Robert Drysdale is a 4th degree BJJ black belt and former MMA athlete who was born in Provo, Utah. Although he was born in America, Drysdale spent most of his childhood growing up in Brazil and lived in a city called Itu, which is very close to Sao Paulo.
Drysdale’s entry to grappling came when he was 16 years old. Just like many others in this era, the hype and exposure of UFC alongside Royce Gracie peaked his attention. He adds “My generation in Brazil quickly came to associate Jiu-Jitsu with manliness, toughness, dominance and other male oriented qualities. These things appealed to me as a teenager”.
When competing, Drysdale fought at super heavyweight (100kg approximately). He is still the only American who has won a gold medal at both Worlds Gi & ADCC, doing so in 2005 & 2007 respectively. Best known for his grinding and relentless pressure, his style translated well to MMA, where he retired with an undefeated 7-0 record.
Speaking about his BJJ style in general, Drysdale says his favorite submission is the rear naked choke. He likes the butterfly guard because it works well in gi, no gi and MMA, which is especially important since he competed at the highest level in all 3 disciplines.
Whilst he was promoted to black belt in 2004 under Leo Vieira, Drysdale has been on his own for the past 13 years. He runs his own team alongside Rodrigo Cavaca called Zenith Jiu-Jitsu.
Drysdale confesses his toughest opponent was Roger Gracie and credits Roleta, Leo Vieira, Comprido, Demian, Margarida and Lucas Leite for having the biggest influence on his style. His worst ever injury was a herniated disk on his back and also one on his neck. He adds “I deal with the pain 24/7”.
Although he is in constant pain, Drysdale was asked if the pain in his neck and back was worth the achievements in his career to which he responded “100% worth it. Even if the pain was double what it is now”.
Asked about his greatest achievement in BJJ, Drysdale claims it is his students which can be backed up by seeing the quality of fighters he has trained including Frank Mir, Randy Couture and Dany Hardy. He states “I believe I am a good coach not only on the mats but also off the mats”.
Q & A
What Are Your Plans For The Future?
“Be a good parent and friend, live my life with a smile on my face while I continue to live my dreams. A person can ask for nothing more.”
Not many people know you have a history degree, what was the idea behind writing a book about the history of BJJ (Opening The Close Guard)? Was it difficult to research BJJ since it’s not well documented compared to something like WW2 where there are tons of documents/videos/recordings?
“Much of the research had already been done by people like Roberto Pedreira, Tufy Cairus, Marcial Serrano and Elton Silva (among others). The hard part was putting this story together in a cohesive way for people to understand the true wealth of our history. It is a very rich trajectory that led to what we now call “BJJ”.”
I’ve heard stories about some of the Gracie family members where they did things to make themselves look better or make easier fights for themselves.
So when doing something like a documentary or a book for example, is it difficult to get to the truth of what actually happened? Perhaps this is a well known problem with history in general unless it’s visible to begin with?
“History is undoubtedly complex. It isn’t a linear and simplistic series of events. We need to look at the whole, the culture, the times, the motivations, etc. To summarize a historian needs to be a good psychologist and understand people to understand the roles they play and when we do this, we find which is in fact obvious. History, much as our own personal lives, isn’t about categorizing people in the “angel” or “devil” category, but rather to understand their changing motivations in the course of their lives and the times they were living in. We are all full of nuance and what is true of ourselves, is true of the larger subject of those who came before us.”
Was there any particular reason you retired from MMA? You had a good record (undefeated). A lot people don’t seem to quit whilst they’re ahead and end up getting (most likely) some sort of brain injury, but get a big payday. So why did you decide to switch to coaching?
“One of my proudest achievements is that I always believe I have fought for the right reasons. My heart wasn’t there anymore so I decided to call it quits. Had I continued I would have continued solely for the money and no other reason. I could never live with myself had I done that. I am too much of a self-critic to be false to myself.”
Do you think there will be another american who wins ADCC and gi worlds?
“At the rate things are going, people will drift further into specialization, which is detrimental to JJ if you ask me, but it is what it is and to each their own. With that being said, I think it is highly unlikely that Gordon will win a gi world-title just as it is highly unlikely Musumeci will win an ADCC. Even though they both have the potential to do both”.
Drysdale Adds:
Checkout my new project regarding the history of BJJ at closedguardfilm.com also checkout my personal website at robertdrysdale.net also, feel free to come visit us in vegas one of these days.
