The Berimbolo Kid's Match of the Week - Week 18 - Jean Jacques Machado vs. Matt Serra - ADCC 2001

(The previous edition can be found HERE)

Welcome to another edition of Match of the Week! This week is an all-time classic! It is Jean Jacques Machado vs. Matt Serra from the -77kg weight class of the 2001 ADCC.

Jean Jacques Machado (also known as JJ Machado) is a true legend in Jiu-Jitsu. He is a 7th degree red and black belt under Rickson Gracie and is one of the five Machado brothers (the others being Rigan, Carlos, John, and Roger). Jean was born with Amniotic Band Syndrome, which left him without any fingers on his left hand. However, this hasn't stopped him from becoming one of the greatest grapplers of all time.

Being such a legend of our sport, it's no shock to discover that Jean has won dozens of titles throughout his career. He is an eleven time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu National (1982-1992), and Rio de Janeiro Jiu-Jitsu State Champion (1982-1992), a four time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu American Champion (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998), a two time Black Belt Super Challenge Champion (1998, 2000), and a one-time Grappling Style Challenge Japan (1995) and ADCC Champion (1999). He is also is a two time ADCC silver medalist (2000, 2001 absolute).

In terms of style of grappling, Jean's style is very basic but extremely effective. He doesn't use any fancy guard work or passes but instead relies on the basics of Jiu-Jitsu. His style is rather similar to Rickson Gracie's. He aims to gain a dominant position and finish the fight. In particular, Jean seems to favour the rear naked choke. 

Jean Jacques Machado

Matt Serra is probably best known for one of the greatest upsets in MMA history when he defeated Georges St-Pierre at UFC 69 by TKO to become UFC welterweight champion. On the Jiu-Jitsu side of things, Matt is an accomplished grappler and has taken medals in major tournaments such as the ADCC and World Championships. He is also the first American to receive a black belt from Renzo Gracie. 

Although he didn't compete in Jiu-Jitsu for very long, Matt still managed win and medal at a few major tournaments, defeating some legends along the way. Matt is a one-time Pan American Champion (1999 purple), an ADCC silver medalist (2001), and a World bronze medalist (2000 brown).  

Matt is quite well rounded as a Jiu-Jitsu fighter. He doesn't use any crazy fancy stuff, but executes the basics very well. For the most part, he just uses the closed guard but sets up sweeps excellently from there. He makes great use of pressure throughout his matches and uses it in order to secure a dominant position. From watching his matches, you can see he tends to favour taking the back and the rear naked choke.

Matt Serra

What can I say about this match? It's just a classic! I think its sticks out in my mind because of who wins rather than the how exciting the match is. I'm not saying it's a boring match by any means, and there are some really great moments in the match. Just watch it for yourself, you won't be disappointed.

The video of the match can be found below. I hope you guys enjoy!

See you next week!

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