List of MMA Heavyweights

MMA or Mixed Martial Arts has enjoyed a meteoric rise in popularity over the past several years. It is full contact fighting that allows for a mix and match-up of several different fighting styles including boxing, wrestling, judo, kickboxing, jiu-jitsu, and muay Thai. Professional fighters sign with and fight for promotion companies. The two largest and most recognizable are Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Strikeforce. Similar to boxing, fighters are broken up by weight class. The largest class is the Heavyweight where the fighters must weigh between 206 and 265 lbs. USA Today, in conjunction with SB Nation, maintains a consensus ranking of the fighters for the MMA weight classes. At the time of the this article, the top 4 Heavyweight fighters are Cain Velasquez, Junior dos Santos, Fabricio Werdum, and Brock Lesnar.

  1. Cain Velasquez

    • Cain Velasquez is the reigning UFC Heavyweight Title holder and is ranked as the No. 1 Heavyweight MMA fighter. He has a career fight record of 9 wins and no losses. He obtained the title on October 23, 2010 by defeating then Heavyweight champion, Brock Lesnar. Cain is a 28 year-old originally from Yuma, Arizona. He measures in at a height of 6 feet 1 inch and a weight of 240 lbs. Cain graduated from Arizona State University where he was a two-time All-American and a two-time PAC-10 champion in wrestling. He also received a bachelor's degree in Education. Prior to his MMA fighting career, Cain worked a security job in a nightclub.

    Junior dos Santos

    • Junior dos Santos, nickname "Cigano", is a 27 year-old Heavyweight MMA fighter originally from Santa Catarina, Brazil. Dos Santos is currently ranked No. 2 in the world by USA Today. He has an overall fight record of 12 wins and 1 loss and currently fights for the UFC. Junior measures an imposing 6 feet 4 inches and weighs 238 lbs. He holds a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and is a former Bahia State, Brazil Jiu-Jitsu Champion. Junior trains under the former UFC Heavyweight Champion, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

    Fabricio Werdum

    • Fabricio Werdum, from Porto Alegre, Brazil is the No. 3 ranked Heavyweight MMA fighter. His overall fight record is 14 wins, 4 losses, and 1 draw. Fabricio, at age 33, is 6 feet 4 inches and 239 lbs. He is a black belt in Brazilian Jui-Jitsu and is a two-time Jui-Jitsu world champion. He currently fights for Strikeforce. Fabricio jumped towards the top of the ranking after beating WAMMA (World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts) Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko in June of 2010 in what most considered a huge upset.

    Brock Lesnar

    • Brock Lesnar is ranked as the No. 4 Heavyweight MMA fighter. One of the most recognized names in MMA, he has a fight record of 5 wins and 2 losses. His most recent match was when he lost his Heavyweight title to Cain Velasquez. Brock, from Webster, South Dakota, is one of the largest competitors at an intimidating 6 feet 3 inches and 265 lbs. He attended the University of Minnesota where he was a four-time All-American and a two-time Big Ten Heavyweight wrestling champion. He also won an NCAA Division I Heavyweight wrestling championship. After college, Brock joined the WWE as a professional wrestler where he quickly rose to stardom and became a WWE Champion. He joined the UFC as an MMA fighter in 2007.