UFC legend vs BJJ phenom: Watch Demian Maia grapple Mica Galvao
Watch UFC grappling legend Demian Maia take on BJJ star Mica Galvao.
By Anton Tabuena@antontabuena Jan 5, 2023, 11:00am EST
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Screengrab, YouTube/FloGrappling
Grappling stars from two different eras of jiujitsu got to test out their skills against each other.
UFC grappling legend Demian Maia dropped in to train with Mica Galvao ahead of the 19-year-old's stint at the 2022 ADCC World Championships, and they posted video of their session together.
Maia is a former ADCC and BJJ world champion that became known as one of the best grapplers in UFC history. He's a former two-division UFC title challenger, with submission wins over some of the best MMA stars during his 14-year stint with the promotion.
Galvao on the other hand, is a BJJ phenom that took jiujitsu by storm. Routinely beating bigger and older black belts in the professional circuit as a teenager, Galvao quickly established himself as one of the best grapplers in the world today. He was promoted to black belt at just 17-years-old, and became the youngest ever Abu Dhabi World Pro champion in 2021 and youngest ever IBJJF world champion in 2022.
Watch the video of their full roll below:
It's worth noting that while Maia did have a couple of grappling matches recently, he is already 45-years-old and seemingly retired from MMA competition. He was also helping out the 19-year-old Galvao, who was also in shape and in-camp for the ADCC championships during this session.
Galvao ended up winning silver in that ADCC tournament, only losing to fellow teenage phenom Kade Ruotolo in the final.
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