2017’s Moments to Remember

2017 was an extremely eventful year for the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu community.  There were many things that occurred, many matches, many rising stars, and many events. Jiu Jitsu continues to grow at a rapid pace and the progression has led to a rise of competitors and practitioners.  As the competition and amount of practitioner’s rises, technology and the world around Jiu Jitsu also begins to onnovate.  In this constantly innovation world we see people getting better at bjj faster, coverage of events is far better, and the techniques available have increased.

So what were some of the best things that happened in 2017, well, there was so much going on that we will have to count down a few things?  Check out some of 2017’s moments of greatness below.

5) The Rise of Gordon Ryan

Gordon Ryan was already beginning to shine prior to 2017 but this year gave him the opportunity to really grow as a competitor.  Gordon Ryan for those that have been under a rock has made a name for himself with his incredible success in the Eddie Bravo Invitational tournaments where he has won every single one that he enters.  Gordon has beat competitors such as Yuri Simoes, Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu, Romulo Barral, Keenan Cornelius, and many of Jiu Jitsu’s best.

Gordon is part of the infamous “Danaher Death Squad” he is known primarily for his incredible knowledge and complex leg attacks, although this is only a fraction of his arsenal, he is considered by many the best lower body attacker in the world.  Gordon trains with other popular bjj competitors such as Garry Tonon, Eddie Cummings, and Tom DeBlass.  He has constantly been the best in almost any tournament he does.  Gordon made our list this year primarily because he had his debut at the ADCC and he had arguably the best debut performance in ADCC history.  Gordon was able to win his division in an impressive fashion against incredible competitors such as Xande, Keenan, and others. Gordon was also able to place second at the open class.  Check out this high light of Mr. Gordon below.

4) Mikey Musumeci Winning Worlds

Mikey Musumeci is the third American to ever win the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu World Championships.  He is young and just getting his start on his bjj journey.   Mikey is infamous for playing a very versatile game and constantly bringing the aggression.  Mikey is not only one of the best competitors in the world, he is arguably one of the best competitors ever to come from America.  Mikey was able to beat Joao Miyao several times this years and he was also able to beat many other top tier competitors.  Unfortunately he is not as popular as many of the other competitors in America but it is best to learn his name now because we can assure you that he is going to be one of the bets competitors in the world.   Check out this high light of him below.

3) Felipe Pena Winning the Absolutes at ADCC Finland

Felipe Pena is the best no gi competitor in the entire world.  He has solidified his place as the best in the world when he won the ADCC open weight division in the finals against Gordon Ryan.  This is the most prestigious title in the world.   He was also able to beat Gordon Ryan by submission at a special event and he is the only person to submit Gordon Ryan all of 2017.  Felipe has made an amazing run this year by winning everything that he entered.  Check out this video below of Felipe showing some awesome techniques from one of his favorite positions. 

If you like Felipe Pena and you want to be able to learn technique from one of the best, if not the best competitor in the entire world, check out his 4 DVD set here below.  BJJ Fanatics had the opportunity to make a DVD with him and it is some of the best material that we have available, don’t sleep on the opportunity to learn the secrets of the best!

2) Bernardo Faria Retiring

As much as the Jiu Jitsu world had amazing events this last year, we also had some tragic events.  One of them being the retirement of one of the best competitors to ever do it.  5x Black Belt World Champion, Bernardo Faria announced his retirement from competition this year.  It is always difficult to say goodbye to somebody who is so entertaining to watch and so entertaining to compete.  Bernardo has solidified himself as one of the best in the world time and time again.  Bernardo won the Open Weight Black Belt World Championship in 2015 along with his weight class.  Bernardo also was able to place second at his weight class in a controversial final against Erberth Santos.  As we say goodbye to Bernardo we have to commend him for being such an amazing competitor.  Check out this technique video with Bernardo below. 

If you want to learn from one of the best competitors to ever do it, we have worked with Bernardo Faria several times on several DVD’s.  Many people like his technique because it works for anybody of any age, height, weight, and skill level.  Bernardo is infamous for his basic and effective technique.  Bernardo is one of the simplest games in the world.

1) The Rise of Craig Jones

Craig Jones, if you haven’t heard the name you better remember it.  Craig is an Australian competitor and he was able to solidify himself as one of the best NoGi competitors in the entire world after his debute in the ADCC Worlds in Finland.  Craig had arguably the best debut performance in ADCC history.  He was able to not only beat but submit the favorite in his weight and the open weight division, Leandro Lo in just minutes.  Not only did he submit Leandro, he submitted Chael Sonnen and Murilo Santana.  Right after his ADCC debut performance he went and competed at an EBI and made it to the finals by way of submission against everyone only to lose to Gordon Ryan in over time. 

If you want to learn some of Craig jones techniques we had the honor of working with him on a new DVD set “Down Under Leg Attacks.”  This has been our bestselling leg attacks and many people have referred to it as the best Leg Lock resource in the world.