José Aldo and 4 of the greatest Brazilian fighters in UFC history

No nation is perhaps more synonymous with UFC greatness than Brazil. Since the promotion's very inception, Brazilian fighters have etched themselves into the halls of MMA legends. Each era can point to Brazilian mixed martial artists who set themselves apart from their contemporaries. Despite the shared greatness among the nation's countrymen, only one reigns above all others.

José Aldo followed in the footsteps of his predecessor—Anderson Silva—by announcing his retirement from mixed martial arts. Aldo left behind a legacy worthy of being mentioned in a discussion about the greatest Brazilian fighters in UFC and MMA history. While the likes of Wanderlei Silva and Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira certainly deserve recognition in such a discussion, most of their legendary accomplishments took place in other MMA promotions.

Nogueira's legacy was built by dominating PRIDE's heavyweight division. Similarly, Wanderlei Silva's claim to fame was his 20-fight unbeaten streak in PRIDE. However, as this is a list detailing the greatest Brazilian fighters in UFC history, only accomplishments in the promotion are considered. Nogueira's run included a UFC interim heavyweight title and a 5-6 record.

Meanwhile, Wanderlei Silva failed to capture UFC gold and ended his time with the promotion with a 5-9 record. This list details the five greatest Brazilian fighters in the promotion's history.

#5. Lyoto Machida

Lyoto Machida's placing on this list is challenged only by Vitor Belfort. However, Machida's impact on the sport of MMA, as well as his superior UFC record and better performance in title fights, earned him a place above Belfort. While 'The Phenom' owns the record for the third-most finishes in the promotion's history and is a former UFC light heavyweight champion, his inferior win-loss record and the PED scandal engulfing his career undercut his placing.

Not only did Lyoto Machida successfully defend his light heavyweight championship, but he revolutionized counter-striking in MMA as a whole. Before Machida's emergence, karate and all of its subsets were widely dismissed as ineffective in MMA. However, 'The Dragon' revealed how deadly Shotokan karate can be when applied correctly. Machida weaponized his karate blitz by fighting from an absurdly long distance.

Lyoto Machida is the only fighter in UFC history with TWO front-kick knockouts:

🆚 Randy Couture in 2011
🆚 Vitor Belfort in 2018

Both fighters retired immediately after their defeat 😳 https://t.co/SLKpFcEGCy

If his foes refused to close the distance between them, Machida sniped them with kicks and punches while using his bladed stance to dart in and out of range. His real intention, however, was to frustrate opponents into lunging forward. Due to the long distance he maintained, he forced his foes to telegraph their intentions by taking additional steps to get close enough.

Once they committed to lunging forward, Machida sprung forward at the same time to intercept his opponents and create a collision between their chins and his straight left. This enabled 'The Dragon' to defeat the likes of Chael Sonnen, Maurício 'Shogun' Rua, Rashad Evans, Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz, Dan Henderson, Ryan Bader, Gegard Mousasi, and Vitor Belfort.