ONE Championship fanning flames of exciting BJJ vs. Sambo rivalry with high-level matchups

ONE Championship is the largest martial arts organization in the world today. This is primarily because starting this year, they have been regularly showcasing MMA, Muay Thai, kickboxing, and submission grappling in their events. No other organization has had such a holistic approach to combat sports entertainment. Fighters of all disciplines can showcase their talents to cater to fans of all kinds.

One of the budding parts of ONE Championship's roster is their pool of talented submission grapplers. Starting as an experiment back in 2018, ONE submission grappling has since grown into a major mover in the organization.

As of this writing, ONE has legends like Andre Galvao, Garry Tonon, Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida, and Michelle Nicolini in their ranks. They also signed new-age legends like the Ruotolo brothers, Mikey Musumeci, Danielle Kelly, and Cleber Sousa.

The grappling leg has gone so big that ONE is minting a new submission grappling world title to be contested for at ONE on Prime Video 2 tomorrow.

An exciting trend that is becoming apparent in ONE Championship submission grappling is a budding rivalry between two martial arts: Brazilian jiu-jitsu and sambo. BJJ and sambo have had a long history together, being two of the major martial arts practiced in MMA today.

BJJ is a grappling-based martial art that focuses on ground fighting. Jiu-jitsu emphasizes technique and leverage over size and power, allowing smaller fighters to subdue and submit larger and stronger assailants. On the other hand, Sambo is a hard-hitting Russian military system that employs striking, grappling, and ground fighting. Sambo focuses on powerful throws and swift submissions.

BJJ and sambo have had most of their tussles in MMA, where the jiu-jitsu-based fighters were pitted against combat sambo champions. The most famous match-ups were Fedor Emelianenko vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in 2004 and the upcoming UFC bout between Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira.

This rivalry hasn't reared its head a lot in submission grappling. However, that might soon change. ONE Championship has had a few match-ups between sambo and BJJ in their submission grappling matches, and they're all quite entertaining.

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Rodrigo Marello scores the fastest win in ONE Championship submission grappling history

The most recent entry in this rivalry happened just last night at ONE 161 when Brazil's Rodrigo 'Diguinho' Marello submitted sambo specialist Ruslan Bagdasarian in just 15 seconds. It was the fastest win in ONE Championship submission grappling history. It might even be one of the fastest the sport has ever seen.

Marello showed that jiu-jitsu is constantly evolving, and he's living proof of it. Sambo specialists are best known for their leglock games, but Bagdasarian seemed clueless at what Marello did to him.

'Diguinho' immediately sat down and went into a Dela Riva guard - a guard position mainly used to sweep - and used it to clamp a straight ankle lock.

Marello surprised Bagdasarian by attempting an ankle lock from a Dela Riva guard, as no one really attempts it from that position. The Brazilian's long legs and frame helped him angle his body to make the unusual footlock possible from an otherwise neutral position.

Shinya Aoki submits Marat Gafurov in a ONE submission grappling match

In ONE's early foray into submission grappling, former ONE lightweight world champion and BJJ legend Shinya 'Tobikan Judan' Aoki faced former ONE featherweight king and Sambo specialist Marat 'Cobra' Gafurov.

Gafurov is one of the best known grapplers in ONE Championship, winning 12 of his 18 wins in MMA via submission.

Aoki is a legend in both jiujitsu and MMA. 'Tobikan Judan' is one of the last few "specialists" in the sport, focusing on BJJ more than any other facet of MMA. The Japanese MMA icon has recorded an impressive 30 submission wins in his career that has spanned over two decades.

Most of the match had Aoki and Gafurov in a clinch battle against the cage. After engaging in an intense chess match on their feet, Aoki took Gafurov down and immediately took his back. From there, the Japanese grappling legend sunk in a tight rear-naked choke for the finish.

Watch the full match here:

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Who we'd like to see next in this rivalry

ONE Championship's roster of jiujitsu assassins is slowly growing and its line-up of Sambo specialists is just as ripe. Though there are a few match-ups that we're interested in seeing, there's one BJJ vs. Sambo fight that we'd like to see in submission grappling: Saygid Izagakhmaev vs. Tye Ruotolo.

Yep, that's a grappler's slice of heaven right there. Ruotolo, who submitted jiujitsu legend Garry Tonon in his ONE debut, had a strong showing at ADCC this year. His frenetic and aggressive type of jiujitsu is dazzling to watch but frightening to deal with.

Izagakhmaev, protege of the legendary Khabib Nurmagomedov, is the perfect example of any Sambo or wrestling specialist originating from the Republic of Dagestan. He goes by one thing and one thing only: smash.

Just last night, the Dagestani grappler smashed his way through Zhang Lipeng en route to a dominant unanimous decision win. His unstoppable wrestling and otherworldly top pressure will surely mesh well with Ruotolo's dynamic and dizzying approach.

Both fighters are in the same weight class and having them fight in a submission grappling match in ONE Championship will surely make headlines in both MMA and Jiujitsu.