Get a quick rundown of everything happening in Brazilian jiu-jitsu in just a few minutes

What's Happening In Jiu-Jitsu

-Gordon Ryan announced his official retirement from sport jiu-jitsu because of his ongoing health issues, with an intention to focus on coaching at Kingsway.

-IBJJF announced that black belt world champion Gustavo Batista will replace Devhonte Johnson in this Thursday's Absolute GP. Batista will face off against Pixley first round in a card that also features a slate of exciting super fights.

-ADCC has announced that all eight defending champions from 2024 have accepted their invitations to the 2026 World Championships.

-The ADCC organization has announced an official increase in prize money for the 2026 World Championships, doubling champion's purses for all weight divisions and increasing purses for absolute and super fight. Payouts are as follows:

• Men's Weight Divisions
  • 1st Place - $20,000
  • 2nd Place - $10,000
  • 3rd Place - $3,000
  • 4th Place - $1,000
• Women's Weight Divisions
  • 1st Place - $10,000
  • 2nd Place - $5,000
  • 3rd Place - $2,000
  • 4th Place - $1,000
• Absolute
  • 1st Place - $50,000
  • 2nd Place - $10,000
  • 3rd Place - $5,000
  • 4th Place - $1,000
• Super Fight
  • Winner - $50,000
  • Loser - $10,000
• Superlative Awards
  • Best Fighter - $3,000
  • Best Takedown - $3,000
  • Fastest Submission - $3,000
  • Best Fight - $1,500 each opponent

-PBJJF has signed a contract to have their events begin streaming on FloGrappling.

-UFC BJJ will have a pair of title matches at their UFC BJJ 7 event in April, with Carlos Henrique facing Lucas Valente and Aurelie Le Vern facing Brianna Ste-Marie.

-Polaris has set two more title matches for upcoming shows. Gianni Grippo will face Owen Jones at Polaris 36 for the vacant featherweight title and Ethan Crelinsten will face Shaï Gerena on that same card. Shaï won a qualifiers bracket over the weekend to qualify for this opportunity. PJ Barch will also face Shane Fishman on that same card. Watch it all live exclusively on FloGrappling on March 7th.

-UWW announced a strategic partnership with AIGA leadership with an aim to get grappling included in the Olympic Games. Tolegen Kumarov will officially oversee the development of world grappling under the UWW umbrella.

-Finishers: Apex 2 went down in Pennsylvania and in the main event Pat Shahgholi captured the organization's 205lb championship belt with an armbar. Pat continues to be an under-appreciated East Coast talent. You can watch the entire event on FloGrappling's YouTube channel.

-Main Character Jiu-Jitsu announced a few big matches for their May 3rd card. Reese Lafever faces off against Gianni Grippo at 145lbs, Michael Sainz will face Oliver Taza at 170lbs, and Nick Mataya will face Marlon Tajik at 185lbs - all in promotional championship bouts.

-ADCC Portland went down and was pretty exciting and newsworth. Highlights include:

• World ranked Abraham La Montagne beating Achilles Rocha in a spirited final at -100kg. Rocha would bounce back to win the absolute in impressive fashion.
• ADCC medalist PJ Barch decided to jump in on short notice - and was submitted first round by Raajus Dewan, who would take bronze. Crazy upset!
• Trials Champion Maria Ruffatto-Gilpin beat Joslyn Molina, getting her win back from their recent match at another Open. Molina won -70kg and Ruffatto-Gilpin won -80kg for double gold.
• Other champs include Valerie Wong, Anthony Briones, Aaron Tiegs, Nicole Mathew, and more.

-IBJJF had four separate Opens operating, with events in Sacramento, Austin, London, and Albequerque. Black belt gi highlights include:

• Rookie lightweight Tarcisio Santos took double gold in Sacramento, beating super heavy champion Fran Papasidero in the absolute finals. Jaine Fragoso won double gold as well, so both lightweight champions would also win the absolute.
• After his tournament in Sacramento, Papasidero traveled to Albuquerque and won the absolute there. He took silver in the super heavy to Nolan Stuart. Aghata Rabelo took gold at medium heavy, beating eventual absolute champion Lyz Mitrovic in the finals.
• Felipe Costa won the ultra heavy bracket, which I believe is his first IBJJF action since his suspension. He'd be great to see at IBJJF Worlds.
• Lightweight Espen Mathiesen won the London Open at ultra heavy, bumping way up and still taking gold.

-Mikey Musumeci called out Dillon Danis for a grappling match on Instagram following disrespectful comments from Danis.

-Retired UFC contender Zabit Magomedsharipov announced a return to competition with an upcoming ACBJJ match.

-A new all-female organization had an event in the DC area, Joan of Darce. In a featured set of matches, Maia Matalon picked up a pair of wins.

-Rafael Lovato Jr. placed second at his collegiate regional tournament for the OCU Stars. He now waits to see if he qualifies for the National Championships with a wildcard berth.

Partner Event Signups

IBJJF - You can find sign up information for IBJJF competition here.

ADCC - You can follow this link to sign up for the ADCC Opens coming to your area.

Fight 2 Win - You can apply to be on an upcoming F2W card here.

LIJJN - You can apply to be on an upcoming card here.

Watch BJJ On FloGrappling

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• IBJJF
• ADCC
• WNO
• And more!

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