Capoeira Guy Challenges MMA Heavyweight 

Fun fact: the person who did the motion capture for Eddie Gordo was Mestre Marcelo. He is the creator of the group Capoeira Mandinga, the same group the capoerista in this video is part of. There were a few branches of this group in Cina years ago. To add some further context, the cord/belt of the capoerista in the video is green/yellow, which is not a very high rank. The school has quite a bit of belts in their ranking system, but a simplified version of it is: green-> green, yellow -> yellow -> yellow, blue -> blue (instructor level) -> green, blue, yellow (professor) -> green, yellow, blue, white (contra mestre) -> white with green, yellow, blue (mestre) I would also say from experience that capoeira mandinga doesn't focus as much on the the fight elements as other groups like Axe Capoeira, the group that Marcus Aurelio is part of. Marcus Aurelio is a capoeira master that has actually competed in MMA. My point isn't to make excuses for the capoerista, but more so to give context from another capoerista.

The MMA fighter was such a good sport. He obviously has nothing to prove. 🙂🖖🏻

I don't know if anyone has ever said it to you, but as a brazilian, I can say that your pronunciation of the movement names were spot on!

If Capoeira guy was in better shape along with that technique, he could be competitive 💯👍🏾

What a nice guy the MMA was!

This was obviously an exhibition, but spamming the same kick badly enough times is asking for even a non wrestler to just grab the leg, lift, and dump him on the ground. Not to mention just a well timed solid right after it misses...again.

Shout out to the MMA guy, he was punching even lighter than in a friendly sparring

I started training capoeira at 17. I didn't even know what the f it was, it's just my friend started to go to muai thai, and i wanted to do something too and picked at random. Even though i liked playing eddy gordo in tekken 3, i didn't know he did capoeira. We called him "breakdancer" lol

First time I saw capoeira was the movie, "Only the Strong" (1993). It was before UFC, so it seemed like a capable style. The UFC really showed the limitations of a lot of styles

I like this video. The mma guy showed the holes in his game without destroying him.

I know you mentioned having boxing and kickboxing would work to make capoeira more effective, however, as someone who has boxed, done capoeira, and other martial arts, I have to disagree. I think capoeira shines when it is mixed with other grappling arts. Part of this is because the kicks in capoeira are important, but overemphasized. The sweeps and takedowns are arguably more important and allow for more trickery. The sneaky capoeira entries are also more suited to grappling than striking. I discovered capoeira as a small child when I was put in a summer program for drumming. The teacher also did some capoeira with us, but I didn't know that's what it was at that time.

I don't know how effective capoeira actually is, but it looks fun AF to do.

I discovered Capoeira from the film "Only the Strong" and studied it for more than 10 years. The capoeirista here is demonstrating a very limited move set, though. No attempted takedowns (banda, arrastao, tesouras), no short-range strikes (johelada, cutelevadas), just Martello/media Lua de compasso/quixadas. It looks like the capoeirista has at most a year or two under his belt.

The MMA heavyweight could have blasted him if he'd wanted to. Lots of openings for him. Good guy to train with for sure.

Fun fact in ancient Capoeira two knives were placed on the legs it's made for kill, A brutal fighting style made to kill those who hunted slaves in Brazil.

Lateef Crowder has some amazing training mixes with his Capoeira I think you would appreciate. The Heavyweight was being a professional for sure. Good breakdown. I don't think that gentleman was a good representation, but you identified that. I knew of this back in the 80's from a Kenpo demo by a group that came in. I am close to 50 and am recovering from back surgery, so I am doing the core movements slowly for rehab. No serious tricking, not for awhile. Anyways, GJ 8)

Facts 👍🏿 great commentary

Thank goodness MMA guy wasn’t Strickland!

I learned of Capoerira after playing Tekken 3.

If, like me, you discovered capoeira through Tekken 3 at 10 years old, you could be forgiven for thinking it was the ultimate unbeatable maetial art 😂

Discovered capoeria at around 10ish via Eddie Gordo on TEKKEN3!

I learn so much from your commentary bro You should be UFC commentator

Player 1 just started spamming ⬇️↘️➡️✖️

Mark Dacascos would’ve destroyed this MMA guy!!!! 😎 Only the strong style!! 💪😎

I'm not going to dispute what the results would be between a MMA fighter and a Capoerista. But I have to ask what is the actual format of the show they were on, because neither guy looked like they were trying to actually fight. It looked like they held a Pro wrestling match on the equivalent on AMG.

I first saw Capoeira probably in Tekken playing Eddie Gordo when I was like... 10?

A friend of mine was a popular b-boy back in high school. He attributed his skills to capoeira and watching break dancing videos lol.

Yeah, that dude had no trickery that should go with capoeira. But i think he just wanted to show techniques and survive, because i don't think he would do better with any other martial art at the same level against the MMA heavyweight champion, lmao

Yeah this guy wasn’t representative of an experienced capoeira practitioner. Capoeira is a very well rounded martial art within itself. That said not many Capoeiristas today train to fight. It’s not an issue with the techniques in the art, but the mentality of many practitioners. And it’s only a problem if the ability to fight is what they want to get out of it; which I find not to be the case most of the time these days. However to broadly say that Capoeiristas only dance around in the roda and don’t spar or fight is a generalization and is not true in all cases. It is in many cases though.

With 10 years of capoeira experience under my belt, I think this video is very unfair. The capoeirsta in this video appeared to be at the early stages of his journey based on his technique. Look up Marcus Aurelio. He is the son of a Mestre and has used his capoeira to defeat many mma fighters.

I was 25, with Brazilian teachers trained 4-5 days a week for 3 years, great but for UFC and MMA need a mix of box, and jiu jitsu, mua tai or something. But it's a great workout and a lifestyle. Respect.

Every move has limitless applications. - Tony Jaa Tony Jaa, by the way, became an international superstar with a CAPOEIRA guy as the FEATURED BADASS!

That's the chunkiest capoeira practitioner I've ever seen. Not saying he's fat but every other practitioner I've seen has been super lean and shredded

Also what happens to this guy on the ground?

My first encounter with capoeira was through a videogame! The original Fatal fury for the sega genesis. There one of the characters is a capoerista.

Aha I see you found the other episodes. You should do one on the last episodes where they got Sang Weilin and a retired female San Da champ whose name I don't remember to do it too. You can see that the pro fighters are clearly fighting different when they're fighting veterans in the sport.

I was 7 or 8. I learned of it's existence from Tekken! I didn't start training until I was 19. I've been on and off training since 2020 but now focus on BJJ. Capoeira by itself, in my opinion isn't going to win you any fights. Now, in a Capoeira vs. Capoeira fight, sure, you can fight and it can work, but like you said striking isn't a big part of it and rarely, at least in the U.S. is it marketed as a way to fight/self defense. I love capoeira for the movement, balance, and body awareness that it gave me to get into BJJ.

Yes the range was an issue. The MMA guy was super nice. Worth mentioning the major size difference, which the MMA guy wasn't taking advantage of, being nice. Props for the Capo guy being willing to try some sparring though.

Get Lateef Crowder in there. Hes pretty fast and really good.

He seems to be a one kick pony. Why not use lower kicks or different kicks, some throws (which Cap has)?

I frst came across Capoeira in an episode of Kung Fu called The Stone when I was 15.

0:48 As a capoeira enthusiast, but not a practitioner, I noticed that this distance is super WRONG for a capoeirista, as it is not close enough for the capoeirista to grab and headbutt the opponent, and too close to the other fighter's fists. An above-average capoeirista would try to grab in some way. The video called "CAPOEIRA vs. GRAPPLING | MMA-Streetfight | DFC" shows what the distance should be for a capoeirista, vs someone from MMA.

hahaha dude look like he had a Cheese Burger before the fight.

MMA fella is a gentle giant.

I didn’t really think anything of it. Mostly it was a friendly exhibition for a prime time show. No intent of landing any serious blows, just giving some eye candy for the audience.

there's a lot of unstable positions when only one foot on the ground while spinning.

I was first exposed to it by Tekken Dark Ressurection as I recall but I didn't know its name

Anderson Silva had amazing strikes because he knows this fighting style.

Capoeira is a great system for cardio and flexibility, but it is another system that is almost completely useless to most of its practitioners. In any kind of real contact engagement, this guy would have been slaughtered.

is this a real tournament or are they just doing a demo. If this was, that would explain a lot why MMA guy isn't trying to hurt the capoeira guy and might also be a reason why capoeira guy isn't landing any hits too

I mean who would ever show those moves and stuns while u are surviving to win in the battle? Plus what's the closeup combat/counter for Capoeira 😂😅

I first discovered capoeira by playing as Eddie Gordo in Tekken 3. Very flashy, martial art, but not very well implemented in real combat, because of the different exposures and nothing to counter when opponents close the distance. I’m pretty sure some of those kicks are very dangerous but it’s not too much of a problem if you realize that there’s a lot of flashiness and distance.

Capoeira have two faces, you can be capoeira fighter or capoeira player. 95% capoeristas are players ; ) Capoeira have many things to offer.. god cardio, good strenght, good movement and coordination... Have ALL kind of kicks... Punches, slaps, elbows, headbuts, sweeps, takedowns and grappling... But is easier to sell capoeira as "movement training" and call it "brasilian martial art" instead of calling it what they teach... Movement (Ps. I am not a hater, i love capoeira. It was my first martial art style and i like to do it when i can.... Even if i do not train it (officialy) for more than 15 years now.... Capoeira is great. But martial arts need some "contact" to call it "fighting")

His voice made the video entertaining. Lol

This comes down to a lack of preparation and pressure testing for the match. He has weapons that can work but the heart of Capoeira is deception. He needed to have some kickboxing or even a combat karate guy give him some orthodox attacks and defense or he is fooling nobody!

Any experienced soon bahk do, tang soo do, tae kwan do, or jeet kwon do practitioner would've ended that fight after the 2nd kick

Mix it with maui Thai like Toni jai and yep that when I first saw it in only the strong. But it one guy that makes it look hard to beat he played in a few movies he did every move Eddie did on tekken.

Capoeira is not dance, but game. They are not dancing, but playing. It is different.

I have been doing capoeira for 20 years and been around the world and with diff groups. This guy is absolutely not representative of a style that would be optimal for this PARTICULAR venue. His shirt indicates he’s part of a group that really focuses on elite level acrobatics and spinning stuff. The guy did no straight kicks and no roundhouse kicks which do exist along with knees , spinning back kicks ,palm strikes and in many groups punches ! What people do not get about capoeira is that nuance is strewn about the style so much that you won’t see the diff styles unless you’re in it and you have been to many diff schools , this guy is clearly not representative of the style that would fit this venue - and at the same damn time , there is such a thing as purer forms of capoeira

I am not entirely sure why this RU-vidr is commenting on anything even touching fighting lol but ok. So this martial art gets a bad rap. And it definitely was invented to be a fighting style disguised as a dance because it was illegal. However this doesn't mean at all it isn't a legit or dangerous martial art. The fighter in this video just doesn't much know what he's doing and isn't in very good shape. Maybe he's a beginner? I don't know. If you put someone way more experienced and dangerous in this video the outcome probably wouldn't have been altogether different, but way better and far improved.

If one watches Manson Gibson and KNOWS Capoeira's moves, then one knows a CAPOEIRA trained fighter can fight just like him. Just like MANSON GIBSON!! 100!! NO CAP!! SEE FIR YOURSELVES!!

How long has Capoeira guy been practicing Capoeira?.

JCVD film The Quest /Tekken 3 Eddy Gordo

Jerry, you have huge muscular calves, man. What’d you do? Triathlon?!

This isn't a fight the heavyweight was sound as hell In this fair play....

Dig the braces, brother!

CAPOEIRA, believe it or not, has elbow and knee strikes.

Man he is lucky he is not facing an Wrestle judo guy, he would have been suplexed

I DID Martial Art's At The Age OF 10 Ja Go Ju Justu Ryu 🥋 9th Kyu White Belt with Green Stripes Meaning Almost 5kyu Green Belt

It's pretty obvious the mma guy felt sorry for him😅.

😃 - 💪🏾APOEIRA HAS MANSON GIBSON'S SPINNING ✊🏾💫 BACKFIST!!

So you have a famous MMA fighting a Capoeira with very little range of movements and 2 or 3 years experience max. It's like getting a Capoeira with a good 5 years and MMA or cage fighting experience and fighting a MMA novice. I have great respect for any martial arts but bring two guys of equal level and height. Make it interesting. In a real fight using capoeira it's only practical against another Capoeira as things like wide movements and straight legs is dangerous unless very experienced Capoeira fighter. Go check Capoeira championships or clashes in street rodas. I have seen scarier female capoeiristas than the guy in the video. Bring a Brazilian guy of the same height lol

Yea he's dancing, not fighting. I've been practicing capoeira for 20 years. This is yet another capoeirista that has almost no serious sparing. Not even são bento grande. People think this is how all capoeiristas are. You should check out the schools that have their own tournaments too. Unfortunately there are a lot of styles of capoeira that ONLY teach it as a dance. It's just like Tai chi tho. Some people practice for health and fitness only, some to cause damage. This dude needs more preasure testing in his own academy first at least.

There's no speed/torque on that spin kick. Ineffective and open to counters.

The capoeirista is performing "play" with his capoeira. Je probably doesn't understand how to transform his capoeira to a more martial approach. That being said Capoeira like any other martial tradition has to practice objective sparring and drills that address martial aspects and the ginga is not to be performed this way in even a simulated combat format.

Dude soon as match starts I'm like MMA kick him to other side,and I'm not pro fighter 😊

Old heads be like " ba na na wayyy, ba na na way, ba na na ."

The awkward moment when a grappler learns capoeira. Aka MMA. 💀

The mma guy might as well have been a boxer and the capoeira guy was really only showing a one sided mea luia de compass instead of continuing on low and high line after the initial kick instead of going for sweep take down neither one was really sparring

This would have no chance in MMA

No take down

I'd bet $1.20 on the MMA guy winning...

Is this Chinese Capoeira?

Gotta show some Marcus Aurelio to contrast this

This guy is leaving his pills wide open for attack every time he does his cartwheel thing, he needs to remember what happened to Black Momba before he gets one of them or possibly both of them handed to him.

Rooftops, then only the strong, followed by power rangers

It’s like he was trying to button mash Eddy Gordo combos but he got stuck on 🔙🟪

What kind of hand moves DOES a... CAPOEIRISTA... use in a REAL fight?

Mma in slow mo

Not the best representation of Capoeira. There are many low striking kicks in Capoeira that, without an obvious GINGA, are indistinguishable from MMA "Kickboxing" low kicks to the knee, oblique kicks. A Capoeira fighter could be a front kick specialist.

This is not proper capooeira. Yes he's kicking but there is no ginga, capooeira should be always moving, ginga is "to sway" keep moving and your hands should be up to protect the head.

Its not full on, just like they only playing around.

Too slow this guy would be ko’d in a ufc fight in the first minute

This capoeira guy has no defence at all in close range, just close the distance for boxing range, and do boxing combo

I grew up wrestling in high school and Junior High, I remember a guy wanted to fight me and he was doing that, after the fourth time he did that , I shot in for a double leg, and that was it, took him to the ground and beat the hell out of him, you can do any fighting style you want, but if you're not a wrestler and know how to fight, it's pretty much over

Ok. This is bs . No low leg kicks no tripping no double kicks, no arial kocks, no grapplong of all your trying to do is promote mma just say so. Because any real martial artist would destroy a mma fighter

LOL. I though capoeira was a type of sausage... 😇

Capoeira newbie guy

To me it's more of a ritual or dance. I've never seen someone actually use it against another MARTIAL ART. Not even Boxing. A lot of long Movements and IN and out of Position. Meaning your wasting energy!

I believe besr of the best was the first