Two-time ADCC champion Yuri Simoes made a great suggestion last week, offering one of the politest call-outs we've seen in a long time. The Brazilian called for a grappling match between himself and Kyle Snyder, the Olympic gold medalist and World champion freestyle wrestler and one of the mightiest American wrestlers to step onto the mats. 

The jiu-jitsu community said "hell yeah". The wrestling world responded "lol nah". But if anybody thinks it's a bad idea, they've never seen Yuri in action or what he is capable of. 

Here's why we're into it. 

Tale of the Tape

Simoes vs Snyder: A Crossover Match For The Ages

It all began with Yuri making a very polite and public post that read more like a shower thought than a call out: 

“I’d love to compete in a grappling match or a wrestling match, or both back to back against American Wrestler Kyle Snyder! I am sure it would be a very interesting match to watch.” 

No kidding, said every jiu-jitsu guy ever. Interesting is the least it could be. Explosive, intriguing, unpredictable– most definitely. 

Where Yuri came up with this idea, I have no idea. But you’ve got to admit, it’s a good one. Maybe he’s in a wrestling state of mind. ADCC is coming up in September and he’s getting into the swing of his training camp. We’ve seen plenty of pics of Yuri back home in Brazil training no-gi, and we know he’s been wrestling with the physically-imposing Patrick Gaudio. All those takedown sessions must have inspired him. 

Simoes gets after a takedown at the 2017 ADCC World Championships

If you were to come up with a list of grapplers with the best wrestling skills, Simoes would probably rank in the top 5. As he said himself, he’s taken down “almost every single person I have faced both at No-Gi worlds and ADCC, not to mention that I was able to get a takedown in a match against a judo legend that has gotten silver medal at the Olympic Games.” Can’t argue with that. 

Yes, I know Snyder is a monster. Yes, Snyder picks up people and violently sends them through to air to the mat. And that’s what is so intriguing– could Simoes stop Snyder at his own game? 

GIVE SNYDER 5!! pic.twitter.com/0NfASru6gm

— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) July 13, 2019

Simoes CAN wrestle. He has trained extensively with coaches such as Jacob Harman and worked with MMA fighters including Fabricio Werdum and Josh Barnett. Scroll to the bottom of this article and you'll see videos of Simoes and Barnett’s wrestling practice which gives you an idea of how he moves. 

The Wrestling of Simoes

We analyzed 20 of Yuri’s no-gi matches, from 2015 to present. These included ADCC, IBJJF, KASAI and Fight 2 Win events– some of these matches were with points, some submission-only. We analyzed his entire performance looking for evidence of his wrestling skills and how effective they are in a grappling context. 

• 20 matches analyzed 
• Won 16 matches 
• Scored 14 takedowns
• Conceded 0 takedowns

Simoes won 16 of the 20 matches and hit a total of 14 successful takedowns. As these competitions use a variety of rules, not all of them scored points but we still counted them as successful. In three of those matches Simoes scored multiple takedowns: against Felipe Pena, Jared Dopp and Thiago Sa. 

In the 20 matches, Simoes successfully defended 18 takedowns and conceded none. He scored at least one takedown in all of his 2017 ADCC matches, an event which heavily promotes stand-up grappling through their penalties for pulling guard. 

Simoes did pull guard a total of seven times. An interesting note is that Simoes exclusively wrestles up from guard. Whereas some grapplers will look to hit reversals or sweeps, Simoes come up from either seated guard or half guard and will wrestle his opponent back down to the mat. 

A consistent theme that we saw from Simoes was his strong use of the front headlock. His 100% takedown defense rate is thanks to a good sprawl and a strong front headlock. 

Takedowns

Takedown defense 

Wrestle Ups

Why It Makes Sense 

In an age of trash talking, Instagram feuds and so on, this felt pretty tame right? Yuri simply putting out there the idea that it could be an interesting match, and offering to match his skills against Snyder's. 

No insults, no digs, no disparaging remarks. Just the suggestion that if any grappler were to go up against Snyder, he'd like it to be him. 

Simoes sprawls on Mike Perez at the 2017 ADCC World Championships

And why not? If anybody has go the credentials to take on an Olympic gold medalist and World champion, it's Simoes. 

He's a two-time ADCC champion in two different weight classes and will attempt to make history by moving up in weight once again and shooting for his third ADCC gold medal in September. He's also a two-time World No-Gi absolute champion, the only person to have won the title more than once. 

Wrestlers may laugh at the prospect of this match. Grappling fans will know that the outcome is anything but certain, especially if submissions were permitted. And who wouldn't want to watch that? 

Like wrestling? Watch the ADCC World Championships in September

Bonus Content

WATCH: Yuri Simoes train wrestling with Josh Barnett 

• Josh Barnett Yuri Simoes Drill Takedown Entries – watch video
• Josh Barnett and Yuri Simoes Drill Wrestling Takedowns – watch video
• Josh Barnett Yuri Simoes Live Wrestling Practice – watch video

Behind The Dirt: Yuri's Head-Wheel Takedown At ADCC