As human beings we inherently root for the underdog. That’s just a quality that most people like to see. If you’re not rooting for the underdog, you’re a jerk! And when Lachlan Giles submitted the +99kg champion, Kaynan Duarte, the crowd flipped on its head. 

And then he did it again to a much bigger guy in Gaudio, and then again to Mahamed Aly. Everybody lost their minds. 

I think that’s why everyone got into jiu-jitsu. The allure that a smaller individual could beat a bigger opponent. It’s nice to see it still happens. Because nowadays we think it’s always the big guy that wins, but if there’s a gap in some sort of skillset, it can still ring true and we saw that at the highest level at ADCC. These guys are super legit – Mahamed Aly is a world champion, and Kaynan had just won his division. 

Giles tapping Gaudio 

The crowd wasn’t rooting against anyone, but it’s that “holy smokes” moment. It’s jiu-jitsu in its truest form – Lachlan beating these big beasts. This is why we signed up for jiu-jitsu. 

The submission against Kaynan impressed me the most. He’s actually got a very good understanding of the leg game. He’s certainly got skillsets in every department, but the way that Lachlan controlled the end of the lever to control the heel and then went over the knee, that was very impressive. That’ll open people’s eyes to the fact they need to not only watch their knee line but also where their leg is, because he didn’t expect that to happen. 

It’s safe to say – at least I would hope so – that Lachlan gets an invite back in 2021. 

Hear Shawn's thoughts on ADCC 2019, including Gordon Ryan and more  

Watch the Lachlan Giles ADCC absolute division supercut– all his matches PLUS interviews

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