Fans of BJJ were treated to a rematch with the two men who are regarded as the greatest jiu-jitsu competitors of all time — Roger Gracie and Marcus Almeida “Buchecha.”
For those who have never seen their first match, check it out below:
“Buchecha” is the current king of the hill in the jiu-jitsu world, having won the prestigious World Absolute title a record 5 times. Roger Gracie was the previous Absolute title holder with three Absolute titles to his credit, but he has been focusing on his MMA career the last several years.
By now the results are known, with Gracie winning by rear cross collar choke/sliding collar choke in what might considered an upset over the previously unbeatable Buchecha.
So what happened in the match?
Here are a few observations:
First, Buchecha was far more aggressive in the stand-up, attempting several double and single leg takedowns. Gracie countered the takedowns by backwards movement and defensive gripping. There was plenty of grip fighting on the feet.
Then, both fighters were given a passivity warning by the referee in the stand-up portion of the match at the 3-minute mark.
After that, the fight reached the mat near the 6-minute mark. Roger attempted to pull guard with his foot on the hip and Buchecha tried to counter by slicing a knee through the center. They paused in a half guard position.
Then the turning point in the fight was Gracie getting a two-on-one sleeve grip on Buchecha’s far arm, threatening the balance of Buchecha and at the same time looking to take his back.
In the ensuing scramble, Roger countered two attempts by Buchecha to Granby Roll back to his guard. The scramble was created when Roger was progressing towards Buchecha’s back.
Roger quickly attacked Buchecha’s turtle by lifting him up and placing both hooks inside. Immediately Roger secured a collar grip/sliding collar choke from rear mount. If you surrender the rear mount to one of these top guys, you are in trouble!.
Roger explains how he got the submission in the video below:
Who’s the referee?