Rafael Mendes: Why He Wins

Rafael Mendes is one of the greatest lightweight BJJ competitors in the world….but why?

So a few years ago, one of my instructors, Dan Faggella, put a video together on why he thinks Rafael Mendes wins. Now Dan, being the super analytic jiu jitsu nerd and BJJ scientist that he is, made this video based on some of the overall observations that stand out to him when he watches Rafael Mendes compete.

This video was made in 2010, and as most of us know, Rafael Mendes was an unstoppable force when he continued to compete in 2011 and through 2012. He is an amazing and fighter to watch, and his wins on the mat prove that he trains harder than most. Here’s the breakdown:

So here are the 3 main trends that are explained in the video:

1. Entangled positions

2. Quick to the base

3. Sagittal back takes

So right off the bat Dan talks about how entangled positions are a very common theme at the lighter weights. I would have to definitely agree with this. We see a lot of de la riva guard and 50/50 guard nowadays in the lighter weights of BJJ. These are positions that are and can be very entangled and complex.

Not only does Rafael Mendes do an excellent job of navigating through these entangled positions, but he is so good at disentangling from these positions as well. If you ever watch him in a double guard pull scenario, he is always attacking by using these entangled positions to advance on his opponent.

I would also have to agree that Rafael Mendes‘ ability to get to his base quickly plays a decent role in his game. If you watch Rafael Compete against Justin Rader in the 2012 Pan Ams, he hits a sweep very early on in the match that involves him getting to his base quickly to score on Rader. He is skilled at both bringing his legs under his torso, and also bringing his torso over his legs to take top position.

The last observation of Sagittal back takes that Dan makes is the most important observation in my opinion. Rafael Mendes is currently taking the back in some of the most dynamic ways we have ever seen, and is doing so in the sagittal plane of motion. This means that he is coming from under his opponents base and taking the back through the middle from there. 

Most of us have seen Rafael using the berimbolo technique in competitions. He is great at going inverted to enter the sagittal plane of motion and attack the back. We are now seeing a lot of competitors at the lighter weights attacking the back in this fashion, and it is becoming more and more of a trend. This is even the case in some of the brown and purple belt divisions.

Overall, I think this analysis did a good job of highlighting some key trends and strategies that Rafael Mendes uses to win in competition. I agree with all 3 observations, because each one can be seen if you watch Rafael compete.

Cannot wait to see more great matches from Rafael in the future!