Nicholas Meregali shared an assessment of the rules shaping the UFC BJJ’s grappling format during an interview with Mundo da Luta.

Meregali didn’t hold back in explaining what he sees as the core issue:

The purpose of the event is not to potentialize grappling and jiu-jitsu in a technical way, but to potentialize grappling and jiu-jitsu in a financial way.
I think this is the main point of the UFC, so the rule, I believe, doesn’t matter when we talk about the foundation of jiu-jitsu.

He went deeper into how the format affects one of the sport’s most defining elements – submissions:

The rule itself does not favor jiu-jitsu, and when we talk about jiu-jitsu, there are other things, where we build the submission, and building the submission means that you prove that you have, through your technical ability, the condition to make it work.

A submission is not just that you tap. The person grabs your elbow, grabs your belt, and the life ends.
And the UFC, because of the dynamics, they are looking for entertainment, so the rule in this sense is not very positive.

Another major point of contention for Meregali is the adoption of the 10-9 scoring system, commonly used in MMA:

This idea of bringing a ruleset that is already well absorbed by the public and applying it to jiu-jitsu, it is obvious that this rule will not be beneficial to jiu-jitsu, because it turns out that jiu-jitsu is a totally different sport from MMA.

There is no way to equalize the two things, even the grappling of MMA is different from the grappling that we do on the ground in jiu-jitsu.
So the rules don’t fit.

He also highlighted the impact of shorter rounds:

When the round is shorter, there is not so much time to apply the techniques, to get to a position of constant domination, where you can break your opponent physically, mentally, then there is a finish.

That’s why the five-minute round hinders a little the perspective of finding submissions.

To illustrate his point, Meregali explained how shorter rounds can actually favor less skilled competitors by reducing the time available for technical superiority to take over:

The longer the fight is, the more the physical and technical disparity will prevail.
When the fight is too short, the person may be inferior, but they will be in an advantageous position because they have little time to defend themselves.

The round, at the same time that it’s very positive for entertainment, it’s very negative for the fundamental issue of jiu-jitsu.

Despite the criticism, Meregali made it clear that he doesn’t see the ruleset as a failure:

The fundamental structure of jiu-jitsu falls a little to the background, but we are promoting entertainment to the grappling fan, so it turns out that there are pros and cons.

I think it’s up to athletes and the organization, little by little, to find ways not to mess with the structure completely, but to refine the rule little by little, add something here or there that maybe makes sense for grappling, but keep this skeleton of rounds, keep the skeleton of scoring.

It’s a matter of time now to mature this rule.

 

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