When it comes to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, there are some moments that are immortalized forever. This is when something iconic happens that is also captured by a photographer at the right moment in time. Whether it’s winning an epic BJJ match or something with a lot of meaning – here are the 15 most iconic BJJ photos that show a completely different story. Here, we shall also give a bit of background information on the context behind each picture.
Royce Gracie performs a legendary ring walk at UFC. In the early days of UFC, Royce Gracie dominated and became the MMA promotion’s first-ever champion. He did this whilst wearing his BJJ gi and black belt which was allowed in the cage at the time. As seen above, he would walk to the ring in his outfit whilst accompanied by his fellow Gracie family members in a line. In front of him is his brother, Rickson Gracie.
ADCC Champion Orlando Sanchez sports a warrior-like pose after a grueling ADCC match. With his bloody head and teeth, cauliflower ears, and manic look – you would be foolish to bet against him. Such was the infamy of this picture, is that it even got made into a t-shirt. Love him or hate him, Big O is a natural-born competitor.
In the 2009 ADCC 88KG category, Braulio Estima won gold by submitting Andre Galvao in an epic final. Despite being on the defense for most of the match, Estima took his chance and shot a rare inverted triangle on Galvao who was infamously difficult to submit. To date, this is the only ever inverted triangle submission at an ADCC final match. As seen, both men are grimacing for different reasons.
At a Whose Number One event in 2021, Andre Galvao confronted long-term rival Gordon Ryan backstage. This resulted in Ryan slapping Galvao in the face, twice. After a stand-off happened and this image almost looks like a renaissance painting, with Ryan looking visibly angered, and a stern-looking John Danaher in between the two athletes trying to play peacemaker.
During his BJJ career, Garry Tonon also fought in MMA at the promotion ONE. During a fight with Koyomi Matsushima, Tonon famously caught his opponent’s leg whilst mid-flight. Combined with his ripped torso, flicked hair, and determined look on his face – this picture quickly went viral, with many comparing Tonon to a Dragon Ball Z character.
In 1951, Helio Gracie fought the legendary Japanese Judoka, Masahiko Kimura in a filled-out stadium in Brazil. Arguably, this would be the first-ever super fight in BJJ which saw Kimura submit Helio with a figure four shoulder lock. Such was the hype around this event, is that the move eventually got named after him – and would go on to be known as the Kimura submission. During the bout, Helio had a huge weight disadvantage against his opponent, and his shoulder even broke, which shows the determination of the Brazilian. After, it was all smiles from the pair who had just made history.
This wouldn’t be the only time that a Gracie fell foul to a Kimura from a Japanese fighter either. Almost 50 years later in PRIDE 10, Kazushi Sakuraba did the same to Helio’s relative, Renzo Gracie. Here, Renzo’s elbow snapped during a side control Kimura. As seen, Kimura has a shocked look on his face, whilst Renzo looks to be in some discomfort. Although best known as a catch wrestler, Sakuraba would go on to show his grappling prowess and beat a number of high-profile Gracie family members which earned him the boogeyman title, ‘The Gracie hunter’.
Following in his family’s footsteps, Roger Gracie would also compete in MMA at ONE. Although Roger had a stellar BJJ career, his MMA career was a successful spell too. Here, he became the ONE champion in 2016. Like other Gracie relatives before him, Roger would walk to the cage whilst wearing his trademark white gi. Overall, Roger’s stay in MMA was made even more impressive seeing as his BJJ game relied heavily on the use of the cross-collar choke which used the gi.
Despite the above picture looking like an edited image, this actually happened. At the 2020 Euros, Mikey Musumeci took home gold in his category and also competed in the absolutes. Staggeringly, Musumeci would go on to win this match against Seif Eddine Houmine – even though his opponent was literally more than double his weight. Often, the absolute categories favor the big guy, but in this instance, it truly was a case of David vs Goliath, with Musumeci proving that technique can defeat size.
In an image similar to the previous Orlando Sanchez one, this once again shows the true warrior spirit of an elite BJJ competitor. In this case, it is Abreu Cyborg who may be bleeding but can’t stop smiling after winning the Kasai tournament. Over the years, Cyborg proved that age was just a number and was known for his brutal but effective style of Jiu Jitsu.
Whilst on the subject of BJJ legends – few have the status of Leandro Lo. Easily one of the best gi competitors ever, Lo was known for having an endless gas tank, big takedowns, and a rabid style of guard passing. This photo shows him doing his trademark heart beating celebration after yet another win. Unfortunately, Lo was shot dead in Brazil in 2022 whilst he was still competing. Only aged 33, Lo was sadly at his prime when he passed.
Above, Mackenzie Dern celebrates winning an ADCC match. Dern would go on to become one of the youngest ever female ADCC champions, as well as dominating Worlds in the gi. Although she was considered a real force at the time, Dern would then turn to MMA during her 20s and had a good spell in UFC, where she continued to show off her BJJ and submission game. For BJJ purists, she could have easily been the best ever female competitor had she chosen to continue competing.
A group photo of the Gracie family during their earlier days. Here, they are a mixture of blue and black belts, with the head of the family Helio Gracie in the middle. At this point, they still trained and lived together in Brazil, before they would go their separate ways and spread BJJ to the world. See if you can spot any famous faces.
Gordon Ryan posing in his trademark ‘king’ outfit, including a red robe and crown. He would go on to firmly cement his reputation as the greatest nogi competitor ever by dominating ADCC for years to come. This is where his nickname of ‘King Ryan’ came from and based on his reign, it is certainly appropriate.
