In what was basically every modern jiu-jitsu nerd’s dream come true, a group of BJJ’s top athletes all trained together at Renzo Gracie Academy in NYC today.
Craig Jones, Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida, Felipe Pena, and Romulo Barral all stopped in to train at John Danaher and Gordon Ryan’s home gym. Ryan shared a photo of Buchecha and Pena and made note that there were four ADCC champions on the mat at one time.
Danaher also shared a short clip that showed some of the interactions between the athletes:
Danaher’s mention of Jones being there as well took some people by surprise, as the Australian grappler wasn’t shown in the photo or video. But a clip shared by Nick Ronan revealed that Jones didn’t miss out on the fun.
The fact that all these grapplers trained together isn’t only significant for the sheer level of top talent in one room — some saw it as a gesture of sportsmanship as well. Many of the athletes in the group have competed against each other before, and Jones and Pena will be in the same bracket at this weekend’s Kasai Pro 5.
