The transition from jiu-jitsu to MMA is a tough one but here are five fighters (plus one honorable mention) representing the gentle art who impressed us in 2016. 

5: Ary Farias 

Atos black belt Ary Farias made his long-awaited return to jiu-jitsu this year and took silver at his first IBJJF World Championships since 2013. 

Farias won an MMA fight in March by submission and another in December with a crushing one-punch knockout in only 18 seconds. 

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4: Davi Ramos 

Another Atos black belt active in MMA, Ramos fought twice in 2016. He last fought before this past year in 2014, badly breaking his hand during his Bellator debut. During his time off he went and became the 2015 ADCC -77kg champion, marking himself out as one of the best no-gi grapplers in the world. 

Ramos fought in August and December, defeating Mike Flach by submission and Nick Piedmont by decision (with the latter victory earning him a title belt in Lebanese MMA event Phoenix Fighting Championship).

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3: Demian Maia 

Maia has long been one of jiu-jitsu's best representatives in MMA, and he added two submission wins to his extensive resume in 2016, beating both Matt Brown and Carlos Condit by rear-naked choke. 

That makes for a total of 12 career submission wins for Maia (with nine of those in the UFC). With these wins, analysts believe he's edging closer to challenging for the 170lb title.


May 14, 2016; Curitiba, Brazil; Demian Maia (red) has his arms raised in victory after defeating Matt Brown during UFC Fight Night at Arena Atletico Paranaense. Photo: Jason Silva-USA TODAY Sports

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2: Mackenzie Dern 

Dern made her professional MMA debut this year and started off strong by going 2-0, with both fights in the Legacy FC promotion. She won her first fight by decision and admitted she found it difficult to find the finish. 

She obviously learned from the experience, because she used her now signature omoplata rear-naked choke combo to submit her second opponent.

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1: Kron Gracie 

Kron Gracie fought twice in 2016 and took out two extremely notable names from the world of Japanese MMA. This took Gracie to a perfect 4-0, with all of his victories coming by way of submission. Gracie's fought Hideo Tokoro in September and Tatsuya Kawajiri on New Year's Eve, submitting both of them with rear-naked chokes. 

A training partner and close friend of the Diaz brothers, Gracie has evidently much in common with the famous MMA fighters. He does things his own way, but it's hard to argue with the results. At this rate, Gracie could become one of the best fighters in many years to bear the responsibility of defending the family name. 


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Honorable mention: 
Ronaldo Jacare only fought once but had a TKO win over Vitor Belfort in May.