10 best BJJ artists in the world today
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Dubious Dom
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Roberto Abreu isn't in the top tier of BJJ fighters?
Galen Spielman
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I forget if this is Gi or nogi so for the sake of argument i'll assume its both:
Roger unquestionably number- 1
Rafa M-2 (Currently the most dominant guy in the most competitive division)
Cobrinha-3 (Rafael is his kryptonite and he doesn't lose to anyone else)
Marcelo-4 (although my favorite athlete is not as dominant as in years past, still won the Mundials and was in the finals of every major tournament I believe)
Braulio-5 (has been on FIRE the last couple of years..definitely one of the most exciting guys to watch in the sport)
Calazanes-6 (Really hard to put him behind Braulio since he beat him twice at ADCC Pro, but some people just have other people's names..also did awesome at the Mundials)
Pablo-7 Strictly on the list for his Nogi achievements....thats impressive...amazing past couple years)
Caio Terra-8 (reminded us why Jiu Jitsu rocks when he won the absolute division at the american nationals although it was kind of watered down..super fun to watch
Bruno M 9-(Had to put him behind Caio because lets be honest, that win was bullshit)
Cyborg 10-Awesome guy and super fun to watch but that Mundials title has eluded him
honorable mention to Barral
Roger unquestionably number- 1
Rafa M-2 (Currently the most dominant guy in the most competitive division)
Cobrinha-3 (Rafael is his kryptonite and he doesn't lose to anyone else)
Marcelo-4 (although my favorite athlete is not as dominant as in years past, still won the Mundials and was in the finals of every major tournament I believe)
Braulio-5 (has been on FIRE the last couple of years..definitely one of the most exciting guys to watch in the sport)
Calazanes-6 (Really hard to put him behind Braulio since he beat him twice at ADCC Pro, but some people just have other people's names..also did awesome at the Mundials)
Pablo-7 Strictly on the list for his Nogi achievements....thats impressive...amazing past couple years)
Caio Terra-8 (reminded us why Jiu Jitsu rocks when he won the absolute division at the american nationals although it was kind of watered down..super fun to watch
Bruno M 9-(Had to put him behind Caio because lets be honest, that win was bullshit)
Cyborg 10-Awesome guy and super fun to watch but that Mundials title has eluded him
honorable mention to Barral
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2 quick points
1) Bruno Malfacine has won his weight division in every tournament he's entered over the last 3 years, if you think Caio Terra should be ahead of him based on him winning some absolute divisions fine, but even if you think that one of his wins was suspect he's still the top dog at rooster.
2) Rommulo Barral has competed in 3 of the last 4 world championships(he missed one year due to injury) in those 3 tournaments he won his weight division twice and finished second to Roger in the absolute 3 times. It's absolutely crazy to not have him top 10.
Galen Spielman
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you're definitely right about Romulo. I essentially didn't put him on the list because I couldn't remember if he had won the Mundials or not. Since he did, I definitely have to throw him up in the middle, at least. I still believe Caio is a little higher than Bruno for one reason or another. I'm sure the last couple matches might've played into it, but when matches are within an advantage or even a point or two, refs mistakes happen. I think it does have more to do with the fact the he constantly competes at the absolute division, which guys that size just dont do very often. Also, although I don't know how long Bruno's been training, as Caio's been training for such a short period of time, you have to think that he probably hasn't even hit his stride yet (although we're doing BJJ guys of today, not 5 years from now).
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You also kind of have to put Langhi in there, since he's significantly more accomplished than half the guys in your list, in another of the most competitive divisions.
Sorry, just being awkward and showing some love for the Leve division. ^_-
Take care,
Oli
Sorry, just being awkward and showing some love for the Leve division. ^_-
Take care,
Oli
I agree with you.
If we are talking about bjj competitors, I would not include anyone who has not won the Mundials adult division. Then, you can begin to eliminate anyone who has only won once.
You should be able to come up with a pretty non biased list based on that criteria.
As amazing as someone is, if he hasn't won the Mundials, that means there is someone better than him just in his weight class, let alone in a pound for pound ranking.
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My instructor has trained with him, says he's awesome. He's elite in both Judo and BJJ. But I don't think he's done anything in BJJ like winning a world championship or anything. If we're doing a top 10 across all weight classes, they're all pretty much going to be current or former world champions, some of them multiple times.
Roger
Rafa
Cobrinha
Marcelo
Langhi
Romulo
Braulio
Cyborg
Xande
Ricardo Demente
Roger clear #1, Rafa clear #2. After that, order is debatable IMO. Honorable mention to Bruno Frazzato, Durinho, Celsinho, Cavaca (who maybe deserves a spot ahead of Cyborg), and Tarsis Humphreys
Rafa
Cobrinha
Marcelo
Langhi
Romulo
Braulio
Cyborg
Xande
Ricardo Demente
Roger clear #1, Rafa clear #2. After that, order is debatable IMO. Honorable mention to Bruno Frazzato, Durinho, Celsinho, Cavaca (who maybe deserves a spot ahead of Cyborg), and Tarsis Humphreys
Legend Killer
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No Pablo?
chicagocombat
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I am a BJ fan, but he should not be on this list. He has been absentee from the scene for such a long time, but it is amazing when he sweeps, or gets a persons back in MMA for the RNC.
Galen Spielman
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Okay, I agree that my list is definitely below par if we consider BJJ only (which was the question that I didn't read well enough, obviously). Although, if we take into account no gi and submission grappling, I could argue for a few of the "other" guys on my list (Caio, Cyborg, Braulio so high, Pablo obviously).
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The ONLY 7x World Champ? Aaaaaand...how many does Roger have?
Drew Foster
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I think you have Marcelo in the right spot, and I'm not saying that you're alluding to this, but he's just as good as ever to me. If not more. He killed it at this year's Mundials, won last years too. Like you said.
I think where people think he's weaker is the ADCC 2009 performances. But I thought he looked better than he did any other year until right at the end of the Pablo match, and that's a controversial match to some people. I don't think the shorts grabbing affected the outcome, but Pablo is so good he was bound to beat Garcia eventually. As far as his Absolute performance, I think he would have gotten Bronze if not for facing Braulio so early. That's just a bad stylistic match-up for Marcelo in my eyes.
I know many people will disagree with me though.
Drew Foster
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Yea I just saw that the other day. Didn't he say that the footlock attempt opened up the sweep and Braulio ended up in a good position to pass? I need to pop in the DVD and check out that match again. I still think the fact that Braulio finished with an arm-triangle/RNC combo is pretty nuts.
Plus, you know Marcelo's head was maybe a little messed up from losing to Pablo earlier the same day. I still think Braulio is just a hard style for Marcelo. Like Ryan Hall said, Marcelo has a way of preventing you from getting to your powerful positions. Ryan said he could not get to the 50/50 on Marcelo in those youtube/MGinaction vids. Whenever he shoots for a Darce or goes for a back-take, or deep half, Marcelo just vanishes to another place. Marcelo Garcia's preventative game didn't seem to work against Braulio, and that's all I really remember about both of their matches, aside from the finishes themselves. I need to re-watch those.
Yea, Marcelo said Braulio swept right into a pass. Marcelo's normal way of dealing with DLR guard doesn't work too well with Braulio. Maybe it's because Braulio makes another hook with his free leg, preventing the back step pass.
Listening to that discussion, I really get an understanding for people (Royler commonly) saying "don't get caught there" when a student asks for a defense to a position.
Robson doesn't have 7 mundials black belt titles ( i think he factors in his purple belt mundials title and black belt copa do mundo into that 7). He isn't the only 6 time world champ tho.
In terms of total titles @ black belt (breakdown by IBJJF Mundials-Copa do Mundo-CBJJE Mundials), the only guys with 5 or more are:
*Roger - 10 (10-0-0)
*Xande - 10 (6-4-0)
*Mario Reis - 8 (2-3-3)
*Robson - 6 (5-1-0)
*Terere - 6 (2-4-0)
*Cobrinha - 6 (4-2-0)
*Saulo - 5 (5-0-0)
*Jacare - 5 (3-2-0)
*Ricardinho - 5 (1-4-0)
n.b. the CBJJE Mundials has a much lower level of elite competition than the Copa Do Mundo it replaced.
