Grappling standout Jozef Chen has revealed details about the knee injury he sustained during his highly anticipated match against Hulk Barbosa at the Craig Jones Invitational (CJI).
In a recent interview with Grapple Asia during his Malaysia Seminar Tour, Chen discussed the moment his knee was compromised during the intense battle.
“It sprained my ACL,” Chen explained about the submission that ended their match. “It popped like buh-buh-buh-buh. I was like, ‘oh wow.’ And then there’s a minute where I was thinking about tapping, and then I’m like, ‘oh, it’s not popping anymore.'”
Despite the initial hesitation, Chen made the calculated decision to tap rather than risk further damage.
“I was thinking about, ‘Do I think this can get worse?’ And I was like, ‘Okay, yeah, maybe.’ So I’m not gonna mess with this,” he said.
The submission, which Chen described as more of a knee attack than a traditional calf slicer, forced the technical grappler to make a split-second decision about his long-term health. What’s remarkable is Chen’s positive attitude about the outcome, stating he was
“actually quite happy with it”
despite the injury.
Chen also shared his thoughts on the CJI event itself, praising its format and atmosphere.
“I really like one match at a time. Everyone’s so focused on the match, everyone’s watching the same thing. I thought that was pretty cool,”
he said, contrasting it with his experience at ADCC where he found himself easily distracted by multiple simultaneous matches.
The pit-style competition area received particular praise from Chen, who appreciated how it prevented frequent resets that have plagued other events.
“I like the pit obviously. I think everyone shares a similar sentiment,”
he noted.
Following CJI, Chen has been busy with seminars across Asia, including stops in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, before heading to Tokyo. Looking ahead, he mentioned potentially competing at AIGA in December, which has reportedly been relocated from Thailand to Kazakhstan.
Chen also hinted at current technical explorations, focusing on omoplatas and other unconventional techniques during his “off-season” training.
“Omoplata is just a move that, in terms of looking at it technically, I think it should be very good. And I just think it’s under-respected in nogi,”
he explained.
As one of Asia’s rising stars in the grappling world, Chen continues to build his following while balancing competition, teaching, and recovery from his recent injury.
