# Top 14 No-Gi Grapplers of All Time

> Leg-lock pioneers, absolute-division monsters and a few heavyweights who made their names before MMA did. Rank the people who turned submission grappling into its own sport.

*By YPB Team · Published October 31, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/top-14-no-gi-grapplers-of-all-time*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Mark Kerr** — score 1000/1000
   American wrestler who won back-to-back ADCC titles in the late 1990s, including the absolute division.
2. **Alexandre Ribeiro** — score 906/1000
   'Xande', the Brazilian black-belt great who added ADCC gold to a long list of world titles.
3. **Michelle Nicolini** — score 764/1000
   Brazilian ADCC champion and spider-guard specialist, one of the most decorated women in the sport.
4. **Gordon Ryan** — score 764/1000
   American submission machine with multiple ADCC titles, widely called the greatest no-gi grappler ever.
5. **Jeff Monson** — score 647/1000
   American submission wrestler who won ADCC gold in 1999 and the absolute division in 2005.
6. **Ronaldo Souza** — score 647/1000
   'Jacaré', the powerful Brazilian ADCC champion famous for refusing to tap with a broken arm.
7. **Demian Maia** — score 647/1000
   Brazilian ADCC 2007 champion whose pure grappling style carried him through a long UFC career.
8. **Kaynan Duarte** — score 647/1000
   Brazilian heavyweight who won the 2019 ADCC absolute title with a dominant run.
9. **Dean Lister** — score 647/1000
   Leg-lock pioneer who won the 2003 ADCC absolute and another ADCC title eight years later.
10. **Gabi Garcia** — score 647/1000
   Brazilian heavyweight with a record haul of ADCC titles in the women's divisions.
11. **Marcelo Garcia** — score 503/1000
   Brazilian legend with four ADCC titles whose butterfly guard and guillotines reshaped no-gi grappling.
12. **Mica Galvão** — score 0/1000
   Brazilian prodigy and son of coach Melqui Galvão, a multiple world champion before turning 21.
13. **Fabrício Werdum** — score 0/1000
   Brazilian heavyweight and ADCC champion whose ground game later toppled Fedor and won a UFC title.
14. **Mikey Musumeci** — score 0/1000
   American leg-entanglement wizard and ONE Championship submission grappling champion.

Tags: athletes, all time, bjj, grappling, no-gi