Wrestling is one of the biggest sports in America with over 250,000 participants at the high school level alone. But, less than 4% of those go on to wrestle in college, and an even smaller percentage of those have any hope of continuing their wrestling career beyond college at the international level.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) is a more recreationally focused sport, with frequent opportunities for competition for people at all ages and all experience levels. The 2019 IBJJF Pan American Championships in Long Beach California hosted over 5,000 competitors—that’s just one tournament!

The skill sets involved in wrestling and BJJ are very similar, so why don’t we see more former wrestlers competing in BJJ? With such a massive talent pool, one would expect to see wrestlers dominating jiu jitsu in America. But, while many wrestlers have dabbled in some form of submission grappling, the reality is that very few successfully make the transition.

We have all seen what happens when a high level wrestler starts to learn some BJJ. They often get very good, very fast.

Think of the example of former D3 wrestler Nick Rodriguez who after 9 months of BJJ and getting a blue belt, went on to take 2nd place at grappling’s most elite tournament, ADCC. He defeated black belt world champions and former ADCC champions such as Mahamed Aly, Orlando Sanchez, and Roberto Cyborg Abreu.

In this instance, former Division 1 Wrestler Jacob Johnson (red ankle band) of Elite Edge MMA decided to test himself  by entering the advanced division at Sub Spectrum: Des Moines. He would face BJJ Black Belt and 2017 ADCC silver medalist Jared Dopp currently training out of Alliance Ames.

This is an interesting match up:

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