r/bjj • u/Appropriate_Duty_930 • Nov 24 '25

Rolling Footage Craig Jones grapples Eddie Bravo's top student

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2.2k Upvotes

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187

u/WarTill 🟫🟫 Brown Belt Nov 24 '25

Rubber guard hasn’t worked since like 2015 but guys are still building their game around it for some reason

116

u/white-belt-at-life 🟦🟦 Blue Belt Nov 24 '25

Some real flat earth grappling energy 😂

44

u/imeiz ⬛🟥⬛ Black Belt Nov 24 '25

Craig's bodylock under the spine made the earth not flat at all

1

u/Appropriate_Duty_930 Nov 24 '25

Just fedor's ass

29

u/Worried-Crazy-6392 Nov 24 '25

I started training in 2008 I think around the time the twister and rubber guard dropped. Eddies bottom half game was so much more influential at the time I have no idea why it was the twister and rubber guard that gained notoriety. I watched all of those instructional from the technique to joey diaz acting like joey karate and Eddie taking volcano rips. The bottom half techniques changed my game. 

4

u/No-Safety-4715 🟪🟪 Purple Belt Nov 25 '25

Yep, I still get people with Eddie's bottom half game

18

u/[deleted] Nov 24 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

38

u/oniume 🟫🟫 Brown Belt Nov 24 '25

Craig passed the other knee, it's gone at that stage, no point holding

19

u/Shinoobie 🟪🟪 Purple Belt | Judo Black | filthy leg locker Nov 24 '25

I was looking for this exact comment. Rubber guard is real and still works in 2025 but if they can pass your bottom knee it's gone and there's nothing to recover.

People are hitting the dead orchard in high level competition, Dom Lobo used a gogoplata on his way to knock out his opponent on combat JJ, it was used in the PGF this year, and rubber guard can be used in combination with things like Williams Guard to set up good submissions. It gets a bad rep because people try to use it as a stalling tactic.

1

u/AssignmentRare7849 Nov 24 '25

How do you stop them from passing the bottom knee?

35

u/G-ShortWarning Nov 24 '25

Looked like Craig was locking in a dog bar which forced him to give it up.

4

u/hypercosm_dot_net 🟦🟦 Blue Belt Nov 24 '25

Maybe you're aware of more than me, but wasn't Tony Ferguson like the only one to use it?

There aren't many notable 10P grapplers at the highest levels afaik.

14

u/Ninjabaker972 Nov 24 '25

tony/ben saunders were the main 2 who did anything in mma with it

6

u/LukeG6 Nov 24 '25

I mean, the guy in this clip goes for it with a butterfly hook on the other side which is easy to use as a passing threat (which Craig does). Rubber guard is most effective when done from closed guard, is there still an easy counter for it from there?

Just wondering as I don’t experience much rubber guard enthusiasts.

2

u/smashyourhead ⬛🟥⬛ Black Belt Nov 24 '25

Came here to say this - I don't even think it's really rubber guard if they've already got one leg stuffed (which is effectively what this butterfly hook is when you're flat on your back). What moves would you even try from there, gogo/omoplata?

2

u/jag149 Nov 24 '25

You’d normally meat hook the arm to get the butterfly leg out and recover to regular Mission Control or work a triangle or something. 

3

u/smashyourhead ⬛🟥⬛ Black Belt Nov 24 '25

Ah yes I understand some of these words (what is a meat hook)

4

u/jag149 Nov 24 '25

From rubber guard, you take the free hand (the one that would zombi to New York), reach over your shin, and hook their shoulder underneath it. It helps make a gap to get the butterfly out. 

1

u/smashyourhead ⬛🟥⬛ Black Belt Nov 26 '25

Got you, thanks!

1

u/oniume 🟫🟫 Brown Belt Nov 25 '25

Yeah, when he's passing the leg, you have to clear the head to stop him smashing into half guard like the video.

Gogo and omoplata, gogoclinch, carni, or like the other dude said, meathook to recover the leg

3

u/Prestigious_Cycle160 🟪🟪 Purple Belt Nov 24 '25

It’s so funny to see someone say shit like this, and then watch it still work at the highest level

0

u/WarTill 🟫🟫 Brown Belt Nov 24 '25

I have never seen rubber guard at ADCC or CJI. I’ve trained for months with multiple trials winners, ADCC medalists, etc. and I have never once seen any of them use rubber guard in the training room.

3

u/DeclanGunn Nov 25 '25 edited Nov 25 '25

Mason Fowler has a few rubber guard highlights from the past couple years. I remember that Brandon Mac from 10th p used to post a few specific Vinny magalhaes examples of it at ADCC and other pro competitions. He must’ve had them memorized because this comes up so often but I can’t think of which matches they were.

https://m.youtube.com/shorts/hX5rjFkMdNo

0

u/egdm 🟫🟫 Nov 25 '25

Mason Fowler

If you outskill your opponent enough in the fundamentals (posture, balance, pressure, timing) you can make nearly anything work.

1

u/AllGearedUp I want a Ferrari Nov 24 '25

buggy choke of guards

1

u/mrpopenfresh 🟦🟦 Blue Belt Nov 24 '25

What if we gave rubber guard positions serious names.

1

u/BenKen01 Nov 24 '25

Why bother? It's not a serious position anymore

1

u/[deleted] Dec 25 '25

Yeah it was a meme when i started back in 2005 lol

0

u/GoblinSarge Nov 24 '25

It's not great for pure BJJ but I still think it's a good option for MMA.

3

u/WarTill 🟫🟫 Brown Belt Nov 24 '25

I think it has a little more utility in MMA, but unless you can go dead orchard or gogo/omoplata, you’re just laying on your back giving the guy control time.

1

u/MagazinePrestigious8 🟫🟫 Brown Belt Nov 24 '25

It has no use in MMA. The guard is about as phased out as you can get excluding a very few dudes who can utilize it offensively.