Firas Zahabi, the renowned head coach of Montreal’s Tristar Gym, has witnessed countless elite BJJ athletes throughout his career. Yet when discussing Rafael Mendes and his signature anaconda choke Zahabi’s admiration is unmistakable. The legendary coach believes Mendes possesses something truly extraordinary that transcends pure technique.
“I’ve studied his anaconda choke, how he does it, so many years. I’ve asked him. I’ve been in it,”
Zahabi explains. What strikes him most is the unbelievable squeeze Mendes generates possibly developed through decades of training from a young age. However Zahabi questions whether technical knowledge alone explains Mendes’s devastating effectiveness.
The coach presents compelling evidence by comparing Rafael to his equally accomplished brother Gui Mendes, a four-time world champion and master of jiu-jitsu.
“His brother Gui is incredible. I’ve rolled with him too. He’s brilliant. Master of jiu-jitsu, four-time world champion. Incredible. He doesn’t use the anaconda choke,”
Zahabi notes. Despite their identical physical attributes and training backgrounds Gui doesn’t employ this technique with the same devastating results.
Zahabi recalls a particularly striking example involving Jake Shields, describing him as
“a very big strong athletic wrestler, black belt jiu-jitsu, super well-versed in competing.”
In their encounter Mendes made Shields tap with unusual urgency.
“He’s tapping like feverishly like just get me out of this,”
Zahabi observes emphasizing how you can judge a choke’s tightness by the desperation of the tap.
The weight disparity makes this achievement even more remarkable. Zahabi estimates Shields had at least a 30-pound advantage over Mendes yet the smaller BJJ athlete dominated completely.
“I’ve never been tapped by an arm choke ever, by a guy 30 pounds lighter than me,”
Zahabi admits highlighting how exceptional this ability truly is.
What separates Mendes isn’t just his technique but an almost supernatural level of pressure that forces elite BJJ competitors into panic-induced submissions. Zahabi challenges anyone to name another MMA star capable of such dominance over significantly larger opponents. For a coach who has worked with world champions and witnessed the highest levels of combat sports his assessment carries tremendous weight.
Rafael Mendes represents something rare in martial arts – a practitioner whose signature technique operates beyond conventional understanding earning recognition from one of MMA’s most respected technical minds.
