When AJ Agazarm was complaining about being robbed at the 2022 ADCC when he lost in the first round to Jeremy Skinner nobody paid much attention to him, as this is far from his first time complaining. However, when all the ADCC dust settled, let’s revisit the question was AJ Agarazarm robbed at the latest ADCC?
AJ Agazarm – The Boy Who Creid Wolf?
AJ Agazarm’s behavior on and off the mats hasn’t exactly been one to look up to, which does not say it does not attract attention. He has a reputation for being notorious and controversial and has often been accused of having an anti-Jiu-Jitsu game.
AJ’s flamboyance gets him in trouble in almost every match, from getting slapped more than any other grappler out there, to getting literally front-kicked off stage.
The former wrestler, who found MMA through wrestling, and Jiu-Jitsu through MMA have been on the mats since he was a freshman. Started Jiu-JItsu in college, as he got a scholarship and joined the Ohio D1 program, Agazarm has titles and accomplishments at every belt level.
he also has the image of a bad boy, getting kicked out of his Gracie Barra gym, taunting opponents in matches, and never, ever tapping to a submission. Seriously he’d rather let a joint break, or go to sleep, to even leave the mat area to get DQed than tap.
HE left the BJJ scene briefly in 2019, trying his hand t MMA. AJ had 4 fights in Bellator, never really adopted striking, won two by submission, and lost two decisions, before deciding that he is a grappler more than a fighter.
That did not stop him from doing his antics in the cage just like on the mats.
AJ Agazarm At ADCC 2022
When AJ is in question, many wouldn’t think twice before writing him off as doing shenanigans again. However, there is a legitimate question about the last ADCC: Was AJ Agazarm robbed?
Agazarm jumped back into competitive BJJ in 2021, but lost about a dozen matches or so after his MMA stint. He seemed to be lagging behind everyone else but re-kindled his form at the ADCC West Coast Trails, where he won 5 out of 6 matches to earn a call back to the ADCC.
In the first round of the -77kg division, AJ Agazarm faced Jeremy Skinner, an experienced leg locker who won the Asia and Oceania ADCC Trials. After spending most of the first period of the match in leg entanglement,s AJ started working and managed to successfully attach to a low single-leg takedown.
Skinner counted it, jumping on AJ’s back for a rear triangle. After a short while of trying to choke AJ out, Skinner decided to let go and play off of his back. This is the moment that stirred up the “was Agazarm robbed” debate.
According to ADCC rules, 2 points for a takedown only get awarded if the person getting taken down accepts the takedown and gets their back on the mat. While this did not happen immediately in the Agazaram – Skinner takedown-triangle exchange, it was the eventual outcome.
Even the commentators of the match certainly thought he got the takedown, saying: “I’m not sure how it wouldn’t be a takedown”
The logic behind the decision not to award AJ points has to do with the interpretation of Skinner’s submission attempt as an end to AJ’s takedown. From there, the action counted as a submission attempt, and when Jeremy gave up on it, the referee did not see it as a completion of AJs takedown.
This proved to e a crucial point in Skinner’s decision victory over a very distraught AJ.
Was AJ Agazarm Robbed?
So, was Agazarm robbed of a takedown? This time it is not just AJ crying out for justice. Many people in the BJJ community do agree that the takedown should’ve stood. From the ADCC commentators to anyone who saw the match on video afterward, even people that originally booed AJ, people are siding with his take on things now.
After the decision, Agazarm didn’t leave the mat, holding up the entire event. he stood in the middle to extensive boos from the crowd, and argued with the officials, demanding his two points (holding up two fingers).
After eventually leaving the stage in what appears to be yet another display of his usual antics, AJ called for video reply technology to be included in high-level professional Jiu-Jitsu events, in order to help clear up incidents of this type.
In a real-life example of the boy who cried wolf, AJ was robbed of a chance to keep competing at the ADCC.
Conclusion
The question that lingers is not whether was Agazarm robbed, but rather would it have been any different if another fighter, like Gordon Ryan or Lovato JR. were in AJ’s place? His recommendation for video replies sounds like a good one and the IBJJF decided to give it a go at the recent Pans for the highest-level black belt matches.
