Former UFC heavyweight contender Gabriel Gonzaga has made bold claims about the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s stance towards Brazilian Jiu-Jitsuduring his recent appearance on the Lytes Out podcast.
The Brazilian veteran, known for his grappling expertise, argued that the promotion’s ruleset actively works against BJJ practitioners. “The UFC have a bunch of rules to prevent jiu-jitsu. Jiu-jitsu is not welcome on the UFC,” Gonzaga stated during the interview.
Gonzaga elaborated on specific rules he believes limit the effectiveness of BJJ in the octagon. “If you take too long grappling with each other, break up, stand up. If you take too long with the cage holding the guy to put him down, break up to the center,” he explained.
The former title challenger also pointed out restrictions on certain techniques, particularly noting, “Trying to elbow from the guard, break up, because that’s not allowed. If you want to try to hit the guard and heal his kidney, it’s not allowed because it’s going to make the guy bleed.”
Drawing a vivid comparison, Gonzaga described BJJ as “a cheat code for, like, a video game,” suggesting its potential dominance if allowed to be utilized fully. He concluded by emphasizing that “the real Brazilian jiu-jitsu is not allowed” under current UFC regulations.
These statements have sparked discussion within the martial arts community about the evolution of mixed martial arts rules and their impact on traditional grappling techniques.
