Bernardo Faria recently shared a story that left the BJJ community both amused and slightly concerned: the day professional basketball players start training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu seriously,
“we’ll all be in trouble.”
The story goes back to 2012 when Faria was teaching seminars in Poland. After sustaining an injury he ended up doing physiotherapy with the city’s basketball team.
“As soon as I saw those guys live, I had never seen anything like it. I was winning all the black belt open classes back then. I’m 6’3” and around 220 pounds (100 kg), but those guys were 6’7”, 6’8”, 260 pounds (118 kg), incredibly athletic, long, strong, flexible, and expl osive. I thought, if these guys ever learn Jiu-Jitsu and get good at it, we’re all done.”
Faria explained that the open class division has historically favored bigger, stronger athletes.
“If you look back at the champions over the years, it went from Amaury Bitetti to Ronaldo ‘Jacaré’ then Roger Gracie, Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida, and myself. It’s becoming more and more about tall athletic guys. Sometimes I wonder if one day it will look like basketball in the open class.”
This perspective aligns with broader discussions in combat sports about the role of strength. While technique is essential, elite athletes know that size, athleticism, and physical power provide a real advantage. Former UFC star Chael Sonnen has made similar points, noting that even the world’s greatest technician would struggle against someone with extraordinary strength in certain scenarios.
“Strength matters. Horsepower matters. How big a horse are you?”
Meanwhile former powerlifting world champion and grappler Mark MacQueen recently emphasized the same principle:
“Anybody that says strength doesn’t matter, it’s just not existing in the real world. If strength didn’t matter, we wouldn’t have gender. We wouldn’t divide things by weight class. There’s a reason we do all of those things.”
Faria’s story and these expert perspectives underscore a simple truth in grappling: while technique is king, exceptional athleticism—especially from tall, long-limbed athletes—can shift the balance dramatically. The BJJ world may one day see an influx of basketball-style athletes in the open class and when that happens, the competition could look very different indeed.
