Gabi the Goliath, and Men vs. Women

Many of you are aware that the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships took place earlier this month, on October 19th and 20th. It is the most prestigious no-gi submission competition in the world. You may not know that Gabi Garcia, 8x World Champion and 2x ADCC Champion was invited to compete in the Men’s Absolute or Open Weight Category. Obviously, Gabi turned the offer down, but the news of the ADCC’s proposal and Gabi’s decision have spread almost as quickly as the bootleg videos of the competition itself.

I first saw the news on BJJ Heroes' Facebook page. They posted the same article from Tatame that I linked to above, and declared that allowing Gabi to compete against men would be a freak show and unprofessional. BJJ Heroes followed that up with an article asking several black belts, both male and female, their opinion about the possibility of women grappling with men. The overwhelming consensus was: no; men should fight men; women should fight women. Although I found the article to be self-serving, I agree. At such a high level of technique, skill, and athleticism, competing against one’s own gender is better than contending against the other.

Many respondents to BJJ Heroes’ post pointed out that at the children’s level and even at lower level adult competition (white, blue, and even purple belt) girls compete against boys. As far as girls versus boys, girls physically mature faster than boys due to biological imperative. Things become more difficult when both sexes hit puberty. In girls, hard lines become soft curves. In boys, testosterone levels reach a height that is beyond girls’ levels. Muscle mass is quickly developed. Strength and Conditioning research suggests that on average, women have ⅔ the strength levels of men in their lower bodies, and ½ the strength of a man’s upper body.

However, this does not preclude women from competing against men. It happens at local grappling tournaments and is a routine occurrence in gyms and academies across the country. Yet, it must be stated that these fights are occurring at a significantly lower level of skill than that displayed at ADCC.

Nearly every participant at ADCC is a high-level black belt, or the equivalent, in their chosen grappling discipline. Moreover, many of them are world champions or medalists. They have Strength and Conditioning coaches. They have nutritionists. They are the closest thing to professional athletes that exists in the world of submission grappling. And as technique begins to equalize amongst competitors, physical components, such as size, strength, speed, power, and endurance become more important.

The IBJJF World Jiu-Jitsu Championships have been contested annually since 1996. In addition to nine weight classes, the Mundials have featured an Open Weight tournament every year. Of the 18 Absolute Champions, four have been from weight classes not classified as Heavyweight or higher. Amaury Bitteti and Ronaldo “Jacaré” Souza, both Medium-Heavyweights (194 lbs. or 88 kg.), have each won the event twice.

Even the most technical grapplers are at a disadvantage going against larger opponents who are almost as technical. Rafa Mendes and Rubens “Cobrinha” Charles, Featherweights (154 lbs. or 70 kg), and two of the greatest guard players of all-time, have lost to Rodolfo Vieira, a Heavyweight (207 lbs, or 94 kg). Even Marcelo Garcia, the King of the Giant Killers has failed to win Open Weight gold at the Mundials or ADCC. Looking at the past results of these two events I’m reminded of a favored quote from one of my earlier instructors, “in jiu-jitsu, as in life size does not matter; but, it helps.”

While I think it was a fantastic gesture from the ADCC to Gabi, and a legitimization of her skills to the doubters, I believe she made the right decision. Will we ever see Gabi or any other woman compete against men in a major event? I don’t know. I do know that I would love to see her in an Exhibition Super Fight against selected opponents. But I don’t think that having her compete against the best grapplers in the world in a tournament format is going to have the kind of result that any competitor wants: to stand atop the podium as champion.