Almost every Jiu-Jitsu practitioner has had the following thought run through his head: “How would Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fare against another martial art? For example, Boxing? Or Taekwondo? And what about other grappling sports, such as Judo or Wrestling?”
While the answer to these questions can be argued from all sorts of perspectives, it’s best to look at examples of real-life clashes. For instance, the clash between BJJ and Luta Livre!
It’s now been over thirty years ago that a team of Jiu-Jitsu representatives faced the fiercest athletes of Luta Livre. The event took place in Grajaú, Rio de Janeiro, and was televised live.
The Jiu-Jitsu team consisted out of Fabio Gurgel, Murilo Bustamante and Wallid Ismail, which were all trained by the Grandmaster Carlson Gracie. The fight itself consisted out of numerous punches and grappling exchanges; and in the end, the spectators were in shock. The Jiu-Jitsu team ended up undefeated, racking up three victories that evening.
That win was extremely important for the development of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as a whole; as Rio de Janeiro’s academies became fuller than ever in that week in 1991.
The atmosphere of the event itself was incredible. Among other things, it represented Fabio Gurgel’s debut in mixed martial art, in his duel of Luta Livre’s representative Denilson Maia. Check it out and the accompanying atmosphere below:
