PGF World Coaches: BJJ Legends

The Professional Grappling Federation World Championship team will earn $100,000 this season. Never has it been more important to form the best team possible. With the aid of its newest members, the PGF leadership team has assembled a veritable Mount Rushmore of Jiu Jitsu to lead the four teams this season. Jiu Jitsu greats Roger Gracie, Eddie Bravo, Rigan Machado, and Andre Galvao have all stepped up to add to their legacies by attempting to lead their teams to the championship.

THE JOB:

But what’s involved in serving as the head coach for a PGF World team? Put simply, the most important job of the coach is assembling the right team. It all starts the morning of 21 April. First, the coaches will scout out their talent at the PGF Combine in the morning (Ok, let’s be serious – these gentlemen are in it to win it. Given the competitive nature of these coaches, they are likely already scouting the announced competitors and will continue until the season begins.). The PGF Combine will include a number of events to showcase competitors’ stamina, strength, skills, etc. – providing the coaches with some in-person opportunity to weigh their prospective picks. The evening of the 21st, the coaches will face off in the PGF Auction Draft! Each coach will have a certain amount of PGF tokens for the auction. The players will step up to the auction block one-by-one and the coaches will have to assemble their five-person teams by placing the top bids on their desired competitors.

Once the auction draft emcee and PGF World announcer Stephen Eakin has declared the draft complete, the coaches will need to lead their newly formed teams to victory. Over the course of the following four days, each of their competitors will face off three times a night for a total of 12 matches a piece. With limited time between the auction draft and the first night of competition (less than 24 hours), the coaches will have their work cut out for them. They will need to quickly understand their individual team members’ styles, strengths/weaknesses, and how they receive coaching. Then, for each day, the coaches will have to look over the 15 opponents their team will face and do their best to position their team for victory. To be sure, there’s not enough time for any of these legendary coaches to completely overhaul any of their team members’ games. The PGF World Championship Team will be determined by the quality of these coaches’ draft strategies and the desire and skill of their team members. But just maybe in a league as challenging as PGF World 6, those lessons learned from these legendary coaches’ experiences over their decades of jiu jitsu – the little adjustments whether they be grappling techniques, stylistic strategies, or even methods for self-control in high-stakes matches- they might make the difference between a team going home in second or winning the $100,000 team champion prize.

Now, let’s take a look at the stories behind these legendary coaches. Then, we’ll explore some possible strategies for winning PGF World 6!

THE GOAT: ROGER GRACIE

Even the current king of the ADCC, Gordon Ryan, admits the best competitor in jiu jitsu history is Roger Gracie. A fourth-degree black belt and the grandson of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu founder Carlos Gracie, Roger became a 10-time IBJJF world champion including his weight and absolutes (open weight). In the Olympics of Jiu Jitsu, the ADCC, Roger is the only person in history to win both his weight class and the absolute with a 100% submission rate. His performances earned him a spot in both the ADCC and IBJJF Halls of Fame. Following the path of many of his family members, Roger took his fighting skills from jiu jitsu to mixed martial arts. Across multiple promotions, Roger accumulated an 8-2 record, finishing as the One Championship Light Heavyweight Champion. The competitive stats keep going because Roger truly is the GOAT. While he did start his academy while he was still competing, now retired, Roger has transitioned from a world-beating competitor to a full-time professor and leader of more than 50 academies worldwide. Roger will be traveling from his academy in London, England to lead five competitors throughout the season. Obviously, as the GOAT of jiu jitsu competitors, Roger will have a target on his back. Worse yet, Roger has wins against both Rigan Machado and Andre Galvao – so you know both of those competing coaches would like to get a win over Roger, even just as coaches. But maybe another motivation beyond legacy for Roger would be to settle a long-standing score of his family. The next coach in the rundown, Eddie Bravo, made his name on upsetting Roger’s cousin at the ADCC. Whether it’s staying ahead of those he formerly beat in competition, avenging his cousin, or more realistically cementing his legacy as both the GOAT of jiu jitsu competitors and a champion PGF World Coach, Roger will be bringing his world class competitive nature, intellect, and skill to this season.

THE REVOLUTIONARY: EDDIE BRAVO

So many people in the current day come to mixed martial arts and jiu jitsu through Joe Rogan and his famous podcast. Many newcomers to jiu jitsu may have come to know Eddie Bravo from his many appearances on the podcast, or perhaps through his participation with UFC events in the past. Eddie first traveled to Los Angeles to spread his music. Along the way, his love of martial arts had him studying multiple disciplines until he found Gracie-style Brazilian Jiu Jitsu from the Machados. Eddie took his experience from high school wrestling and adapted it to jiu jitsu. He always preferred the few no gi sessions offered and always built his game around jiu jitsu applicable to mixed martial arts. Serendipity struck as Eddie learned jiu jitsu from Jean Jacques Machado whose hand deformity made him use underhooks and overhooks instead of the traditional gi grips in jiu jitsu. Under Jean Jacques’ tutelage, Eddie molded his jiu jitsu for mma which was normally done in only board shorts. As Eddie progressed, he tested his style in the fire of competition. Eddie rose to prominence when during the 2003 ADCC, he beat Royler Gracie via triangle choke. Royler Gracie was the heavy favorite, but Eddie as a brown belt was able to secure the victory. With this win and the resultant buzz spreading through the martial arts community, Eddie had the ability to start his own gym which was exclusively no gi. For a long time, Eddie and his 10th Planet members were derided as renegades, or worse yet, heretics. Even though Eddie gave respect to the founding family of jiu jitsu in his landmark book, critics still questioned the unorthodox “submission over position” style that 10th Planet represented. In his Mastering the System, Eddie would talk about positions such as mission control, chill dog, invisible collar, stoner control, etc. Eddie’s 10th Planet team members and students were those jiu jitsu practitioners your mother warned you about. But Eddie and his students persevered. They kept showing up to competitions. Slowly, the jiu jitsu public realized 10th Planet wasn’t about being heretical; it was about following Eddie’s guidance: to have an open mind. Eleven years after his historic win over Royler Gracie, they had a rematch at Metamoris III. While it was ruled a draw, Eddie showed the first match was no fluke, earning more respect for himself and his system. The 10th Planet Team kept growing and competing. So much so that ADCC counts the 10th Planet Team as their most active team now. Eddie’s 10th Planet Association currently spans more than 140 gyms across the world. The father of no-gi jiu jitsu, the leader of 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu, and grappling mad scientist, Eddie Bravo will turn his attention to assembling and coaching his team during PGF Season 6. With his open-mind, innovative/creative streak, and improvisational skills of a veteran musician, Eddie might just have the secret sauce for putting together a team from multiple backgrounds and making them gel as the championship team.

PROFESSOR OF THE STARS: RIGAN MACHADO

In the recent past, Rigan Machado has risen to fame as the jiu jitsu coach to the stars. He’s taught the likes of Ashton Kutcher, Keanu Reeves, Charlie Hunnam, Mel Gibson, and many more Hollywood actors, writers, directors, etc. Rigan has more than 30 acting credits as well as serving as a fight coordinator and producer. Rigan is an 8th degree red and white belt. When Rigan was very young, he moved to live with his uncle, the founder of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Carlos Gracie. Rigan first started training under Carlos’s sons Carlson Gracie and Rolls Gracie. Rigan trained with and under a number of his cousins. Eventually, he received his black belt from Carlos Gracie Jr. (founder of Gracie Barra). When the Gracies came to the United States to teach jiu jitsu, Rigan ended up teaching group classes at Rorion Gracie’s place in Los Angeles. Rigan taught and befriended Chuck Norris. With the famous actor’s help, Rigan brought his family, including his four brothers, to the United States and they set up their first academy teaching Machado Jiu Jitsu. Now, the different Machados and their associations have accumulated hundreds of gyms throughout the world. But while Rigan gets headlines today because of his celebrity students, he earned his bona fides as one of the best competitors in jiu jitsu history. For eight years in competition, he was undefeated in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He accumulated 365 wins. Rigan is a multi-year Pan American Champion (weight and absolute) and an ADCC medalist. He started competing at 14 and from that age until he was 21, he won the Brazilian National Championship every year. In an interview for the Gracie Jiu Jitsu Rocks! podcast in 2015, Rigan said he wanted to push this sport to the next level, to make it professional. As one of the coaches of PGF World 6, Rigan has a chance to be a part of making jiu jitsu professional. Moreover, with his experience of training celebrities who undoubtedly have limited time, Rigan might have the best skill set for making the greatest impact on the competitors he coaches this season. This “Professor to the Stars” might just shine the spotlight on his team as they win the championship.

THE CHAMP, NOW COACH OF THE CHAMPS: ANDRE GALVAO

Another legend of jiu jitsu rounds out the surreal list of coaches for PGF World 6. Andre Galvao has a vaunted competitive career as a six-time ADCC champion (most in history), including the record for super fight wins (4), and six-time IBJJF World champion. Like Roger Gracie above, Galvao’s exploits earned him spots in both the ADCC and IBJJF Halls of Fame. Galvao is a fourth-degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and a black belt in judo. Beyond his own competitive accomplishments, Galvao also founded the Atos organization, one of the most competitive jiu jitsu academies in the world. The Atos team has won innumerable Gi, No-Gi, and Pan Team Championships. The Atos team spans 20 countries with 73 affiliate academies. Galvao has taught and led a team of killers, including Lucas “Hulk’” Barbosa, JT Torres, Tye & Kade Ruotolo, Josh Hinger, Keenan Cornelius, and Kaynan Duarte. Like many other top jiu jitsu competitors, Galvao challenged his martial prowess, taking on the challenge of mixed martial arts. Fighting in multiple promotions, including Strikeforce, Galvao showed he could win in mma as well. As both a BJJ Hall of Famer and mma veteran, Galvao has attracted many high-profile mma fighters as students. Many fighters including Anderson Silva, Israel Adesanya, Rodrigo Minotauro, Carlos Diego, Cat Zingano, and Cris Cyborg have all called Galvao their professor. Galvao has shown he can win and he’s shown he can shape and mold world champions. Now, Galvao will have a chance to see if he can draft and coach the PGF World 6 championship team and overall champion.

Strategies:

Zoltan Bathory, founder of Five Finger Death Punch and co-owner of Epic Roll, served as one of the coaches of Team Epic Roll in PGF World 5. He fell in love with the PGF World experience that he became member of the PGF ownership team. Along with Epic Roll co-owner and founder Matt Wahlstrom and guest coach Jeff Glover, Zoltan guided team Epic Roll through a historic season where they earned the nickname “the Yankees of the PGF.” They earned this title not only because of their dominant victory as the clear team champions but also because of their dominant auction draft strategy. Zoltan recently gave his thoughts on the PGF World auction draft and his strategies on the BJJ Balance Podcast. Like fantasy auction drafts, Zoltan’s main strategy was to make his opponents overpay for the competitors they want, leaving them with less money for the competitors he ultimately wanted. As of this writing, AJ Agazarm is arguably the most accomplished competitor with multiple word titles and a silver medal at ADCC. Will one coach become enamored enough with having AJ on their team that they overpay? Another strategy Zoltan embraced was winning the auction on a competitor who trained with one of the other coaches outside the PGF. Kywan Gracie, another announced competitor, is a black belt under Roger Gracie, even serving as an instructor at Roger’s academy. If Eddie Bravo outbids everyone and lands Kywan Gracie, Eddie would essentially be forcing Roger to coach against his own, real-life student throughout the PGF World season. Would Roger point out Kywan’s weaknesses to his team or would Roger refuse to coach during any match against Kywan? It’s an interesting question.

Additionally, the coaches will want go through as much tape as possible. Even with the level of competitors who have been announced, how did they win the matches to gain their titles? Many competitors who relied on winning matches by points, advantages, or referee’s decisions have greatly underperformed under PGF World rules. There are no points, advantages, or referee’s decisions in PGF World; there are only submissions. It’s like choosing a gi player who built their game around spider guard and taking them to a no-gi tournament…results will vary. Coaches will want to consider the scoring rules for the PGF – Kills (chokes) get the player and the team six points, while Breaks (joint locks) only get three points. So someone with a choke-heavy game should be worth more than a normal leg-locker. Still, if that leg-locker hits lightning quick submissions, it’s a tougher call since a Break (leg lock) in less than one minute gets four points – three for the Break with an additional point for the submission in less than one minute (Elbow Genie Rule).

Finally, once they’ve assembled their teams, the coaches would do well to consider taking some advice on game play from the current face of PGF World. Elijah Carlton, overall PGF Champion in Season 1 and Season 5 as well as the regular season champ for Season 3, shared his thoughts on PGF strategy on the Inside BJJ Podcast recently. With their experience in jiu jitsu, the coaches can help their players weigh their opponents. Elijah would recommend if a Kill is a possibility, then the player should try for it for a few minutes, then settle for a Break. If a coach believes their player would have a hard time getting a Kill, but can get a Break, then a quick Break could possibly get four points and save the player’s energy for their other matches. Then there will be matches when a coach knows their player is outmatched. It would likely be wise to advise the player to play things tight and force a draw or make their opponent settle for a break.

With $100,000 on the line for the winning team, and an additional $20,000 on the line for the winner of the finale tournament, the tension will be high this season. Players will be cheering their teammates on in every round, hoping they get the most points possible for their team. At the same time, if players don’t perform, it could cause friction within teams. Some competitors who have found success in other formats will underperform their expectations and might have a hard time handling the letdown. At least one competitor who fans have never heard of will start hitting submissions and win over everyone. Often called the Shark Week of Jiu Jitsu, PGF World 6 goes LIVE on April 21 with the Combine and Auction Draft on the PGF World YouTube Channel. From April 22-25, each night PGF World will bring the fans more than four hours of exciting jiu jitsu as each competitor gets three matches a night. By the end of April 25th, we will crown the Championship Team, awarding them their $100,000, and we will know the brackets for the finale tournament. Finally, on April 26, the finale tournament will determine your PGF World 6 overall champion. There’s still a lot of unknowns about the season, including the rest of the competitor roster, but we do know IT WILL BE EXCITING. Because, the PGF is everything you love about sports, plus jiu jitsu!

News about PGF Season 6 will be continually revealed throughout the next 58 days before the PGF premieres. To keep up with the latest news, check out the PGF Insiders Podcast on Brandon Mccaghren’s YouTube Channel. Of course be sure to check out the official PGF website: PGF World and follow @pgfworld on Instagram.

The editors at EggheadWarrior.com thank the PGF Insiders, and Brandon Mccaghren and Keelan Lawyer for providing the content of this article. The editors also scoured the interwebs for previous interviews with the coaches (articles and podcasts). The PGF Insiders will always work to provide the latest and greatest information regarding the PGF and you can see their weekly podcasts on the McDojo Life YouTube Channel or Brandon Mccaghren’s channel. Special thanks to Walo Jay for all the great photos. Those interested in Walo’s work can check out his YouTube page (link is specifically to Walo’s Handsome Kevin short) and Walo’s website.