Grappling stars from two different eras of jiujitsu got to test out their skills against each other.
UFC grappling legend Demian Maia dropped in to train with Mica Galvao ahead of the 19-year-old’s stint at the 2022 ADCC World Championships, and they posted video of their session together.
Maia is a former ADCC and BJJ world champion that became known as one of the best grapplers in UFC history. He’s a former two-division UFC title challenger, with submission wins over some of the best MMA stars during his 14-year stint with the promotion.
Galvao on the other hand, is a BJJ phenom that took jiujitsu by storm. Routinely beating bigger and older black belts in the professional circuit as a teenager, Galvao quickly established himself as one of the best grapplers in the world today. He was promoted to black belt at just 17-years-old, and became the youngest ever Abu Dhabi World Pro champion in 2021 and youngest ever IBJJF world champion in 2022.
It’s worth noting that while Maia did have a couple of grappling matches recently, he is already 45-years-old and seemingly retired from MMA competition. He was also helping out the 19-year-old Galvao, who was also in shape and in-camp for the ADCC championships during this session.
Galvao ended up winning silver in that ADCC tournament, only losing to fellow teenage phenom Kade Ruotolo in the final.
Later
Oh my god!
Very cool to see.
Seems like when BJJ skill level is about equal, the difference is who has the better takedowns.
Not exactly. Rules and styles are key.
That’s a pretty fair assessment when you are comparing two top game players, but for example, rubber guard players don’t care about being taken down.
Mica’s transition to the back at 2:30 was a thing of beauty
the ticking clock was annoying AF. Felt like I was watching a preview spot for 60 minutes the whole time.
great round
Id say when technique is equal, size is the determining factor for the most. When size is roughly equal, timing. Timing in BJJ is extremely under appreciated.