How does this one go? Both similar size and both experts at BJJ. The fight will no doubt be on the mat and I'm not sure Royce can be beaten on the mat. Royce is obviously the original champion and Maia might well be the next champion. Has the sport progressed too much for Gracie or is his Jits good enough to secure victory here?
I feel like Maia is better at what he does in every way... Maia is pretty much the last of a dying breed in a sport that's rapidly evolved since Royce did what he did. Maia UD.
Maia wins very decisively, he's just better in every single department. Even in just pure JJ he's leagues better than Royce ever was.
The way I see it, Royce is more instinctive and calm on the mate. A lot of more rounded MMA fighters panic on their back because they're losing points due to position. Gracie never panicked and always remained calm. I think either Gracie wins by sub or Maia wins on points
I'm gonna evaluate my point here as I'm actually a practitioner of BJJ and have watched a **** ton of Royce and Maia's BJJ and MMA. Royce's bjj was perceived as good because of his dominance at the start of UFC. But you're talking about a guy who nearly got tapped out by Matt Hughes. Damien Maia is one of the greatest bjj practitioners to ever walk into the octogan, Jacare is the only person i would consider on par. Maia seems to have made a perfect MMA style of BJJ though and is a multiple time world champ in jiu jitsu with a much better stand up game than Royce. Maia wins both in MMA and BJJ.
Blue belt one stripe, having been able to train for about 9months due to neck injury. Maia is definitely better than Mir. Werdum's bjj is excellent don't get me wrong as another multiple time world champ in bjj, but Maia has applied his bjj to mma so well. He actually has a system. He knows exactly what techniques work in MMA. His next fight will be hard though, he actually has to get T wood down which is a feat in itself.
Have you tried an orthopedic pillow? Worked wonders for my neck. I've been going for about 6 months now, proper loving it atm. I'm refusing to buy a BJJ gi though, ATM I have an old karate one which is obviously too loose. Do you think a judo gi will suffice they're like a third of the price?
I used a specific pillow it made it worse, been to sports massage that didnt work, NHS physio didnt work, osteopath thinks its really bad ligament damage. I did it in my first white belt tournament after i won silver and went into absolute. Kept training on it after that but now its really ****ed. Gonna buy a necksaviour see if that helps. Are you from Leeds? I am, I trained at Game Fight. Judo gi's are ok but they're not as strong. They have more padding around the shoulders too and i believe smaller arm length. Need a lot of arm length for the grips on jiu jitsu gis. I would suggest getting a £90 gi, put it on a 40 wash and NEVER dry it out on a radiator or in a tumble drier. Always let it naturally dry or it will shrink really fast.
Royce dominated guys on the ground when nobody outside of Brazil knew anything about JJ. Maia was one of the best JJ competitors of his generation having won and medaled in many regional and international level tournaments. Royce to my knowledge never won or medaled in any noteworthy events, in the only high profile grappling matches he had vs Wallid Ismael and Hidehiko Yoshida he was quickly choked out.
I bought one of those comma shaped pillows after having a twinges neck for two month and it was sorted within a week. Been an absolute life saver for me. I'm actually from Manchester, I just support Leeds. Haha that pics makes me cringe. I need to do something though, the karate one is really loose so if I ever roll with someone who can do gi chokes and lapel chokes I'm ****ed.
