Bo Nickal On Why He Believes No-Gi Grappling Is Increasing In Popularity

The no-gi boom in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu isn’t slowing down — and according to wrestling star Bo Nickal, it’s not just about technique. It’s about a shift in culture.

Here is what Nickal had to say on the topic:

No-gi jiu-jitsu is becoming big and it’s becoming popular now because younger people were like “we’re gonna go hard”.
And, like, we’re gonna promote it and do this and that.

Older people that were ingrained in that culture, like, they’re stuck in the gi and it’s kind of dying.

Nickal sees a clear generational divide fueling the rise of no-gi:

The people running the ADCC, CJI, the big tournaments, it’s younger guys.

On the mats, no-gi grappling is changing how matches unfold — something B Team’s Owen Jones recently discussed as well.

Jones emphasized how no-gi opens the door for athletes to create real opportunities – as opposed to the gi:

If you roll with a black belt no-gi, you can do stuff there if you’re big and strong, you’re athletic and you push him around.

Like, he’s trying to secure something and you do a big explosive movement where you jump on a leg or you jump an arm – you could actually get something.

If you fought Adam Wardzinski for example, if you train with him in the gi, you’re going to do nothing. He’s just going to beat you up for 10 minutes – you won’t be able to get anything going.