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It's hard to really say because his jiu-jitsu is so old school and basic compared to modern games. But, I can tell you that Mark Schultz wrestled with him for 40 minutes and couldn't do anything beyond hold him (didn't know what to do once he had pinned Rickson), and was then submitted. He began training under Rickson BB Pedro Sauer shortly after that.
http://www.bjjee.com/articles/olymp...e-2nd-toughest-submission-grappler-ive-faced/
I definitely think Rickson could've beaten Severn, Shamrock, Frye, Coleman, etc. He had all the patience and will to win of Royce, but was stronger, more skilled, and more aggressive. In a setting with no time limits, I don't see how each of those guys wouldn't be tapped by Rickson, even if it took him 20+ minutes.
I read a post on here from some dude who didn't seem to have any training, where he claimed something to the effect of, "the wrestler is an anaconda, he will squeeze his opponent to death and grind them down until they give up", but wrestling matches end as soon as you land on your back/shoulders, and have very little relevance to a street-fight. Furthermore, wrestling, as a martial art in and of itself, has no answer for the guard. That much is irrefutable.
So, in reality, the Black Belt is the anaconda. He will wait, and you will tell him to "be a man", "stop hugging", and then he will get your arm and break it if you don't tap out, and you will feel very, very stupid. And Rickson, at that time, was THE black belt... possibly one of the five best ground-fighters in the world, as it is alleged that some (not many) judoka had even more ground skill than him.
What that tells me is that Schultz could have out pointed Rickson in a graphing contest and could have potentially done some serious damage of GNP were permitted. That actually sounds about right. If the modern day incarnations of both guys were to rise up the ranks, Schultz would be a more highly regarded prospect bc an Olympic Gold in wrestling is a bigger achievement than a black belt in bjj.