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

#2. Anderson Silva

At the peak of his powers, Anderson Silva was a human highlight reel. Throughout his six-year unbeaten run in the UFC, Silva accumulated a series of records in the promotion. Before Demetrious Johnson eventually surpassed him, Silva's ten consecutive title defenses in the middleweight division were the highest in UFC history. Furthermore, he's credited with the promotion's longest-ever championship reign.

'The Spider' also owns the record for the most UFC middleweight title fight wins and the most finishes in UFC championship history. His journey through the promotion earned him a 16-fight win streak, the longest under the promotion's banner. For years, fighters were both mystified by and terrified of Anderson Silva. His counter-striking style was a puzzle that his contemporaries were ill-equipped to solve.

Silva fought with his hands low at waist level. By doing so, the Brazilian presented his head as an open target. Over-aggressive foes lunged forward yet overextended as Silva pulled back at the waist to evade their punches before countering them en route to an elusive KO. It earned him 16 consecutive wins, with names like Demian Maia, Chael Sonnen, Dan Henderson, Rich Franklin, Vitor Belfort, and Forrest Griffin on the list.

Unfortunately, the lower-level opposition Silva faced and the stain left by his positive PED tests undercut his standing.

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#1. José Aldo

The former two-time featherweight champion is arguably the greatest Brazilian fighter in the promotion's history. At the height of his success, José Aldo was at the helm of an 18-fight win streak, with seven of those wins coming in the UFC, all of which were title defenses after the WEC featherweight championship he held was promoted to the UFC featherweight crown. The strength of his opposition was also a sight to behold.

While Urijah Faber and Cub Swanson tasted defeat at Aldo's hands during the Brazilian's WEC days, his UFC foes include Mark Hominick, Kenny Florian, Chad Mendes, Frankie Edgar, Chan Sung Jung, Ricardo Lamas, Jeremy Stephens, Renato Moicano, Marlon Vera, Pedro Munhoz and Rob Font. Additionally, not only was the strength of the competition that Aldo faced impressive, but he also beat the best fighters of multiple generations.

He defeated the greats of yesteryear like Frankie Edgar and Kenny Florian, dominated the best fighters of his generation like Chad Mendes and Chan Sung Jung, and bested skilled mixed martial artists of the generation after his own such as Marlon Vera and Renato Moicano. Stylistically, 'Scarface' always broke the mold, defying the evolution of MMA wrestling, revolutionizing low kicks, and unveiling exactly how to defend oneself from calf kicks.