Wolves fans may remember the time one of their players took on one of England’s most dangerous fighters.
Not only do Wolves have the most Brazilian players, but they also have some of the most multi-talented stars in football.
After climbing the ranks and earning a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ), Joao Gomes almost become a professional in a totally different sport.
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Why Joao Gomes gave up Brazilian jiu-jitsu
Joao Gomes, who has just unveiled a new hairstyle, has always spoken passionately about the art of BJJ. The 24-year-old believes the highly disciplined martial art has improved his physical capabilities, making him a better footballer.
“Learning Brazilian jiu-jitsu has improved my football. It’s helped a lot with my mobility — and flexibility. Before I tried jiu-jitsu, I don’t think I had a lot of that. I used to have a lot of pain,” he told The Sun last year.
“It has given me a lot of resistance to that pain. It’s helped with my conditioning. So doing it has given me a lot of benefits with regards to football.”
“A lot of people see Brazilian jiu-jitsu as just a martial art — to do with violence. However, there are many other factors that I think are important. It’s the ability to use the strength of your adversary against themselves that appealed to me. It’s a martial art, it’s more about using your brain than your physical strength.
“So there are some similarities with top-level football because a lot of it is played in the brain. It’s more mental than physical and in that respect, they are similar. In my opinion, you also learn respect and control and it also teaches you about the importance of a hierarchy within the sport.”
Unfortunately, although Joao Gomes dedicated a lot of time to mastering BJJ he had to put it on the back burner when Wolves signed him from Flamengo in January 2023 due to the increased risk of injury.
“I haven’t joined a club here because I haven’t found anywhere yet that has a group of people I can trust. In order for me to practice it here, I need to be able to trust them,” he added.
“They need to be much better than me, for me to be sure that they know what they are doing. I can’t have them hurting me — because of my football career. I need to feel safe, to know I’m going to come off the floor in one piece.”
The Wolves star did manage to find someone in the Midlands who does know what they’re doing though…
Grappled with UFC Lightweight Jai Herbert
The end of last year saw UFC Lightweight Jai Herbert, who is preparing to take on Chris Padilla at UFC London on March 22, 2025, grapple Joao Gomes.
Wolves’ number eight joined Herbert and some young BJJ enthusiasts for a training session, which was set up by the Wolves Foundation, in Wolverhampton.
Herbert’s training session saw the pair roll on the mats with Joao Gomes showing off his submission technique.
Although Joao Gomes is unable to compete and practice BJJ at the same level as Herbert, Wolves fans have still been lucky enough to witness the talented Brazilian deliver some knockout blows at Molineux.