2004 IBJJF World Championship

Did you know?

• ▸ Across 22 recorded matchups at the 2004 Mundial, points decided 13 of them. That tells you a lot about how title fights were being won that year, with the win coming from position control more often than a finish.
• ▸ The submission rate at the event was 23 percent, with 5 wins by submission on record. The most common finish was the cross collar choke with 2, a reminder that the fundamentals still close out matches at the highest level.
• ▸ Roger Gracie led all competitors with 7 recorded wins, 4 of them by submission. Even in a points-heavy event, he was the one consistently finishing fights.
• ▸ Ronaldo de Souza beat Roger Gracie on points in the Absolute Division final, but earlier the same de Souza dropped his Medium Heavyweight final to Bráulio Estima. Same athlete, two very different results in one event.
• ▸ Marcelo Garcia won his Middleweight final over Cassio Werneck on points and finished with 2 recorded wins, 1 by submission. It is a small sample, but it lines up with the 2004 black belt class fans later voted the most respected of the modern era.