PGF's eighth season is set to begin this Wednesday, July 23rd, and with twenty lightweights set to face off for supremacy there's a ton of anticipation for the great grappling action in store. PGF, which is airing weekly on their YouTube channel, has made a reputation for themselves as being an innovative league that aims to push jiu-jitsu to a new level with regional teams, seasons, fantasy participation, and more.

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We got the chance to catch up with PGF's founder Brandon McCaghren and the 10th Planet black belt is ready for a really special season with a roster of athletes all ready to break out into the grappling mainstream. Read his thoughts and make sure to tune in Wednesdays to YouTube (beginning tomorrow, July 23rd) for every weekly show.

• Find the full PGF schedule here
• Find the PGF YouTube page here
• Find the full PGF standings (updated through the season) here
  

For the fans, what is new about this season of PGF?

Brandon: This season is a return to the original vision we had back in PGF Season 1—weekly games, fantasy league, team dynamics, and time to build real stories. That was always the dream. But back then, we didn’t have the funding to do it right. We had almost no sponsor support, and I was paying for everything out of my own pocket—just grinding it out with sweat equity and a love of the game and the belief that the sport, the athletes and the fans truly deserve something better. So from Seasons 2 through 7, we compressed the entire league into a one-week season. It helped us move fast and learn fast and scale efficiently, but it wasn’t built for long-term growth.

Now, thanks to the momentum we’ve built, we’re finally doing it the way I always envisioned. PGF Season 8 is a true professional sports season—weekly match days, real team structure, a playoff system, and time for fans to get invested. That means you actually get to fall in love with athletes—or even start rooting against them. You get to see their games evolve over 15 matches. There’s room to absorb the rivalries, the momentum swings, the heartbreak and the glory.

"We’re finally doing it the way I always envisioned. PGF Season 8 is a true professional sports season"

When it’s all crammed into one week, even the hardcore Jiu Jitsu nerds can’t process it in real time. You end up just watching highlights. Which is fine—but it doesn’t build fandom. This format does.

And the coolest addition this season? We now have the first two permanent, true franchise teams in Jiu Jitsu history: the New Hope Kings and the Alabama Twisters. These aren’t one-off squads. These are teams you’re going to see year after year.

New Hope came in after seeing the impact their sponsorship had last season—the media coverage, the brand lift, the ROI—and they said, “We want to own a team outright.” So they bought it. It’s their asset now.

The Alabama Twisters are doing something completely different but just as revolutionary: they’re community-owned, following a model inspired by the Green Bay Packers. A coalition of local black belt gym owners joined forces to buy the team and keep it rooted in Alabama. I think that’s going to generate massive local pride and fan engagement. Even merch sales. And honestly, it could be the beginning of something huge. Imagine city teams from Nashville, Austin, San Diego, Atlanta—each repping their region and building real rivalries and fan bases.

This is the future. Not another one-night tournament. Not another copy of the super fight format. This is Jiu Jitsu as a real, professional league—for the first time.

Which team do you think did the best in the draft?

Brandon: Honestly, this was the most evenly matched draft we’ve ever had. There’s real parity across the board, and each team came in with a completely different strategy. From top to bottom, I think they all walked away with something dangerous.

If I had to highlight a couple, I’d say Canuto and Drysdale crushed it. Drysdale, coaching the New Hope Kings, came in with a laser-focused plan. They wanted Jett Thompson and made a huge move to get him—spent over half their budget right out of the gate. That kind of aggressive play can be risky, because it can leave you soft at the bottom of your lineup, but they followed it up perfectly, grabbing exactly the squad they wanted. I saw their notes. They literally got the exact lineup they wanted. On top of that, they got two PGF vets in Juan Martinez and Anthony Molina from Season 4, and that experience is going to pay dividends in a league format.

"From top to bottom, I think they all walked away with something dangerous."

Canuto’s Alabama Twisters took a different route—young, scrappy, aggressive athletes with a ton of upside, then anchored by a powerful veteran in Kris Olivo. That’s a team built for high output and big, highlight finishes. I think they’re going to be dangerous in the standings if they gel early.

Varela’s crew (Team Dollamur) is full of headhunters. Almost every guy on that team has a submission-heavy, choke-first game, and that’s exactly what scores points in the PGF. That team could absolutely overwhelm some of these matchups and I could see a scenario where they run away with the whole thing. 

Then you’ve got Mica Cipili and The Tropic Thunders, who did kind of the opposite of Canuto—went with a veteran-heavy squad, then added a breakout young star in JJ Bowers. That’s a smart way to build consistency with a wild card for big moments.

But, I’ve been way wrong before. Last season, I thought 1st Phorm was going to run away with it, and honestly, I didn’t think New Hope had a great draft at all. But not only did they win, they blew everyone out—biggest margin of victory in league history. So as they say, “any given Sunday.”

That’s the magic of the PGF and the true league format. Anything can happen. This season especially. It's wide open.

Anything is possible once the matches begin, but who are some of the early favorites to make the playoffs this season?

Brandon: You’d be crazy not to have Jett Thompson at the top of your list. He was literally seconds away from beating Varela in the Season 6 Final. But he’s cutting a lot of weight to make 155. That could slow him down in week 1and give some of these other young guns a chance to grab an early lead on the board. Raphael Ferreira, Christos Papadelos, JJ Bowers, and Matt Masch all have the tools to make a deep run. And I think Kris Olivo is going to be a real problem for a lot of people this season.

Athletes like Ryan Aitken have described winning PGF as a transformative moment in their career. How have you seen PGF help elevate guys who come in and put on a show?

Brandon: The PGF is such a gauntlet. There's nothing else like it in this sport. Just the sheer number of high-pressure matches you get forces you to become something new to even finish the season, much less come out clean on the other side. 

Look at Elijah Carlton. He made his name on the PGF mats, built a legit following, and rode that all the way to the UFC scene; without doing the usual IBJJF or ADCC circuit. He did it by showing up, putting on a show, finishing people and owning the spotlight. The PGF rewards that.

I also think about a guy like Nathan Haddad. No one had heard of him before PGF Season 6 and he showed out big time. Came back and did it again in Season 7. Then suddenly he’s on UFC Fight Pass Invitational scrapping it out, and then he’s on the UFC BJJ roster. His career is in a completely new place now. 

Who in the field do you think is really underrated by the public and maybe even the other competitors?

Brandon: I think people are totally sleeping on Dom Lobo; you saw that in the Draft  He’s Eddie Bravo’s personal project, and Eddie’s been in my ear about him for over a year. He genuinely believes Dom is on his way to having the most dangerous guard in the world—and when Eddie Bravo says something like that, you better perk up and pay attention.

For someone who hasn’t seen any PGF before, what should they expect when they tune in this season?

Brandon: PGF is without a doubt the most fast-paced, fan-friendly, and fun format in Jiu Jitsu. The matches are only 6 minutes long, and stalling is not tolerated—we’ve got a 20-second shot clock and we throw a flag if you’re stalling. It keeps the action moving and the pressure high. There’s nothing more exciting in the sport. And once you start playing fantasy and following the teams, you’re gonna be hooked.

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