There are few unique grapplers in the world that surpass that uniqueness of Jeff Glover. Both on the mat and off of it, Glover is a true character—in a good way—for the sport of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
(Reader NOTE: If you’re interested in beating bigger grapplers – check out the Free video series out now called "Giant Killer.")
In terms of grappling, his style is unique in its own right. Often the smaller man in the battle, Glover is often placed in situations where he must be different and create for himself, because just going by-the-book isn’t going to cut it with larger guys.
With vast success in submission based sports—having won open weight classes in various organizations 15 times—and placing in Abu Dhabi as well as the Pan Am Games, Glover is no slouch when it comes to choking people.
Often times I find myself going on YouTube tears in search for videos of specific grapplers, and recently I found myself on a Jeff Glover binge.
During my research, I found a match of his from the UFC Fan Expo ran by Grapplers Quest. Being a smaller guy myself, I found this specific match intriguing due to the fact the man he was grappling was much, much larger than he is.
BJJ Giant Killers – Grappling Outside of The Box
As I stated earlier, Jeff Glover is a unique breed. Right off the bat in this match it shows, as the larger opponent seemingly stalked Glover as Jeff looked for any opening that he could get his hands on.
At the very beginning, Jeff even leaped as if he were trying to jump over his opponents head! This goes to show that for us smaller grapplers, just stepping on the mat and playing our conventional game isn’t always going to cut it against the bigger guys.
Even if you aren’t aiming to do something that this specific, unique move, it’s good to have in your arsenal. Throwing this out there will keep your opponent on their toes and wondering what you will do next. Being a spontaneous grappler will cause you to gain that reputation, which will leave your opponent unsure as to what exactly you will be doing next.
Like the headline says, grapple outside of the box!
Big Guys Might Have a False Sense Of Security
As the match wore on, the larger opponent was able to gain the dominant top position on Glover. This will happen from time-to-time, especially when you factor in the strength difference.
From here, Glover was able to stall the behemoth which allowed him to work his game. As a little guy, it’s helpful to allow our opponents to think that they have us right where they want us! Once they begin to fall into the trap is when we spring on them and hit them with what we got.
This is exactly what Glover did, as a back take led to an attempted armbar, which led to a triangle choke. Despite meeting resistance, Glover was able to apply the choke as someone in the crowd yelled out, “Giant killer! Giant killer!”
Who said size matters?
Dan Faggella
PS: You can check out my past interview with Jeff about beating bigger opponents here, and make sure you get in on the Giant Killer Free Video series starting this week!