Roy Harris and Jean Jacques Machado are both BJJ legends for different reasons, and they actually met on the mats once at the 1998 black belt challenge. Machado in particular was a major figure in the earlier days of organized BJJ competition and he has gone on to spread the sport to thousands of people over the years. He is responsible for the development of Eddie Bravo and by extension, the birth of one of the largest affiliations in the world in 10th Planet. While Harris can’t claim that exact same legacy, he made history as one of the first few non-Brazilian BJJ black belts to ever exist and he’s taught plenty of grapplers himself. In fact he was only the third non-Brazilian coral belt, a rank that Machado had already reached by that point.
Or for more of our articles looking into moments throughout BJJ history, visit our throwback archives.
Roy Harris vs Jean Jacques Machado in 1998
Harris began his BJJ career by training with several prominent members of the Gracie family, with Royler Gracie promoting him to blue belt and both Royce Gracie and Rickson Gracie having a hand in his learning until then. He trained with the Machado brothers during this time as well, although he eventually moved to continue his journey under Joe Moreira instead. It was under Moreira that Harris was promoted to purple belt, and he received both his brown and black belts from him too. Roy Harris was only recently promoted to black belt in 1998, so naturally this match with Jean Jacques Machado was going to be tough.
Jean Jacques Machado was already established as one of the top competitors on the planet and although Roy Harris was talented in his own right, he had far less experience in grappling. The Machado brothers were famous for their skills on the mat and although organized BJJ competition was still in it’s infancy, Jean Jacques Machado had made a name for himself by winning everything he possibly could throughout the 1980s. Although he was 30 by the time this match took place, he was still at the very top of the sport and he went on to demonstrate that by winning an ADCC title the following year.
The Match
The match starts with Jean Jacques Machado diving in for a takedown but Roy Harris is able to change levels and counter with a throw that sees him land in top position. He scores 2 points but doesn’t stay there much longer as Machado is able to hit a slick butterfly sweep to bring the score to 2-2. Although Machado briefly takes mount, Harris is able to get back to half guard. He tries to sweep but Machado hits a quick pass, forcing Harris to turtle. Machado sits into butterfly guard and gets deep on another butterfly sweep, but they come too close to the edge of the mats and have to be reset to a neutral standing position in the center.
Roy Harris pressures forward but before he can attempt a takedown Jean Jacques Machado is able to pull butterfly guard. Harris does a great job of resisting for a while but Machado eventually gets the sweep he’s looking for, moving the score to 4-2 and landing in Harris’ half guard again. Harris manages to get a good kimura grip and tries to finish it, but Machado rolls forward to escape and Harris switches into an armbar. Machado deals with the threat easily this time and drops into side control to score 3 points, before popping up into knee-on-belly to score another 2 and bring the total to 9-2.
Machado tries to step into mount but Harris catches him in half guard and hits a quick sweep to score another 2 points, bringing the total to 9-4. It takes a little time for him to work from half guard but eventually Machado is able to come up on an underhook and Harris rolls to get to a better position, conceding 2 points and bringing the score to 11-4. Harris starts working to set up a triangle choke and he does manage to connect his legs, but Machado is able to posture up and escape the position. Harris turtles again to deny Machado points for passing and Machado attempts to take his back but struggles to get the second hook in.
Jean Jacques Machado starts attacking an armbar from there but switches in to a triangle choke once Roy Harris starts defending. Harris escapes and Machado turtles to prevent the pass, before trying to get a hold of one of Harris’ legs. Machado works his way back to butterfly guard eventually but Harris keeps his hips very heavy to shut down the sweep this time. Harris hits a lovely pass and almost manages to secure side control, but Machado is able to scramble to turtle just in time. After some difficulty wrestling up from turtle, Machado is able to blast in to a double-leg in order to get back on top.
Harris is holding on to half guard and he manages to keep Machado at some distance, but he’s employing a very heavy passing game. Machado drops into a knee-slice pass that comes close, but Harris is able to recover half guard once again. Harris starts working on a gi choke but he can’t get any solid attempt before the time runs out and the match comes to an end. With the final score standing at 11-4, Jean Jacques Machado defeats Roy Harris on points but Harris put up an incredibly good match against the veteran grappler.
The full match between Roy Harris and Jean Jacques Machado from the 1998 black belt challenge was uploaded to the official YouTube channel of The Harris Academy:
