kyle’s matches:

2:39:48 Chris Donahue vs Kyle Chambers

02:43:03 Kevin Hughes vs Kyle Chambers

01:35:44 Kyle Chambers vs Danny Gutierrez

01:43:46 Kyle Chambers vs Al Abdulaziz

I was impressed with Chambers movement and flexibility, a trademark of the Eddie Bravo system. It’s still not clear to me whether Chambers is a brown belt or a black belt, but he sure is entertaining to watch.