Demian Maia recently listed off his choices for the greatest grapplers of all time and he made some excellent choices. Considering that there have been decades of elite BJJ competitors leaving it all on the mats by now, there’s no shortage of incredible talent to choose from. This is no different to any other sport though and just like any other, there are always going to be a handful of people who rise to the very top. Unsurprisingly, most people will list off the same small number of grapplers when they get asked the question and Maia wasn’t any different.
His first two choices were pretty obvious to anyone who has followed the sport over the last few decades, and both of them actually set a new record for most IBJJF World Championship gold medals when they were competing:
“Roger (Gracie) and (Marcus) Buchecha (Almeida) are far above the rest. It’s hard to compare across eras, but those two stand out.”
Interestingly, one of the most impressive things that Roger ever did in his career was return from retirement in order to face Buchecha. He had around two years away from competition when he fought Buchecha to a draw in 2012 and only had one more match in the next five years, before coming back to beat him in 2017. Demian Maia went on to name another two of his picks for the best grapplers of all time and one of them is even still currently competing today. Although he’s considered by many to be the pound for pound best no gi grappler ever, Maia actually leans more towards his other choice:
“Gordon (Ryan) is amazing and on his way to being the greatest, but Marcelo (Garcia) did incredible things at a much lighter weight. What Marcelo accomplished competing at around 170 pounds was something different.”
The full interview with Demian Maia where he picks out the best grapplers of all time was uploaded to the official YouTube channel of the JAXXON podcast:
