Although the majority of Brazilian jiu jitsu competitors opt to pull guard early in their match, there are still many who chose to engage in the stand-up battle for the top position. In deep contrast with the typical guard pullers such as Miyao Brothers or Mackenzie Dern we have Rodolfo Vieira, Marcus “Buchecha”, “Xande” Ribeiro, Vitor Oliveira, Victor Silverio, to name a few.
The BJJ takedown/throwing rulebook is very flexible when comparing to more specialized sports such as judo or greco-roman wrestling. The broader range of allowed techniques and grips allied with the many flying submissions and guard pulls to single leg/ankle-picks takedowns competitors look for in jiu jitsu matches make a unique grappling cocktail, one that often provides spectacular matches.
In this particular segment of BJJ Heroes, we looked for a few interesting stand-up battles found in jiu jitsu matches, both with the gi and without.
Fernando “Margarida” Pontes vs Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (CBJJO World Cup 2004)
Rafael Abi-Rihan vs Alan “Finfou” Nascimento (FJJ-Rio State Final 2007)
Alexandre “Xande” Ribeiro vs Rodolfo Vieira (IBJJF World Championship 2012)
Flávio “Cachorrinho” Almeida vs Vitor Oliveira (IBJJF Chicago Summer Open 2013)
Gilbert “Durinho” Burns vs Gregor Gracie (Copa Podio 2015)
Amaury Bitetti vs Ryan Gracie (Brazilian Nationals 1998)
Andre Galvao vs Pablo Popovitch ADCC 2011
Mark Kerr vs Leonardo Vieira
Leonardo Vieira vs Matt Serra (Pro Am 2000)
Banner picture by BJJPix.com
