My Top Three Stories from the 2021 IBJJF Mundial

 

Photo courtesy of Flograppling / IBJJF

Apologies for being more than a little late to the IBJJF World Championship conversation ... I've finally gotten around to checking out some of the many matches I missed. And while there are several more to go, there are a handful of contests that I managed to watch that were especially remarkable.

First, the controversy of the Meregali DQ is probably the biggest story to come out of the event. No sense in crying over spilled milk; and I don't think anyone should be surprised that the IBJJF would decide to be strict about its sportsmanship rules even at the cost of potentially diminishing the legacy of its championship series. That said, the decision to involve representatives of other competitors to help decide who should replace Meregali was disappointing - and only darkens the cloud that hangs over the event. Coupled with the fact that Meregali's challenger, Felipe Pena, announced that he was retiring from gi competition and it's hard not to be all the more bummed out that we missed an opportunity to see what would have likely been an epic contest between top competitors.

Here's Flograppling's take on the DQ and here's Pena discussing the DQ and his own decision to step away from gi competition.

That said, there was much to enjoy about this year's championships - not the least of which was the fact that more new champions were crowned this year than at any Mundial in recent memory. This leads me to the second big story, at least for me, coming out of the event: Fabricio Andrey's victory over 2018 Mundial featherweight champion Shane Jamil Hill-Taylor by submission (triangle). I'm partial to the division as a sub-150 pound person myself, even though the style of jiu-jitsu common to the lighter weights is typically less to my liking. And that's probably why the contest - and its conclusion in particular - was so rewarding. Add to this the fact that the contest between Andrey and Hill-Taylor was a rematch from their meet up at the Pans earlier this year (which Andrey won by advantage), and you easily have a strong contender for "Best Gold Medal Match" of the event.

My third favorite story of the 2021 Mundial is the run by Art of Jiu-Jitsu (AOJ) Middleweight Tainan Dalpra. En route to taking home the gold in his division, Dalpra took out Ronaldo Jr. and Isaac Bahiense - two of the division's toughest - as well as besting both Tommy Langaker and Jeferson Guaresi by submission (choke and toehold, respectively). No wonder Dalpra has earned the #1 P4P spot in the gi rankings.

Again, I've got more matches to watch, and there's a chance that I'll see something that may challenge these three tales from Anaheim in terms of my opinion as the most consequential. But, for now, there are few things I'm looking forward to more than seeing what comes next from Andrey and Dalpra - as well as Meregali and Pena - in 2022.

Footsweep to Double Leg

 

Mike DeWitt of 10th Planet Springfield hits this takedown in a couple of these 10th Planet Qualifier competitions that I've watched. Nevertheless seeing it yesterday while doing cardio film study reminded me of how much I like the set-up. The footsweep attack incentivizes the opponent to lift his feet and remain as vertical as possible, opening up both the space and the timing for the double leg.

DeWitt has a nice double leg without it. But with the setup, it looks like an especially potent way to get the fight to the floor.

11 / 12

Celebrated the occasion by watching the finale of the 10th Planet Middleweight combat jiu-jitsu qualifiers. 11/12 is the closest thing combat sport athletes and martial artists have for an international holiday.

Map | Territory

“Just as a man walking in a forest without a compass will inevitably end up walking in a useless circle, so too, a years worth of training sessions without direction will end up with you at the same point you started.”

-John Danaher, The Danaher Diaries

Otavio in Action: Pan 2020

Spent my cardio session today watching a couple of competition videos of Gracie Barra competitor Otavio Sousa. He's been one of my favorite guys to watch for awhile. I've been fortunate to attend one of his seminars at Gracie Barra Seattle years ago, and studying his sitting guard game (courtesy of BJJ Scout's excellent video on that position) led the way to one of the last Great Leaps Forward in my jiu-jitsu career.

He favors a closed guard attack more these days. But you can still see him working from the sitting guard a little from time to time. I've liked to watch his game because although he's a stockier guy than I am, we're both on the short side relative to our weight (especially in jiu-jitsu). He's also heavier - competing at medium heavyweight of late - which makes him less acrobatic, less reliant on extreme flexibility, etc.

People Get Ready

The deeper we get into October, the more likely the next big regional competition (I'm looking at you, Revolution) will be in 2022 rather than the fall of 2021.

In a normal year, February would be the earliest for an event to take place. The latest anti-COVID mandate, as it applies to gyms, runs through late March. Best case scenario is a successful spring event that paves the way for a summer event and, ideally, getting the whole show back on track.

So, with six months to go ...

Submission Hero of the Week: Ben Dyson

He didn't win the tournament. But with his armbar victory over a guy who repeatedly went to the "limit his ability to breathe" technique of putting his hands over his opponent's mouth from inside the closed guard, he has won my heart.

WNO Championships Deliver

The most fascinating thing about the incredible show that was the WNO Championships this past weekend was the way that the victorious competitors were able to leverage specialization instead of being limited by it. 

On one hand, you had the predictable-but-unstoppable head and arm (okay, d'arce) chokes of the Ruotolo brothers and the wisdom and strategic intelligence of a non leg locker like Tim Spriggs to make the still-common vulnerability of most no-gi grapplers a major part of his, 3-day-a-week training in preparation for the event. 

On the other hand, we have the inability of veteran leg lockers like Tex Johnson and Elizabeth Clay to lure their opponents into their game - to say nothing of Michael Musumeci's inability to defend himself effectively once his notoriously tough-to-pass guard was, in fact, passed.

So many great performances! And many takeaways, as always. If you haven't watched the event, then browse on over to FloGrappling and treat yourself to some very entertaining jiu-jitsu.

Honorable mention to both Amanda Leve and Kendall Reusing who were also especially impressive.

Old School Jiu-Jitsu Classic Moments

 

"Wear Your Insides / On The Outside / Show Your Enemy ...

What You Look Like"

Performance Uber Alles

 

Luke Thomas On the Physical Toll of Recreational Combat

I'm a huge fan of Luke Thomas' work as an analyst and commentator on mixed martial arts. I thought his reflection on whether or not he planned to return to jiu-jitsu training post-COVID was pretty heartfelt, honest, and resonant - one of the key reasons I've been a fan of his for years. Although I end up making a different decision, I think his perspective is worth considering if your time in and around the mat starts to feel less worthwhile. 

The conversation starts at 27:20 minutes and runs for about 11-12 minutes. Some valuable truth-telling.

MMA Submission Hero of the Week: Carlston Harris

 

Keenan Cornelius on Competition Preparation

 

This latest from KC is very good. He does a great job of breaking down his concepts and presenting them in a pretty compelling fashion. For all my gripes about his lapel game and its influence on gi jiu-jitsu, Legion Era Keenan is a real boon to BJJ.

Ryan on Rogan

 

A lot of good takeaways from an interview I've been looking forward to for awhile now. Not a ton of surprises for any one who's been following Ryan's career, but some interesting insights into the teaching approach of the Danaher Death Squad and, more importantly, what he thinks distinguishes the DDS approach to jiu-jitsu from everyone else's.

Rafael Lovato Jr. On the Competitive Mindset and Knowing Your "Why"

 

"What's your goal, your purpose, your 'why'? Of course, we all love jiu-jitsu. We love to learn. The vibe, to train, to get better. But when you sign up for a competition, that's a step beyond. That's a step beyond just being a normal practitioner. So, why are you competing? Why are you challenging yourself? You have to know that. You have to know what your inspiration is. Because when things get tough, and there's a hard battle in front of you and you want to break, if you don't know your 'why', you're going to be at a disadvantage."

Watch the rest.

On Being Closed-Minded

If two of Gracie Barra's greatest black belt competitors (okay, okay, how about "two of Carlos Gracie Jr.'s greatest" black belt competitors?) do their best guard work from the closed guard, then why can't I?

Rats! Rats! Rats!

 Over or under?

Inside or outside?

Through or around?

Clockwise or counter-clockwise?

Smash or float?

Parallel or crosswise?