Former World’s Strongest Man and “Game of Thrones” star Hafthor “Thor” Bjornsson recently tested his massive frame against a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt in a friendly grappling session that has captivated martial arts enthusiasts across social media.
The video, which has quickly gone viral, shows the 6’9″ Icelandic giant demonstrating why weight classes exist in combat sports. Despite the BJJ practitioner’s technical knowledge, Bjornsson’s sheer size advantage—estimated at around 180-185kg (396-407 pounds) in this footage—proved overwhelming once he established top position.
This isn’t the first time Bjornsson has stepped onto the mats with trained grapplers. Previously, he rolled with BJJ superstar Gordon Ryan and UFC’s Gunnar Nelson—with dramatically different outcomes.
When facing Gordon Ryan, one of the most decorated grapplers in the world, Bjornsson found himself on the receiving end of BJJ’s effectiveness. Ryan, who weighs over 220 pounds, later described the experience on “Food Truck Diaries”:
“I let Thor start inside control like full inside position. He’s got everything like my arm shelfed and I’m like, ‘All right, go.’ That’s all I got. I escape, I sweep him, and then I get up submitting him. And he’s like, ‘Man, it’s like, I don’t know what just happened.’
Ryan used the experience to validate BJJ’s core principle—that proper technique can overcome significant size disadvantages. “This is good because when I meet a regular person, they just say, ‘Oh man, if the guy was just way bigger, it would never work,'” Ryan explained. “Now I can say I literally grappled the strongest person on the planet. And I promise you, jiu-jitsu works.”
However, not everyone has been as fortunate as Ryan when grappling with “The Mountain.” UFC welterweight Gunnar Nelson suffered serious consequences after his friendly roll with Bjornsson. The Icelandic fighter, who competes at 170 pounds—nearly half Bjornsson’s weight—endured a severe rib injury that contributed to a three-year hiatus from competition.
“I could feel a nasty pop and seconds after I could just feel it swelling up,” Nelson later told Ariel Helwani, describing the moment Bjornsson’s massive frame collapsed on top of him. Despite the injury, Nelson‘s competitive pride wouldn’t let him stop the session. “Something in me was like, I’m not going to say anything now, I’m just going to finish the round.”
Social media reactions to the latest video highlight the extreme weight discrepancy, with comments ranging from humorous to analytical. Several BJJ practitioners pointed out tactical errors, with one commenter noting: “Should’ve never started from butterfly or guard. Never start on the bottom with a bigger stronger opponent.”
For now, these exhibition rolls provide fascinating glimpses into the eternal question in martial arts: how much can skill compensate for a significant size disadvantage? The answer, as these videos suggest, likely depends on exactly how skilled—and how heavy—the participants are.
