Get up to date on all the biggest news from the grappling scene.
Welcome to the BJJ Beat! On this recurring feature, we’ll tackle the biggest news from the professional grappling scene, and roll everything up in an easily digestible and familiar jiu-jitsu format.
Warm ups
No submissions? Gordon Ryan agrees to another special rules exhibition
If you’re hoping Brazilian Jiu-jitsu (BJJ) star Gordon Ryan becomes more active in competition again, he is technically talking about returning soon. Unfortunately, it’s just another weird special rules match.
Ryan is discussing a match with Pat Downey, a champion wrestler who transitioned to professional grappling. He wants it under ADCC scoring, but without submissions.
Why don’t I seem excited about a jiu-jitsu champ taking on a wrestling champ? Well, because they did this already, with the most predictable special rules match back in 2020. Downey beat him in seconds during the wrestling rules round, then Ryan easily won in the submission only round.
“When my knee is better” also suggests this — or unfortunately any other competition —might not even happen.
After achieving great things in his career, Gordon Ryan seems to be in a stage where he’s now far more selective of his matches. He even managed to convince the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) to change the rules and create a new medal for him without having to join a tournament.
Nicky Rod thinks Gordon Ryan is afraid of losing
According to the Craig Jones Invitational (CJI) millionaire in Nick Rodriguez, Ryan’s inactivity and selectiveness at this stage of his career comes from wanting to keep on to his long unbeaten streak.
“I offered him a million dollars. I don’t know what else to do (to make Gordon Ryan accept a match),” Nicky Rod said after winning at the UFC Fight Pass Invitational 8. “My offer was a fairly simple. After I won CJI, I said ‘let’s do a bet match, my $1 million vs. your $1 million, winner take all.’ And I said we’ll stream it free on YouTube.
“He came back like a couple of weeks later with a rebuttal that was like ‘okay, I’ll do the match, only if Craig Jones competes with me on the same day, and only if my stomach doesn’t hurt, and only if it’s a no time limit match, and only if it’s under these rule sets.’
“His answer is like reading a text from a girlfriend that’s breaking up with you. It was super long, after the first period I’m kind of out of there,” Rodriguez said. “It was kind of a yes, kind of a no, so who knows?”
“He doesn’t want to lose,” Rodriguez claimed.
For what it’s worth, Gordon Ryan didn’t really sound too interested in making it happen, as his lengthy message “accepting” the match did have a laundry list of caveats and conditions.
Drills
BJJ star Mica Galvao targets switch to… Olympic wrestling?
Mica Galvao is already among the top pound-for-pound grapplers today, but the ADCC 2024 gold medalist and IBJJF grand slam winner has loftier goals. The 21-year-old grappling phenom wants to also switch to wrestling and compete in the Olympics.
“I want to compete in wrestling. It’s the most straightforward way to get to the Olympics,” Galvao said at the Mundo da Luta podcast. “In Judo, the federation is a bit more restrictive. I’m a brown belt in Judo, but I didn’t continue to black belt because it would require a lot of time, and honestly, I don’t have the patience or time for that. But it would definitely be an accomplishment to add to my resume.
“Wrestling feels more familiar to me, and I think I could balance it with Jiu-Jitsu training. If my level is good enough to qualify for the Olympics—which I love training for—I’d be overjoyed. It’s a dream,” he said.
Despite his accolades in jiu-jitsu, Galvao is arguably the less accomplished grappler at home. His girlfriend, Amit Elor, might be able to help him achieve those goals, being a two time freestyle wrestling world champ and 2024 Paris Olympics gold medalist.
Move of the Day
Pro wrestling or BJJ? Flying submission off the top of the pit!
WHAT ? #KC50 pic.twitter.com/QZx0A6znWR
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) October 12, 2024
Rolls
Sore loser dad flips off little girl in kids jiu-jitsu competition
This video recently made the rounds in BJJ circles. A dad got upset after his son lost to a girl in a kids competition, and he went on to flip off the little girl. Classy parenting right there.
After the video went viral, the father tried to explain and justify his behavior in the comments of many of these posts.
“This unfortunately was me in the video. It was uncalled for and not something I am proud of. This has nothing to do with the gym. I completely lost my cool,” the man wrote.
“What was not seen in the video was after the match ended which my son lost he was crying. The girl in the video turned to my son and made the crying face at my son and told him to cry about it. The ref warned her to stop, she walked towards me and said the same thing which is when I lost my cool. It should have never happened… (two) wrongs don’t make a right and all I can do is apologize. I should have acted like an adult. Unfortunately I didn’t.”
The father of the girl disputed this excuse in his lengthy version of these events, saying “the video here literally shows her with her hand on her hip and the other arm extended, walking over to you. Where’s the mocking?”
Either way, the actions of a child can’t justify an adult acting like one too. It’s a kids’ competition. Don’t be that guy.
Cooldown
ADCC medalists added to upcoming WNO 25 and Polaris 30 cards
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Two upcoming grappling events are starting to shape up. Who’s Number One 25 (WNO 25) will feature both of the double gold medalists from ADCC 2024 in Kaynan Duarte and Adele Fornarino.
On December 4, they will each face off against IBJJF no gi world champions. Duarte will be taking on Roberto Jimenez in the main event, and Fornarino will be in a vacant WNO title fight against Alex Nguyen.
Another WNO title fight will also be on the card, with Pedro Marinho defending his belt against Izaak Michell.
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Polaris 30, happens on November 2, and will be headlined by a grappling match up between popular MMA strikers Carlos Condit and Michael Venom Page. Also recently added to the line up is teenage phenom and ADCC 2024 silver medalist Helena Crevar. The 17-year-old teammate of Gordon Ryan is returning to Polaris to defend her 70kg title against Nia Blackman.
Polaris champion Keith Krikorian is also moving up a division to face off against Jed Hue.
Review
To close things out, here are other interesting BJJ stories you might have missed.
- “I’m a millionaire with no CTE” – Nicky Rod says he’s uninterested in a future MMA career.
- Fired? ADCC’s head organizer is no longer with the promotion, and he has since challenged Craig Jones to a fist fight
- IBJJF’s “The Crown” happens in November, and here’s the full line up for the rare professional gi event.
For the latest Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) and grappling-related news click here.