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Roberto Jimenez might be the most dynamic grappler today. He returns to action this Thursday at WNO 29. Today we’re going to analyze his work from the first half of this year to show why the most entertaining back taker in the whole sport may have just turned a corner.
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Now let’s get into it.
What's In Today's Letter?
ROBERTO JIMENEZ’S BEAUTIFUL BACK TAKES
Why Does Jimenez Always Find The Back?
Roberto Jimenez is must watch TV. The ever intense 25 year old Ecuadorian is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who has been submitting full grown men since he was a teenager. And for the entirety of this competitive decade, Jimenez has gone up and down in weight to win. This year alone Jimenez has won as low as 183 and as high as 207 pounds, not to mention absolute divisions.
Jimenez has claimed IBJJF NO GI Absolute World Championships, South America’s ADCC trials at 77 KGs, and other prestigious events at weights in between those two. But even with his exciting success he has consistently shown one major major weakness. Leg locks.
Leary is playing de la riva. He uses a scoop grip to grab his left leg and off balance Jimenez. He keeps the scoop grip, inverts under Jimenez, and grabs Jimenez’s other leg. Jimenez falls back. Jimenez rises to get on top and Leary pulls his leg in. Leary locks an inside sankaku to rip the inside heel hook.
Roberto Jimenez - Levi Jones-Leary
This year something changed. Roberto turned his leg locking liability into opportunities for his preferred counter offense. Back attacks.
This is an important point to keep in mind. If you want to attack leg locks from bottom your hips have to rise up from the mat. But every time your hips rise, you give your opponent an avenue to slide hooks in, roll, and establish back control. And this is particularly important for Jimenez.
According to BJJ Heroes, nearly 60% of Jimenez’s submission wins have come from submissions off the back.
Jimenez’s game represents the idea that every time your hips are in the air, your opponent can take your back. He knows that, and, now that he can counter leg locks more effectively, he can fully exploit that principle. Let’s look at what I mean, from Jimenez’s biggest wins this year.
HALF A YEAR’S WORTH OF HIGHLIGHTS:
Notable Examples Of Jimenez’s Back Attacks In 2025
Roberto Jimenez’s back oriented offense starts where the match does. On the feet. Here is what won him the IBJJF No Gi World title in 2023.
Jimenez tries to duck to the back. Then he reaches over Jussila’s head to pull him by. Jussila turns in to face Jimenez, get him off his hips, and sprawl back. Jimenez stands into double unders. He shucks Jussila by to get a rear body lock before walking him to the center. Then he jumps to crab ride to break Jussila’s base and get his hooks in.
Roberto Jimenez - Heikki Jussila
Now let’s go on to 2025. Even when he doesn’t immediately secure the back, the goal is always getting there.
Jimenez has a single leg. He walks Michell around to get him hopping on one leg. Michell turns away. Jimenez climbs up his leg to get a rear body lock and launch Michell with a suplex. Jimenez grabs a seat belt and tries to put his hooks in, but Michell sits and spins out towards Jimenez’s over hook.
Roberto Jimenez - Izaak Michell
Jimenez can find the back when he’s defending takedown attempts as well.
Bodoni shot and ended up underneath Jimenez in a front head lock. Bodoni drops down to take some pressure off of the choke. Jimenez spins to his back and Bodoni tries to counter with a granby. Jimenez maintains chest to back by holding Bodoni’s near hip and far shoulder. Bodoni turtles and Jimenez throws the body triangle on.
Roberto Jimenez - Giancarlo Bodoni
One of Jimenez’s best weapons is the combination of his pace, fluidity, and conditioning. He runs in, out, and around opponents until they give up or overextend. That over extension usually leaves him position to take back.
Jimenez knee slices. Almeida inverts to reguard but that puts his hips in the air. Jimenez grabs them, stacks Almeida, and then lifts him onto his shoulders. Almeida turtles and Jimenez spins to his back. Jimenez inserts his near hook. Almeida tries to turn over. Jimenez vaults over his back to close the body triangle. Jimenez hand fights to trap Almeida’s high arm and get the choke.
Roberto Jimenez - Gabriel Almeida
As we noted above, many people solve the Jimenez problem by playing underneath him and attacking his legs. Now, Jimenez is showing that is only going to play right into his hand.
Taza has reverse closed guard. Jimenez brings both his legs to Taza’s left side, forcing Taza to switch to backside 5050. Jimenez frees his knee line and pins Taza’s left leg to the mat so he can spin to side control. Taza turns in to frame and make space. As he does his hips rise so Jimenez grabs a seat belt and rolls with Taza to lock a body triangle.
Roberto Jimenez - Oliver Taza
Turning Taza’s leg lock attempt into a back take is a huge improvement. 73% of Taza’s submission victories have been leg locks. Even more impressive is Jimenez’s most recent win over Taza’s teammate.
Bodoni is playing single leg x. He reaps Jimenez’s leg to turn it, expose the heel, and attack an outside heel hook. Jimenez goes with it, back steps, and grabs a seat belt. Now Jimenez can vault over Bodoni to start putting his hooks in. Jimenez keeps Bodoni in place with double under hooks so he can insert both of his hooks.
Roberto Jimenez - Giancarlo Bodoni
Bodoni is ADCC’s 88KG World Champion. The fact that Jimenez dealt with him and turned his leg lock attempt into the score that cemented the match is more than reassuring. It’s a sign that the teenage phenom has turned into the athlete everyone assumed he could be. He’s at the top of professional grappling and he can give anyone in any division a tough night out.
This week Jimenez takes on 10th Planet standout Ryan Aitken. Aitken is a massive athlete that specializes in leg locks and guard. It’s a perfect test to see how far Jimenez’s leg lock defense has come, and if he’s ready to take another major title.
HELP DESK UPDATES:
More Back Attacks And A Study Of One Of MMA’s Weirdest Characters
I spent a lot of time watching Roberto Jimenez recently, so I updated the Help Desk to include his dynamic back takes. If you want to learn all about attacking the back in MMA and BJJ you need to read my back attack guide on the Help Desk.
In the Attacking The Back guide, we cover the submissions, ways to get the back, athletes to study, and whole lot more.
To access the Help Desk you’ll need to upgrade your subscription here. It only costs $5 per month and you get:
Detailed analysis of specific techniques, athletes, and themes
A searchable technique library with gifs and explanations
New content added every week
LINKS, INSTRUCTIONALS, AND MORE MATCHES TO STUDY:
What Are We Talking About Today?
A few of Jimenez’s recent important matches are available for free on Youtube:
Here is how he won his No Gi World Title
Jimenez’s match with Taza is here
Here you can find the match between Bodoni and Jimenez
If you want to watch a documentary on Jimenez click here
THE MOST IMPORTANT NEWS (you might have missed)
FloGrappling is going around the country featuring unique local gyms. My gym was the first featured! Click here to watch a video on our gym, hear about our culture, and see what we got going on.
PS - If you own a gym (or want to) and have any questions about how to get it running smoothly feel free to email me.This isn’t BJJ nor MMA news but it could have big ramifications for the UFC. The head of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority and sometimes boxing promoter Turki Alalshikh is getting rid of PPV. Now, the cards Turki promotes will be on streaming platform DAZN. I think this could be a look into the future of the UFC. Personally, I’d love to get rid of PPV in favor of having everything on Fight Pass or Netflix.
ADCC 2026 will be in Poland. It’s good that the event is going back to its roots, with the world championships traveling around the world again. I just hope they can keep the momentum growing so the event can capitalize on the sport’s growth as a whole.
Thanks for reading today. If you enjoyed this piece and want to read more about the top techniques, principles, and stories from the world of fighting upgrade to the Help Desk! The Help Desk has:
Detailed analysis of specific techniques, athletes, and themes
A searchable technique library with gifs and explanations
New content added every week
Accessing the Open Note Grappling Help Desk only costs $5 per month and it’s the best way to support my work. You can even try a week for free if you click here.
