The answer is really not going to be that helpful at first glance: It can give a big advantage to the heavier guy.
But there are mitigating factors.
The first is skill. If you're a good deal better than a guy, a 15-30 pound weight difference will play a small role, but chances are you're still going to kick his ass. I've rolled with new white belts who weight 100-120 pounds more than I do (I'm about 140 right now) and kicked their asses, simply on the basis of being more experienced and more technical.
The second is cardio. Bigger, heavier guys always seem to end up spending a lot of energy very quickly. They get their heart rate up really high and they quickly get to the point where they're tired. Now, this can either be very good for you, or very bad for you. If you let them slow down and start to recover, it's going to be bad for you, because in order to slow down, they're going to drop their weight into you and cause you to expend a lot of energy just trying to get back to a decent position. If you manage to make them work hard, it can be very good, because they're going to give you a lot of holes to look for submissions.
It's clear that little guys can beat big guys purely by being more technical (watch Marcelo Garcia's openweight matches if you're curious what I'm talking about). It's clear, though, that when there's not a huge technical difference, or the smaller guy doesn't make effective use of the technical difference (exploiting cardio, keeping the pressure on, etc.), the big guy is going to use his weight and crush the little guy.
yeah, I have the same issue. I'm the lightest fighter for my age group, and it was a big disadvantage to me the first few weeks of training.
To help myself I learned how to distribute my weight and move quickly to avoid pins, armbars, and triangles.
Knowing what you're doing is also a big advantage. Learn fast, and practice what you learn as much as possible.
One last thing--> I went agianst all boys in my submission matches, and while I lost them both, I lost because I got worn out, NOT becuase of my weight, or lack thereof. When you get in a fight, it's a lot different than training. Adrenaline plays a HUGE factor in the outcome.
I dont feel like when i grapple with larger guys it is not much of a disadvantage unless there strong and just hold on for dear life which can be annoying but just wait for your chance to expose them overusing themselves. Always keep pressure on them to wear them out and as long as ur skills are good you should be good lol. There is disadvantages and advantages. If the guy you compete (if you plan on competing ) stronger or larger then you you will be used to rolling with them. If they are quicker you may have a problem though. Im actually switching gyms becouse all the guys i train with are 190lbs or above and im only about 150lbs. Grappling is not so bad but stand up sucks bad.
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