Eight matches. Eight victories. Eight submissions. Roger Gracie’s 2005 ADCC tournament run is considered the greatest feat ever achieved in submission grappling. Roger did not only dominate great grapplers, he was able to submit three multiple-time ADCC champions in Xande Ribeiro, Fabricio Werdum, and the great Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Sousa.

According to the gospel of Gordon, there are two athletes at the pinnacle of technical jiu-jitsu: Roger Gracie... and Gordon Ryan.  It's tough to argue against that point given the results.  So how did they come to attain such status? Every athlete works hard - but are they working smart?

After three years of anticipation, the biggest submission wrestling event ever has arrived. The 2022 ADCC World Championships goes down in Las Vegas on Saturday, Sept. 17 and Sunday, Sept 18, after a long season of preparation, qualification and grueling training.

The return of Worlds, the growth of WNO, and the emergence of a new generation of champion grapplers– just a handful of the high points of a rollercoaster 12-month period that rarely took its foot off the gas pedal. Of course, there were also less positive happenings; confrontations, team splits, and more.

The countdown is almost over– we are mere weeks away from the most anticipated jiu-jitsu event of the year. The IBJJF World Championships has not taken place since June of 2019, and there is a palpable sensation of excitement among fans and athletes as we draw closer to the tournament.

The cross choke is one of the most fundamental submissions in jiu-jitsu. But it’s rarely applied successfully at the highest levels of competition. 

Since its inception in 1998, the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) World Championships has been the premier no-gi competition, starting as a way for athletes from various disciplines to test themselves. Initially taking place yearly and then moving to a biennial affair, there have been 13 ADCC events so far in its history.

This was a wild week on the WNO Podcast, with a bunch of legends calling in. I've compiled my favorite moments here to be viewed in one place. First, here are links to the full episodes: 

Roger Gracie and Braulio Estima were the call-in guests for the 36th episode of the WNO Podcast on Tuesday. The ADCC and IBJJF world champs had a lot of interesting things to say about their careers and the current state of jiu-jitsu; here are some of the highlights:

“Mr Gracie was unquestionably the greatest jiu-jitsu competitor of all time and is also a truly superb teacher – he gives incredible insight into his seemingly simple, yet very deep and unstoppable game.” – John Danaher

Roger Gracie is set to make his Who's Number One ("The WNO Podcast") debut April 7, and in light of the momentous occasion, we've compiled seven of our favorite videos featuring the 10-time world champion.

Few matches have captivated the jiu-jitsu world quite like the 2017 rematch between Roger Gracie and Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida.