Jacaré explains why he didn’t tap to Roger’s armbar in 2004: “I wanted to be the best in the world”
Speaking to VF Comunica at the Pyramid in Long Beach, Ronaldo Jacaré looks back at the open class final of the Worlds and explains the decision that made Jiu-Jitsu history
Twenty-two years later, the open class final of the 2004 Worlds is still one of the most rewatched matches in Jiu-Jitsu. Ronaldo “Jacaré” Souza was ahead of Roger Gracie on points when he got caught in an armbar. His arm was fully extended, and he still refused to tap. He held on until time ran out and left Tijuca Tênis Clube, in Rio de Janeiro, as the open class world champion.
In June, during the 2026 Worlds at the Pyramid in Long Beach, California, VF Comunica asked Jacaré what made him hang on in that position. His answer starts with the life he was living back then. “All I had was Jiu-Jitsu. I trained all day long, I wanted to be the best,” he said.
The moment Roger got the arm
Jacaré said the armbar came in a second of distraction. He used to go to the Worlds without a regular coach in his corner. In that final, the people guiding him from the outside were friends like Léo Vieira and Rodrigo “Comprido” Medeiros. He was winning and sitting inside Roger’s closed guard when he wanted to know how much time was left.
“I was looking over, trying to find out the time. When I turned to ask about the time, he threw his leg over and got my arm,” he recalled.
“Man, I’m not tapping”
What came next was a decision he made with his arm trapped. “I was winning, I wanted to be the best in the world. I said, ‘Man, I’m not tapping.’ What happened, happened, and we won,” he said.
That refusal to tap became one of the best-known scenes in the history of the sport. Roger took silver that day and went on to become a ten-time black belt world champion, with three of those titles in the open class.
The title few people remember
Jacaré also made a point of saying the story didn’t end in 2004. “I competed two years and I won. I won the open class at Worlds two years in a row. That means a lot to me, because my name is up there,” he said, pointing to the big screen in the arena, which was showing the names of the tournament’s open class champions.
He counted his own titles right there. “One year I couldn’t fight the final of my weight class, so it comes up three times. Three-time world champion,” he said. Today, Jacaré lives the Worlds from the other side: in 2026, he was in the arena to follow the students of the school he runs.
Full video on YouTube
The conversation with Ronaldo Jacaré is in the vlog “Mica vai retornar e Jacaré fala de Roger,” recorded at the 2026 Worlds and available on the VF Comunica YouTube channel (in Portuguese).
Would you have tapped, or done what Jacaré did? Leave your opinion in the comments.
