Ryron Gracie vs Andre Galvao

Looks like this will be going down in the month of October. This is a wonderfully interesting super bout that is going to answer some serious questions about the grappling world. Galvao is a decorated grappling wizard, winning championships against world class opponents, most notably his victories at ADCC. His reputation and resume are concrete prove of his greatness. Ryron Gracie doesn’t compete in the big tournaments, doesn’t care for the nature of their system and rules. The reason he’s competing in this 20 minute time limit bout is cause you can only win by submission – which is what Ryron wants over the point system.  Gracie comes in with a mystique and aura of greatness. We’ve seen Ryron showcase that he’s obviously a graceful grappler, the videos of him teaching GJJ and demonstrating what he’s capable of are really beautiful stuff. He’s a guy that flows from transitions with an ease that is masterful. Yet we really haven’t seen him face off against an elite level competitor like Andre Galvao.

I’m a fairly rational person, I tend to put much more stock in a man with a proven track record than I would on gym stories and hearsay. So it’s very obvious that Andre Galvao should be the favorite for this bout just based on his accomplishments. Nevertheless, I’ve heard from far too many people, from people who have actually rolled with him that I’ve come to think very highly of Ryron’s skills. Whether he is great enough to be competitive with Galvao will be answered soon enough. Stranger things have happened. Some people will make this about “street-jiu jitsu” vs “sport-jiu jitsu”, but I’m just a grappling fan and I have no desire to seeing either side brag about their brand of grappling being superior or “real”.  My emotional connection to this is wanting to see two guys I genuinely admire compete in what should be an awesome bout.