In a recent appearance on The Grapplers Perspective Podcast, 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu founder Eddie Bravo shared an interesting anecdote about Conor McGregor‘s visit to his gym highlighting the Irish MMA star’s willingness to train with anyone regardless of their skill level or reputation.
During the podcast discussion about upcoming UFC MMA star Bryce Mitchell‘s participation in an Eddie Bravo Invitational event Bravo drew parallels between Mitchell and McGregor’s approach to training.
“Not very many UFC MMA stars that I’ve known personally that I’ve known jumped in the rooms and just roll with the toughest guys. Very few people do that. You know who did that? Conor McGregor,”
Bravo revealed.
The 10th Planet founder went on to explain how McGregor’s behavior defied expectations during his gym visit.
“Conor McGregor came down to my gym and you would think that he was so famous that he would just be like, I’m not going to roll with, you know, I’m only going to roll with this guy or that guy. Conor McGregor rolled with everybody. He didn’t give a f—.”
According to Bravo many high-profile UFC MMA stars become selective about their training partners once they achieve fame often avoiding situations where they might be vulnerable to lesser-known BJJ competitors looking to make a name for themselves.
“Once you become famous for competing in the UFC you got you kind of have a target on your back and these blue belts want to, you know, they want to tap you and say they tapped this famous MMA star,”
Bravo explained. This dynamic creates a challenging environment where established athletes must balance their training needs with the risk of potentially embarrassing situations.
However McGregor apparently embraced this challenge head-on. Bravo’s account suggests that the former two-division UFC champion showed no hesitation in rolling with various training partners at the 10th Planet gym demonstrating a commitment to improvement that impressed the veteran instructor.
Bravo drew comparisons between McGregor and current UFC featherweight Bryce Mitchell who is set to compete in an upcoming Eddie Bravo Invitational event.
“Same thing with Bryce Mitchell. Like I respect that,”
Bravo said noting that Mitchell also shows the same fearless approach to training.
“He comes to my gym and rolls with all my tough guys and he’s good too. You know, Bryce Mitchell is no joke. He’s super legit on the ground.”
While McGregor built his reputation primarily through his striking prowess and knockout ability his willingness to engage in potentially challenging grappling sessions demonstrates the comprehensive approach that helped him achieve success across multiple weight divisions in the UFC.
McGregor is currently receiving push back for tooling up amateurs in Italy however it appears that at the very least he’s happy to give anyone the experience of having sparred him.
