Sensei Seth, a martial artist who has held a BJJ white belt since 2016, decided to put himself to the ultimate test by rolling against opponents of every belt rank in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, starting from black belt and working his way down.
However, every opponent was hand-selected to weigh roughly 80 to 100 lbs (36 to 45 kg) less than Seth himself, making size a deliberate variable in the experiment.
The challenge was structured to answer three questions: whether Seth genuinely belongs at white belt, what the skill gap looks like between each BJJ rank, and how much weight actually matters on the mats.
First up was Javier Gomez, a world champion black belt from JG Academy. Seth did not last long. “Once we touched the ground, Javier was on me like white on rice on a paper plate in the middle of a snowstorm,” Seth recalled.
Despite outweighing Javier by around 100 lbs (45 kg), Seth described the experience as having zero openings. “Not once did it feel like I had an opening to do something,” he said.
His notes on what makes a black belt: they counter everything you attempt, and they do not make mistakes, at least not against someone at his level.
Moving down to purple belts, Seth noticed a shift. The dominance was less total, but the specialists were sharp. “With the purple belts, it didn’t feel like as much was happening, but when they wanted to put me in a position I couldn’t do much, they were able to do it.”
He was submitted once per purple belt match and felt occasional flickers of opportunity, though never anything close to a finish.
Blue belts brought more of the same. Seth was submitted twice across those rounds and came close to landing a submission of his own on at least one occasion, including a moment where he set up what looked like an armbar. Still, no taps from his opponents.
Then came the white belts, Jason and Yang, both of whom had backgrounds in judo or no-gi grappling. Despite Seth’s significant size advantage, neither white belt went down easily. “It’s like nothing works because he’s very heavy,” Yang said. “So you need really good technique. And timing.” Seth still could not finish either of them.
Final submission count for Seth across all rounds: zero.
When asked if size matters in BJJ, Seth was direct. “Oh, 100%. But I think it’s more of an advantage than it is an equalizer.” Standing up, the extra weight helped.
On the bottom, it counted for almost nothing. “When everyone else was on top, it felt like there was no size advantage. But as soon as I could get on top, happy day, I am 100 lbs heavier than you are.”
As for whether he deserves that white belt he has carried since 2016, Seth’s conclusion was straightforward: “I make plenty of mistakes. I don’t know what to do in certain positions. I think it’s probably best I stay where I am.”
