Dream Jiu-Jitsu Central Tournament

Jiu-Jitsu tournament events such as Metamoris and the Eddie Bravo Invitational are fantastic. We love how they don’t focus on the point system and the matches are geared towards the submission. Even though there have been some great matches, we here at Jiu Jitsu Central would like to propose what our dream line-up would be for our first Jiu-Jitsu Central Invitational.

Dream match ups are a great topic among some of the best bjj forums on the internet. So why not list our own?

Of course, it wouldn’t be easy getting the names below, so if Ralek Gracie and/or Eddie Bravo want to take our ideas below – go for it. In fact, we could host it at one of the best Jiu-jitsu Academies in Los Angeles!

Below is the 5 match line-up for our dream Jiu-Jitsu Central Invitational tournament:

MATCH 1 – ANTHONY BOURDAIN VS ED O’NEILL

To open up our tournament, we want to start with a playful match up. Anthony Bourdain has gotten very serious with his Jiu-Jitsu training. Officially, he’s a blue belt under Igor Gracie. He’s hooked on Jiu-Jitsu, thanks to his his wife, Ottavia Bourdain, who also trains.

Many of you know that Ed O’Neill (or as many people still remember him, Al Bundy) is a black belt under Rorion Gracie. He’s been training with Rorion for over 18 years.

So why do we like this match-up? Even though Bourdain is a blue belt, he’s about 10 years younger than Ed. Anthony has the advantage that his wife also trains Jiu Jitsu, so he gets to practice at home. Anthony regularly visits Jiu Jitsu schools while he is traveling, whereas Ed continues to take privates. There is something to be said about training with different opponents and body types.

Even though we believe Ed would submit Anthony Bourdain, we do think it would be a very interesting match up to see how a more experienced older belt, takes on a slightly younger opponent.

MATCH 2: RONDA ROUSEY vs. MICHELLE NICOLINI

Despite having loss to Holly Holm, Ronda is an amazing athlete and ferocious competitor. She is outspoken, which turns many people off. But that has also lead to her success, because it gives her confidence. In typical Ronda Rousey fashion, at one point she said she could beat any female Jiu-Jitsu practitioner in gi or no-gi. It didn’t take long for the female Jiu Jitsu champs to respond. One of them being Michelle Nicolini.

Michelle is a decorated Jiu Jitsu fighter. She’s a black belt under Robert Drysdale and has won several major tournaments including ADCC. She’s no joke.

Ronda is a black belt in Judo and trains regularly with Rener and Ryron Gracie. We know she can hold her own, because we have seen her spar with BJ Penn where she holds more than her own in that sparring match.

MATCH 3) EDDIE BRAVO vs. ROYCE GRACIE

Eddie Bravo, the bad boy of Jiu-Jitsu, is someone we believe has actually done more good than bad. Sure he smokes a lot of weed. But who cares? Well… Royce Gracie does.

Eddie is renowned for beating Royler Gracie in Abu Dhabi in 2003. This was big. It was the first time an American Jiu Jitsu practioner had beaten Royler. Not only that, but Eddie was a brown belt. Eddie knew this was big, and he milked it for everything it was worth. Rightfully so. Eddie’s specialty is no-gi, and he is very outspoken about this.

In 2014, Jiu-Jitsu maniacs were lucky enough to witness the rematch between Eddie