Nicolas Meregali sat down with Mundo da Luta ahead of UFC BJJ 7 and offered a critical take on the ruleset governing the UFC’s grappling series.
He was direct about what he sees as its structural limitations for the sport.
“The purpose of the event is not to potentialize grappling and jiu-jitsu in a technical way, but to potentialize grappling and jiu-jitsu in a financial way. I think this is the main point of the UFC, so the rule, I believe, doesn’t matter when we talk about the foundation of jiu-jitsu.”
On the core issue of submissions, he explained why the format works against the nature of the sport.
“The rule itself does not favor jiu-jitsu, and when we talk about jiu-jitsu, there are other things, where we build the submission, and building the submission means that you prove that you have, through your technical ability, the condition to make it work. A submissionis not just that you tap. The person grabs your elbow, grabs your belt, and the life ends. And the UFC, because of the dynamics, they are looking for entertainment, so the rule in this sense is not very positive.”
He was clear that the 10-9 scoring system borrowed from MMA does not translate cleanly.
“This idea of bringing a ruleset that is already well absorbed by the public and applying it to jiu-jitsu, it is obvious that this rule will not be beneficial to jiu-jitsu, because it turns out that jiu-jitsu is a totally different sport from MMA. There is no way to equalize the two things, even the grappling of MMA is different from the grappling that we do on the ground in jiu-jitsu. So the rules don’t fit.”
The five-minute round length drew particular criticism.
“When the round is shorter, there is not so much time to apply the techniques, to get to a position of constant domination, where you can break your opponent physically, mentally, then there is a finish. That’s why the five-minute round hinders a little the perspective of finding submissions.”
He used an analogy to break down why short rounds level the playing field in a way that ultimately disadvantages the more technical MMA star.
“The longer the fig ht is, the more the physical and technical disparity will prevail. When the fi ght is too short, the person may be inferior, but they will be in an advantageous position because they have little time to defend themselves. The round, at the same time that it’s very positive for entertainment, it’s very negative for the fundamental issue of jiu-jitsu.”
Despite the criticism, Meregali stopped short of outright rejection.
“The fundamental structure of jiu-jitsu falls a little to the background, but we are promoting entertainment to the grappling fan, so it turns out that there are pros and cons. I think it’s up to athletes and the organization, little by little, to find ways not to mess with the structure completely, but to refine the rule little by little, add something here or there that maybe makes sense for grappling, but keep this skeleton of rounds, keep the skeleton of scoring. It’s a matter of time now to mature this rule.”
He closed on a note that framed the whole critique in perspective.
“I’m not complaining at all. I don’t think this is a problem. I think it’s a big step for jiu-jitsu and we need to adapt a little bit as athletes.”
Meregali’s UFC BJJ 7 appearance has been derailed. Earlier today he announced that due to injury he’s unable to compete against Declan Moody.
