2 of the best Brazilian UFC champions, 1 of the worst

Brazil is one of those nations that greatly loves mixed martial arts, especially the UFC.

Hundreds of people from the South American country have competed in the Octagon to varying degrees of success, but only a handful of them have attained the glorious high of competing for a title, let alone winning one. From Royce Gracie all the way to Alexandre Pantoja, there has always been at least one Brazilian UFC champion.

But not all of them have bene held to the same standard. Some have been exceptionally great, while others have been disappointing. So are the worst and best of these champions?

Best: Anderson Silva

Regardless of one's stance on his USADA violations, Anderson Silva is easily one of the most dominant champions of all time.

When he first burst onto the MMA scene in the early, many saw his creative Muay Thai style and predicted that he would become a champion. In his UFC debut, he knocked out Chris Leben to become the no. 1 contender to the middleweight title, which he then won by folding Rich Franklin with brutal knee.

What followed was nearly seven months of dominance, as Silva destroyed and embarrassed challenger after challenger. At times it was painful to watch, as seen in the Thales Leites and Demian Maia fights; other times it was exhilarating, like with Vitor Belfort and the first Chael Sonnen fight.

But regardless, until Chris Weidman precipitated his downfall in July 2013, Silva was the man to beat. His 10 defenses stood as the all-time reord until Demetrious Johnson broke it in October 2017.