How to beat bigger people in BJJ

(Do steroids. Jk)

Tips for rolling with bigger people in BJJ

This article I’m trying to help you beat BJJ training partners who are big. I’m talking about 20-30-40+ pounds heavier than you.

One of the coolest things about BJJ is when technique triumphs over strength and a smaller person defeat someone much bigger and stronger. It’s one of the reasons I started training BJJ. I thought it was cool a smaller person could defend themselves against a larger, stronger opponent using proper technique. There’s a lot of examples of this happening in modern day BJJ competition. Search “Mikey Musumeci open weight” to see a 135-pound black belt beat and almost 300-pound BJJ back belt.

I’ve had a few examples myself. I competed against Orlando Sanchez (2015 Ultra-heavyweight ADCC winner) when we were blue belts at the 2010 IBJJF World Championships. I was in the lightweight division (167 pounds), and Orlando was easily close to 300 pounds. I lost the match by points, but it gave me confidence that I did ok. I have never been afraid to grapple the big guys, but I do it with a sense of caution.

Josh Presley vs. Orlando Sanchez - IBJJF Worlds 2010

When training BJJ it is very possible that many your training partners will be bigger than you. I started BJJ when I was 17 years old and weighed 150 pounds. I trained at an MMA gym. A lot of the guys were big, strong, tough guys. I always believed in BJJ and believed in the technique. At times I was intimidated but I never let it hold me back. I had to trial and error a lot of techniques that would work against someone my own size or smaller but not against someone larger.

Here’s some tips I want to share with you on how to beat someone bigger than you in BJJ.

Guard

When you roll with someone bigger than you, it is likely you will end up on the bottom. This is why having a good guard that is difficult to pass is very, very important. You always need to be positioning your body in a way that makes it hard for your partner to hold you down. If you get your guard passed you will be in big trouble finding yourself in bottom side control or bottom mount. Use your feet to push on their knees, hips, body. Focus on always controlling the distance between you and your partner.

Play guards where your partner cannot put all their weight on you. If training in the gi, use guards like De La Riva, X guard and collar sleeve. These guards focus on using your feet against your partner to keep them at a safer distance. Legs are stronger than arms.

Focus on moving yourself instead of moving them

Whether you are standing up, on bottom, or on top. Keep moving. Always be looking to threaten a sweep, back take, guard pass, or submission. This will keep your partner on defense. Move with a purpose. Bigger opponents will find it harder to keep up with a lot of movement and will get tired faster as they constantly must adjust. A bigger body will require more energy to move around.

Techniques to prioritize: arm drags, butterfly/open guard retention, back takes, leg locks

Don’t force it. Look for opportunities and take them when they are there. Getting on the back has always been my number one game plan. It works great against bigger training partners. If I am in side control I feel like a big guy can just bench press me off. You can’t bench press something that is behind you.

Omaplata (especially in the gi) is an amazing tool to use against someone because you attach your body to one of their arms making it very difficult for them to move or put weight on you. In fact, I remember when I was a purple belt rolling in the gi with a tough MMA guy. I had him in omaplata for the entire seven-minute round. At one point he jokingly yelled “Just let me do something!” I did not.

Leg locks can be a great equalizer against larger opponents. If you attack an armbar a big opponent can use their upper body to defend. If you attack an ankle lock it’s harder for them to defend using their upper body and most people don’t train a lot of leg lock defense.

Techniques to avoid: triangles and takedowns

I would say unless you have long legs avoid triangles against bigger people. It’s tough to get the triangle submission to work, and if it fails you are likely gonna end up in a bottom side control position. If I am rolling with someone who’s 300 pounds and I see an opportunity for a triangle – I likely will not take it because it’s too risky. I eliminate the triangle from my possible moves against larger opponents.

Avoid takedowns. If I am rolling against someone bigger, I will quickly pull guard. I don’t want someone bigger taking me down and landing on top of me. It’s important to start the roll on your terms.

Never let them control your head

It’s true the old saying, “where the head goes, the body follows”. If you can’t move your head, you probably can’t move the rest of your body. If they do start to control your head, stop whatever you are doing and address it to free your head. Don’t let them dominate the grip exchanges. Prioritize keeping them in front of you with your legs between  you and them.

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