Demetrious Johnson is one of the greatest MMA fighters in history but he recently shared a controversial opinion about professional grappling; that heel hooks should be banned. It’s certainly a hot take and, at least since the IBJJF updated their rules in 2021, there are no regular major events that seem to agree with him. There are likely a fair few BJJ enthusiasts who would be on his side though, particularly from the older generation where heel hooks are often considered to be highly dangerous. As far as active elite competitors go though, most of them seem happy with the way things are.
It was during a recent interview with Craig Jones that Demetrious Johnson raised the issue, and he actually made reference to the only major organisation where heel hooks are banned:
“In Quintet, heel hooks are banned. I agree, I think heel hooks should be banned. Reason why is because when I was training MMA I’ve seen Matt (Hume) get his ACL torn very, very quick. It was an accident. He was never the same.”
The reason why Quintet is relevant, is because Jones has actually borrowed their format for the second Craig Jones Invitational with some minor adjustments. The legality of heel hooks is one of them, and Johnson explained why that doesn’t sit right with him as a BJJ competitor himself:
“I’m 38. If I go to competition and a motherf***er heel hooks me (and) tears my ACL, MCL, LCL whatever it may be; I can’t play football with (my kids) anymore. I’m all messed up for a f***ing heel hook. I feel there’s so many other ways. Kneebar, toehold, armbar rear-naked choke, triangle (choke). There’s so many other ways to take somebody out besides a heel hook.”
Johnson went on to explain that he isn’t just coming at it from a safety point of view either, he’s also thinking of the spectators too:
”That’s one of the things I don’t like about no gi grapplers, because it’s all ‘he pulled guard, it’s all about the heel’ and I’m just like ‘here we f***ing go!’”
The full interview with Craig Jones where Demetrious Johnson explains why he thinks heel hooks should be banned was uploaded to his official YouTube channel:
