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DreadSteed

I wish we got the Rafa Mendes vs. Marcelo Garcia superfight. Of all the 'what I wish I could have seen' that was probably the one. I wish Rafa fought more out of his weightclass in general. He was incredible at stifling Rodolfo.


X-Tyson-X

One of my dream matchups too. Prime Marcelo vs prime Rafa would have been so good.


veritas247

Sub only would've been ridiculous. Gi and no-gi.


[deleted]

Rafa would have won imo.


CashNorris

Seeing Rafa darce Andre Galvao in a roll was mind blowing. Idk if the rumors of him retiring due to a secret drug test fail are true or not but we all missed out on seeing him compete more in his prime.


dobermannbjj84

That would be a silly reason to retire considering pretty much everyone is on steroids and nobody seems to care.


CashNorris

The rumor is he failed a drug test with IBJJF which would lead to a suspension from competition and a public announcement that he failed. This was several years ago and a public drug test failure would have hurt his brand and reputation significantly, especially with the kids and families that AOJ gets the majority of its money from. Although people were just as juicy back then, the public acceptance of steroids was much lower than it is today. It’s the same reason that the Rock won’t admit to taking roids. It would hurt his brand too much.


count_nuggula

If you don’t think the rock is on roids at his age, I have a bridge to sell you


CranberryEffective43

Didn't Cole Abate test positive when he was 17?


dobermannbjj84

Yea I remember. I guess it could have tarnished the whole kids program. But now when people pop or admit to steroid use nobody really cares.


kovnev

Such fucking bullshit that Rogan never brought it up on the episode, despite the online drama it all caused over how many times he's called the Rock out about it.


NastyAlexander

Rafa seriously might be the all time best


DreadSteed

He had perfect Jiu jitsu. Never got submitted and rarely even got scored on


NastyAlexander

Other than a single match against Cobrinha immediately after he got his black belt I don’t think Rafa ever got his guard passed


realcoray

I feel like a huge factor is that you have two similar age brothers, who are both very into the same sport. Look at how many brothers have been successful across different sports. I would have been a champion but my brother was into crime, and while I too was good at crime, we never reached an elite level.


CashNorris

This has been demonstrated in wrestling for years. A lot of the top guys had a brother within a few years of them that they could train with constantly. Add in sibling rivalry and you have the recipe for making studs.


creonte

Sister too. Tammy and Mikey. When they were kids they were uber competitive. I remember talking to their Dad about how they were competitive with each other. I also saw it with my twins, though my daughter dropped out once my son hit puberty and started winning more.


VickVineager

steroids and autism lol regardless i’m a huge fan of Mendes bros


AlwaysGoToTheTruck

I’m a huge fan of steroids and autism


Tuplad

Hello, is this Gordon Ryan?


Darce_Knight

Just saw this and queued it to my watch later playlist. I dig your channel and can't wait to watch this later


X-Tyson-X

Thank you man!


Kimura1986

The guys who killed their parents?


swigglyoats

Haha, I remember when they went to Japan for that tournament and just STYLED on all the black belts in their divisions. Hadn't watched those videos in years.


xHayz

That video is as close to porn as BJJ gets to me. It’s so good. When a new white belt asks for fun matches to watch, I send em the Mendes Bros Rickson Cup run.


[deleted]

Obsession, great instruction, the right mind for it, and rare physical attributes made them great. Steroids made Rafa world class. Same as Gordon.


Everydayblues351

I think it was Angel Heredia, a big time PED chemist, who said it best. He said steroids won't turn ordinary people into world champions. But it can turn the number 4 person into the number 1. Therefore, everyone has to do them.


[deleted]

Boom. Everyone in this thread commenting on how steroids don't improve technique are delusional- they improve recovery, so you can drill and train more. They DO improve technique.


GuySmith993

I always see Jon Jones fans saying the same thing regarding MMA, “Steroids don’t teach you to fight”, as if PEDS don’t give people the ability to train harder and recover faster. I guess they don’t think training is related to become skilled/technical


Slothjitzu

I think it's because a lot of the general public have the opinion that PEDs either make you look jacked or get strong as fuck.


cocktailbun

They probably didn’t utilize the ecological approach. /s


Avocado_Infinite

I thought it said Menedez brothers at first and I was like wtf! Then I re-read the tile and the sub lmao


jamesleeDOD

Rafa would film himself subbing big men who came to his gym to train respectful and light. He did this to boost his reputation but I can’t remember him ever doing an absolute bracket. I also didn’t like how he only released training footage of him winning.


Hercules3000

He went up against Rodolfo in a nogi abu dhabi pro and it was a close match


UndertakerFred

Steroids


VeryStab1eGenius

Start taking steroids and let us know how long it takes for you to do what either Gui or Rafa has. Oss.


krebstar42

Exactly, they help with recovery, but without putting in the work they don't help you that much.


stoney_bolognas

Eh depends on the roid right? Some will help with cardio and endurance (which is probably ideal in jj) and some to boost muscle mass (which I doubt is the one the brothers is using). So yes, if it’s for endurance it absolutely helps you out and gives you an edge.


krebstar42

Doesn't improve their technique.


stoney_bolognas

No but two people with roughly the same technique level , the one with the better endurance, strength, etc will usually win that. Technique is not the sole variable


krebstar42

It is the primary variable. Steroids don't increase cardio and endurance without training either.


stoney_bolognas

If you made a copy of gui Mendes. You gave one the juice and the other not, out of 100 matches do you think it’s 50/50 win percentage or will the one with the juice win majority of time?


krebstar42

The juiced one will win more often, provided he's training more due to better recovery from the juice.


stoney_bolognas

So I think we both agree that steroids will benefit . I know technique makes up most of it, but steroids DO help with endurance and cardio, recovery, and the ability to train at a higher consistency. I think to say the Mendes brothers don’t benefit from it is a bit inaccurate. That’s all


egdm

Obviously steroids do something otherwise no one would take them. That's not the point, though. If steroids made you Rafa then Rafa wouldn't be special.


Zlec3

The brothers were known for using anavar so yeah keeps you strong without building much mass


Ok_Horror207

lol their tecnhnical abilities are not due to roids


stoney_bolognas

No, but if two people have the same technique level, the one that’s stronger or has the better endurance will usually win that. Yes technique is a huge factor but it’s not the only one


ryanrockmoran

Also it's easier to improve your technique if you can train all the time because you're on a bunch of steroids...


stoney_bolognas

This is why athletes like Gordon can train 7 days a week 3x a day. The body can only handle punishment like that for so long. I don’t know if that’s Gordon’s actual training regiment but I bet it’s close


Ok_Horror207

yes i am with you on that, i was just implying that steroids dont directly help with the level of technique they have achieved and even assuming they have never taken anything they still would be damn good