Watch Roger Gracie v Andre Galvao

This match was surprisingly the only time that two legends of the sport, Roger Gracie and Andre Galvao, actually met on the mats. The match takes place at the 2008 IBJJF Gi World Championships, in the semi-final of the Absolute Division. Earlier in the tournament, Roger Gracie had stormed to yet another World Championship Gold Medal by defeating four opponents in the +100kg category, while Andre Galvao had earnt his second world title in the -88kg category.

At this point in time, Galvao was not the superstar that he is now. It would be another three years before he would pick up his first ADCC title and start the run that has seen him become the most dominant superfight champion in ADCC history. Gracie on the other hand was already six world championship wins deep into his career by the time he faced Galvao and had already begun to establish his reputation as one of the greatest BJJ competitor of all time.

The match would show the difference in experience between the two elite competitors, and also the significant size difference between them at the time. Gracie cruised to a 12-0 points victory and set up a meeting in the final of the Absolute division with Alexandre Ribeiro, a match that he would go on to lose in a shock upset. Galvao would have to settle for a bronze medal in the Absolute division, and would never better this result in his IBJJF career.

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