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Ivanka Trump is Unleashing Her Inner Samurai with Jiu-Jitsu: ‘There’s a Real Spiritualism to It’

Ivanka Trump is Unleashing Her Inner Samurai with Jiu-Jitsu Ivanka Trump, the daughter of the recently re-elected President of the United States, Donald Trump, is the latest in…

Ivanka Trump, the daughter of the recently re-elected President of the United States, Donald Trump, is the latest in an ever-growing list of celebrities who are using jiu-jitsu to stay fit and become one with themselves.

During a recent interview with The Skinny Confidential, the author, fashionista, and trust fund baby revealed that she started taking jiu-jitsu classes at the request of her daughter. Before long, their entire family was hitting the mat and falling in love with the sport.

“I most recently got into jiu-jitsu, courtesy of my daughter, Arabella. I started driving her to these classes. She started asking me to join, so joined. Then my two sons wanted to do what their older sister was doing. Then my husband joined. It’s supposed to be really good for kids, right? It is good for everyone, and it’s like multiple things like, so it meshes.

“Physical movement… it’s almost like a moving meditation because the movements are so micro, it’s like three-dimensional chess. There’s a real spiritualism to it, like the grounding in Samurai tradition, culture, and wisdom. As someone who’s always been drawn to philosophy, I love how it meshes movement with deeper principles.”

The Trump Family has a long history of involvement with combat sports

Of course, the Trump family has a long history of being involved in combat sports, Specifically Donald Trump who has had a long-term friendship with UFC CEO Dana White.

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In the early days of the UFC when the promotion was struggling to find venues willing to host events, Trump was one of the few to offer his services. Since then, Trump has regularly appeared at UFC events in New York and New Jersey.

White has also been a big advocate for the POTUS’ political aspirations, speaking at the Republican National Convention in 2016, 2020, and 2024.

Former UFC Fighter Shares Heartbreaking Diagnosis

Former UFC fighter and BJJ black belt Vagner Rocha revealed that he has been diagnosed with heart failure. Rocha,…

Former UFC fighter and BJJ black belt Vagner Rocha revealed that he has been diagnosed with heart failure.

Rocha, 42, has been retired from mixed martial arts since 2017 after putting together a solid 14-4 record, including four appearances under the UFC banner and back-to-back wins in Bellator. His most notable appearance inside the Octagon came at UFC 133 when he squared off with 2023 Hall of Fame inductee Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone.

Earlier this week, the Rio de Janeiro native took to Instagram to reveal that he had been hospitalized for multiple days and was hit with a heartbreaking diagnosis.

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A post shared by Vagner Rocha (@vagnerrochabjj)

“Spent the last 5 days in the hospital undergoing tests, and the doctors found out I have heart failure,” Rocha wrote. “We don’t know how long this has been going on, but they said it could’ve been tragic if I had waited any longer to seek help.

“Years ago, this would’ve completely shaken me, but the closer I grow to God, the more I trust he’s in control. It’s been a serious situation, but through it all, I’ve experienced a deep sense of peace. I’m thankful for the care I’ve received, and for the love and support from loved ones. God’s timing is always perfect, and I am never been more sure that in fact He is working everything out for good.

“Now I am on the road of recovery, taking one day at a time and keep monitoring my heart. One thing I notice is if you can’t discern God’s time you won’t understand the process, you will fear, have doubts and will be desperate. But when you understand the process you have total trust that God is using people and situation to develop and equip you for what’s to come in the next chapters of your life.”

Outside of the UFC, Rocha become an accomplished Submission Grappler

Aside from his accomplishments in MMA, Rocha has established himself as a world-class competitor in the world of submission grappling.

Rocha took home silver at the ADCC Submission Fighting World Championships in both 2019 and 2024. He also came in second at IBJJF Worlds in 2021. Rocha has also competed three times at the UFC Fight Pass Invitational, his only loss on the platform coming against Nicky Rod.

According to BJJHeroes.com, Rocha is 106-31 in his jiu-jitsu career with 46 wins by way of submission. Rocha has only been submitted seven times and carries with him an impressive 43% finish rate.

Dillon Danis Challenges MMA Guru After Controversial Comments on BJJ Being “Fake and Gay”

After embarrassing himself against Logan Paul last year, Dillon Danis is going after a much easier target. Recently, the…

After embarrassing himself against Logan Paul last year, Dillon Danis is going after a much easier target.

Recently, the former Conor McGregor coach found himself in another bizarre feud. This time with online personality and perpetual troll The MMA Guru who labeled Danis’ sport of choice both “fake and gay” after seeing Bryce Mitchell put jiu-jitsu specialist Kron Gracie to sleep with a nasty third-round elbow at UFC 310.

“Bryce Mitchell puts that name merchant Kron Gracie to sleep in round 3 after two rounds of Kron trying to embarrass the sport live on a UFC PPV main card,” he wrote on X. “No ability on the feet & despite Rogan’s attempts to make it seem so, no threat on the ground. BJJ is fake and gay #UFC310”

The disrespect forwards jiu-jitsu caught the attention of Danis who quickly snapped back at the Guru and challenged him to a scrap on the mat.

“Let’s spar live and I’ll have you screaming for your life while I teabag you,” Danis replied.

MMA Guru Tells Dillon Danis that BJJ is for ‘Unathletic Nerd Victims’

Never one to let anyone else get the last word, The MMA Guru doubled down on his thrashing of ‘the gentle art,’ and threatened to break out Rick Martel’s favorite maneuver should they ever cross paths.

“The fact that YOU succeeded in BJJ is nothing but more proof that it’s a made up martial art for unathletic gay nerd victims of life that can only implement it on people that don’t have any knowledge of it,” Guru added. “I’d Boston Crab you in 3 minutes bring it.”

Gordon Ryan: “The Best Athletes Are on PEDs” in Defense of Steroid Use

Gordon Ryan loves his PEDs. The seven-time ADCC world champion recently snapped back at Mikey Musumeci after ‘Darth Rigatoni’…

Gordon Ryan loves his PEDs.

The seven-time ADCC world champion recently snapped back at Mikey Musumeci after ‘Darth Rigatoni’ placed much of the blame on him for BJJ’s acceptance of the rampant PED use that has plagued the sport for years.

Ryan, who has been an outspoken advocate of performance-enhancing drugs in jiu-jitsu, responded to Musumeci’s comments over the weekend, suggesting that PED use delivers better athletes, better matches, and better paydays — plain and simple.

“I’m pretty indifferent as to PEDs one way or the other,” Ryan told the press at UFC 310. “If a tournament wants to have them, great. If they don’t wanna have them, great. I think, obviously, the matches will be better. I think the athletes will be better athletes. The athletes will definitely be able to get paid more because the better you perform, the better you look” (h/t MMA Mania).

Gordon Ryan continues to advocate for PED use in BJJ

Last month, Musumeci made history by becoming the first submission grappler to sign an exclusive contract with the UFC. Ahead of his debut at UFC Fight Pass Invitational 9 on December 5, Musumeci revealed that his ultimate goal is to help the promotion expand its footprint in the grappling game and to do it exclusively with clean athletes.

Ryan seems to think that approach is a bad idea for everyone.

“The reason people watch professional sports is to see the absolute best athletes in the world do what they do,” he said. “And when you take performance enhancers, it makes you a better athlete. So, I just think that across the board, if people wanna see the best athletes, the best athletes are the people on PEDs.

“So, all you’re doing is making it so the guys on top can still afford to beat the test, and the guys on bottom can’t afford to beat the test. So, then you have natural guys competing against juice guys anyway. Whereas if they’re legal, then everybody can just take as many steroids as they want.”

Aside from a handful of superfights over the summer, Ryan’s appearances on the mat have been few and far between while he continues to battle with stomach issues. Despite the lack of activity, Ryan has remained a prominent figure in the sport, appearing as a commentator for events, such as the most recent UFC FPI card.

Gordon Ryan: "The Best Athletes Are on PEDs" in Defense of Steroid Use 4

Mikey Musumeci Declares War on PEDs in Jiu-Jitsu: “Time for Real Professionalism”

Mikey Musumeci is declaring war on the rampant use of PEDs in BJJ. After establishing himself as one of…

Mikey Musumeci is declaring war on the rampant use of PEDs in BJJ.

After establishing himself as one of the best submission grapplers in the world under the ONE Championship banner, ‘Darth Rigatoni’ ditched the Singapore-based promotion to sign with the UFC. It was a big moment for the jiu-jitsu community as Musumeci became the first grappler to ink an exclusive deal with Dana White and Co.

Now, Musumeci is making it his duty to clean up the sport he loves so dearly.

“I feel like what I’m doing right now is definitely the most important thing for grappling in terms of having a stable platform,” Musumeci said on Wednesday during UFC 310 media day. “I feel like a lot of jiu-jitsu right now is very unstable. There’s a lot of horrible ethics, morals, and I hope now that with the UFC we can change that and make it a professional sport.

“Because it hasn’t been a professional sport, jiu-jitsu, with people they blatantly use [performance enhancing drugs]. They’re not athletes. They really don’t have the values of martial artists. I really just want to change that and give us this platform at UFC and become professionals” (h/t MMA Fighting).

Musumeci refrained from naming names but hopes that he can help the UFC grow the sport of BJJ and bring in other athletes who make it a priority to compete clean and avoid the very long list of practitioners who try to take chemically-induced shortcuts.

“People not on steroids,” Musumeci said emphatically when asked who the UFC should look to sign. “That’s pretty much what I would say but 99 percent of jiu-jitsu is on steroids. So at least them get off steroids a little bit, like a few months. They probably need like a year, six months to adjust and then maybe they could adjust with Darwinism.”

Mikey Musumeci sees signing with the UFC as his first step toward making BJJ great

Aside from trying to extinguish more of the seedy elements in the sport, Musumeci has a lot of personal goals he hopes to accomplish, including a potential transition to mixed martial arts.

Of course, the New Jersey native has a lot left to accomplish in jiu-jitsu, but Musumeci recognizes that signing with the UFC is a big first step towards meeting those goals.

“They want to make this professional also,” Musumeci said. “UFC’s a professional company. The way we’ve been in jiu-jitsu, we’ve been amateurs. We really are just in this barbaric amateur phase of jiu-jitsu. Now UFC is starting something professional. I’m so blessed for them for putting the effort into jiu-jitsu to change it. I’m so eager for them to do that.”