Best grapplers

[Stephan Pepin]

Who do you think are the best grapplers in the world?

[NelsonLucca]

Since you already put Eddie...
Jacare, Roger, Marcelo

[Stephan Pepin]

My favs are Jacare, Roger, Marcelo, Pablo, Estima, Drysdale, Werdum, Xande Ribeiro, Leo vieirra and Rickson(back in his prime) . Eddies the best to learn from cause hes taking everybodys shit at putting it all together.

[Jon Watkins]

Competitors: Roger Gracie, Marcelo Garcia, Cobrinha, Jacare, Josh Barnett, Leo Vieirra

Teachers: Erik Paulson, Billy Robinson, Eddie Bravo, Saulo Ribiero

[Wyatt Zornes]

I love watching that video I can watch that it over and over again!!!!! EDDIE IS MY HERO!!!!!

[Mike Nall]

Right now in the competition scene alone I would have to say: In no particular order, except that Roger Gracie is absolutely number one.

Roger Gracie
Braulio Estima
Romulo Barral
Marcelo Garcia
Cobrinha
Rafael Mendes
Xande Ribeiro
Ricardo Abreu
Andre Galvao
What the hell, I'm gonna put an American on here... Robert Drysdale/Jeff Glover/Ryan Hall/Bill Cooper

If you noticed the absence of Jacare, it is because he is doing MMA now. Leo Vieira just missed my list and was replaced by Ricardo Abreu.

[Kevin Sparks]

I don't see how you can put Eddie as one of the best grapplers. Eddie's story is pretty inspiring looking at the fact that he got started so late in BJJ & how far he made it but when it comes to saying that Eddie is one of the best grappler's, that's very unproven. I think it's fine to claim that he is one of the best instructors but to say that he is one of the best grappler's is completely unproven.

I do agree that Eddie has improved his game & style dramatically & who knows what would happen in a rematch with Royler Gracie. But also, who knows what would happen in a rematch with Leo Vieira. Those are the questions. Eddie didn't win his weight class at the 2003 ADCC. Eddie was getting destroyed on points by Royler & Eddie caught him at the very end, similar to Anderson Silva vs Chael Sonnen. Also Eddie went on to face Leo Vieira & he got destroyed in points.

Eddie went on to never compete again from what I understand & if he did compete again, nothing big happened. Like I said, the main thing that inspires me about Eddie Bravo is how far he made it after getting started in BJJ so late in his life compated to his competition. He is arguably one of the best Instructors out there currently. He is also a pioneer when it comes to BJJ just due to his stance on certain things such as training no-gi & his importance of the rubber guard.

But as a grappler, Eddie is unproven & if you want to go off of what was proven, he is far from the best. He upset an 1 of the all time greats after getting destroyed. He moved onto the next round & got destroyed again but this time, didn't get the last second submission. It's an insult to the true greatest grappler's out there & those who put Eddie up there with the best grappler's really don't pay attention to BJJ competitions & No-Gi competitions.

I'm not the most Grappling knowledgeable person on this site by any means but everyone that covers the grappling community knows this. I'm not hating on Eddie but so many new fans believe that he is something that he is not & don't even realize it. I hope I don't sound like I'm hating, I'm really not. I have a lot of respect for Eddie but not because he is 1 of the best grappler's because that was never proven & if anything, it was proven wrong. But like I said, it's due to how far he made it after getting started so late in BJJ compated to his competitors & I also respect Eddie because of his contributions to the sport & his open mindedness to BJJ.

Thanks for reading what started from my opinion & turned into an article. Keep up the hard work Eddie & 10th Planet.

[Louis Ho]

JJ Machado.

[Mike Nall]

Yeah Leo is sick. Eddie knows first hand. Eddie is still the man!!! would love to see them rematch however unlikely.

Yes Leo is most definitely the man! His battles with Shaolin and Rani Yahya are legendary!

He had a very good run at the 09 ADCC and I don't know why he didn't choose to fight for 3rd place. I know Rani has a dislocated/broken elbow from Cobrinha's Kimura. Maybe Leo was injured also? The Glover/Hall fight was awesome though! Cobrinha and Rafael Mendes were just too much for everyone last year. This is Rafa's time, and Leo fought a good fight, but there was no stopping the 20 year old. It seemed like Rafa had an Anaconda, back-take, or leglock at every turn. In fact, on a small side note, Rafael Mendes' Brilliant 5-time use of the Anaconda choke at the ADCC has made me re-evaluate the choke. Once I learned the Darce, I figured it was much more versatile both in setups and finishing options and I stopped doing the Anaconda. I still believe that, but Rafa can get the Anaconda and finish it from some odd angles and positions. It's now a pet project for me in 2010. Back to the point...

To me, Leo Vieira maybe has the best wrestling for submission grappling. His takedowns and takedown defense are ferocious. He is relentless with his wrestling. He is also one of the top 3, if not the top guard passer in the grappling world. I look forward to his book on guard passes. He cuts through the guards of black belts like they were nothing. He's also very athletic and has amazing Guillotines, RNCs, and arm triangles.

Watch how he never pulls guard and just fights and fights for the dominant position against Shaolin at 5:16. Leo is in the black shorts:



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[bobby rivers]

You can grapple in mma. This shouldn't dq you. Jacare should be on the list.