It’s clear that Yuri Simoes values wrestling — he used his impressive standup skills to earn his toughest victories at ADCC this year.

But while filming our documentary "All Access: ADCC With Yuri Simoes," we were excited to learn that the now two-time ADCC champion spent time working with Olympic wrestlers and sambo champions in Russia before the September tournament, training he credits with helping improve his jiu-jitsu. 

"Wrestling, Greco, judo... All those grappling modalities have something to offer. I don’t think with the mentality ‘only jiu-jitsu' is the way. If you do jiu-jitsu why not train sambo [too]? It’s only going to complete your game." 

Simoes isn't alone — many top jiu-jitsu athletes bring in experts in the the standup modalities, such as wrestling and judo, to help round out their skill sets.  

In our humble opinion, ADCC was that much more exciting this year because of this very change: The wrestling was phenomenal and outclassed what was seen in previous years.   

Do you train in any other grappling arts? Sound off on our social channels and let us know! 

Cobrinha trained extensively with Kenny Johnson ahead of his incredible ADCC championship run. Photo: Hywel Teague

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