Nick Rodriguez burst onto the competitive grappling scene in 2018, and in 2019, he won silver at the ADCC Championships. It was an impressive achievement, particularly considering that he was just a blue belt at the time. Rodriguez used his outstanding athleticism, high-level wrestling, and the expert guidance of the
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Art of Jiu-Jitsu stand-out Tainan Dalpra couldn’t have asked for a better year of competition in 2021. Named Grappling Insider’s best male gi grappler of the year, Dalpra won nearly every competition he entered. One of Dalpra’s biggest (and most lucrative) accomplishments was winning the IBJJF four-man middleweight grand prix.
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Elite black belt competitor Andrew Wiltse is never shy to share his opinion. The Pedigo Submission Fighting (AKA Daisy Fresh) stand-out has spoken openly about everything from his mental health, to sexual assault at Fight Sports, to steroid use at Atos. In a recent video, Wiltse sounded off on a
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Fans might be seeing a new Craig Jones in 2022. Ahead of his main event match Pedro Marinho for the Who’s Number One (WNO) 205-pound title, Jones boldly announced that he’ll no longer be sitting to guard in competition. This comes as a surprise because Jones — an ADCC silver
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Top no-gi grappler Gordon Ryan has spent much of 2021 on the sidelines. Citing ongoing stomach issues, Ryan appeared just three times last year, and one of those times was deemed an exhibition match. On Monday, Ryan posted to social media that he expected to make at least $180,000 from
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Diego “Pato” Oliveira was arguably the best overall grappler of the past year. The 2021 gi and no-gi Pans and Worlds champion has announced that he has officially left his longtime team of Cicero Costha and will be joining the rapidly growing Dream Art Project. View this post on Instagram
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John Danaher — the former head coach of the now-defunct Danaher Death Squad — is one of the best minds in all of jiu-jitsu. In a recent video with Bernardo Faria, Danaher described the overall approach to no-gi guard passing that he has taught to many elite competitors, including Gordon
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Legendary jiu-jitsu competitor and retired MMA and UFC fighter Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza isn’t ready to to hang up the gloves for good. According to a report from Sherdog.com, Souza is in the process of finalizing plans for his boxing debut. The 42-year old Brazilian has not competed since a May
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On Friday, January 7, jiu-jitsu’s longest running submission-only promotion will return for its first show of 2022. Fight To Win 190 will take place in Dallas, TX, and will be headlined by a black belt match between Edmaicon Moraes and Samuel Nagai. View the full Fight To Win 190 line-up,
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In 2021, the Emerald City Invitational (ECI) established itself as one of jiu-jitsu’s premier submission-only competitions. Following the format introduced by the Eddie Bravo Invitational (EBI), ECI held one-night, EBI-rules tournaments with cash prizes on the line. The promotion has announced its next event, as well as a few of
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