Eddie Bravo and Marcelo Garcia are both Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legends in their own right and it’s not surprising to learn that they’ve spent some time rolling together on the mats. After all, both men are ADCC veterans and they both went on to build the next generation of grapplers after they retired from competition too. Bravo built 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu from the ground up and turned it into one of the largest network of gyms on the planet, while Garcia has created some of the best black belt competitors on the planet like Gianni Grippo, Dominyka Obelenyte, and Matheus Diniz.
The similarities between Eddie Bravo and Marcelo Garcia don’t end there though, as both men actually shot to fame at the very same tournament. Before the start of ADCC 2003, Bravo was just a BJJ brown belt and Garcia was a pretty fresh black belt. Both of them were complete unknowns, with Bravo earning his spot at the tournament by winning the North American ADCC trials and Garcia being invited on short notice after Denis Hallman withdrew. By the time that weekend was over, both men had solidified their place in the history books and they only went on to improve their standing after that.
Bravo was competing at 66kg at ADCC 2003 and he shocked everyone when he submitted one of the top competitors in the division, Gustavo Dantas, in the very first round. Things looked bleak for him in the quarter-finals though as he was coming up against the three-time returning champion Royler Gracie. That was when Bravo really broke the mould, as he submitted Royler and booked his place in the semi-final. At the same time Garcia was also causing upsets at 77kg where he defeated both Kiuma Kunioku and Renzo Gracie.
Bravo lost to the eventual champion Leo Vieira in the next round, but he’d secured his legacy and earned his black belt promotion when he returned home. Garcia went even further though, submitting his last two opponents and winning gold to achieve one of the biggest underdog victories in the history sport. He even went 1-1 in the absolute division as well, a fantastic feat for someone at 77kg. While Eddie Bravo focused on opening his school and eventually promoting tournaments, Marcelo Garcia continued competing and winning at the highest level for quite some time. They’re both incredibly valuable figures in the history of BJJ for slightly different reasons, and watching the two men on the mats together is an interesting clash of styles.
The below footage of Eddie Bravo and Marcelo Garcia rolling together was uploaded to the official YouTube channel of The Mike Finch Show:
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