bjjproblems.com — every take, since 2013
Every snarky take on real BJJ news. Newest first.
Sep 11, 2026, 03:36 PM
Nicky Rodriguez Faced Mason Fowler for the UFC BJJ Light Heavyweight Title at UFC BJJ 11 — Their First Meeting Had No Weight Limit
Two years prior, Nicky Rodriguez had walked into UFC Fight Pass Invitational 7 and beaten Mason Fowler 6-0. It was the kind of win that felt inevitable on paper: Rodriguez, a heavyweight (99kg+) grappler who had spent his entire career in the upper weight classes, faced Fowler wi
Sep 11, 2026, 07:56 AM
Gordon Ryan's ADCC Non-Negotiable Stance Hits Different When He's Sitting This One Out
Gordon Ryan has a position on ADCC that sounds a lot more principled when you're not examining it too closely. The New Wave Jiu-Jitsu owner and competitor recently stated that ADCC would be "non-negotiable" in any contract negotiations with the UFC for a jiu-jitsu-specific event
Sep 8, 2026, 03:35 PM
Dana White Tells Philadelphia Eagles to Try Jiu-Jitsu. Here's Why He's Not Wrong.
Dana White, the UFC president who has spent thirty years turning hand-to-hand violence into a $20 billion enterprise, recently decided to play general manager for the Philadelphia Eagles. His unsolicited advice: try jiu-jitsu.
Sep 8, 2026, 01:58 PM
The Eternal ADCC Deferment: A Gym Culture Study
He corrects technique during flow rolls. He watches every ADCC match the day it drops on FloGrappling, texts the group chat with real-time commentary, and has strong opinions about judging.
Sep 7, 2026, 09:52 PM
Khamzat Chimaev Pins Tyron Woodley at RAF Moscow
On September 5, 2026, at Arena Mytishchi in Moscow, Khamzat Chimaev pinned Tyron Woodley in 1:34 of Round 1. Catchweight at 195 pounds.
Sep 7, 2026, 09:22 PM
Real-World Grappling: Brown Belt at Tesco Supermarket
Every jiu-jitsu gym has the conversation. It happens during water breaks, after rolling, on the drive home.
Sep 7, 2026, 08:52 PM
RAF Moscow: Nickal Beats Olympic Champ, Story Falls
The beautiful thing about grappling narratives is that they don't need much oxygen. You sketch a story in the sand—David vs Goliath, the comeback kid, the redemption arc—and the community fills in the blanks.
Sep 7, 2026, 03:37 PM
Burroughs Calls Out Makhachev After 10-0 Tech Fall at RAF Moscow—Makhachev Responds: 'In the Cage, Anywhere Anytime'
On September 5, 2026, at RAF Moscow, something shifted in the invisible hierarchy of combat sports. Jordan Burroughs, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling, dominated his match with a 10-0 technical fall.
Sep 7, 2026, 12:38 PM
The Purple Belt's ADCC Paradox: Analysis Without Stakes
Every Monday at 7 p.m., before the hard rolls start, there's a purple belt at your gym who's just finished his second detailed breakdown of why ADCC 2028 will be "radically different" from 2026. He has fourteen specific points.
Sep 7, 2026, 08:24 AM
Chimaev's RAF Double-Header: 13 Days, Two Matches
Khamzat Chimaev's calendar for September is going to hurt. Here's a scheduling problem disguised as ambition: Khamzat Chimaev, the MMA fighter with Swedish wrestling pedigree and Chechen grappling lineage, has committed to back-to-back wrestling matches at Real American Freestyle
Sep 7, 2026, 07:53 AM
Rahmani Upsets ONE Heavyweight Champ Malykhin in Freestyle Wrestling
For three years, Artem Malykhin was the heavyweight immovable object at ONE Championship. Seventeen fights, zero losses, two divisional titles, submission finishes over legit wrestlers and grapplers.
Sep 7, 2026, 07:23 AM
Jonah Hill Nails It: The Celebrity Curse in Your Gym
"Everyone wants the story of — I choked out Jonah Hill." That's what actor and BJJ practitioner Jonah Hill said in a recent interview, and if you've trained long enough, you already know exactly what he means. Not because you've choked out a celebrity — most of us haven't.
Sep 6, 2026, 10:48 PM
Tyron Woodley's Comeback Win Lasted Just Two Weeks
Tyron Woodley is down 8-1 against Joaquin Buckley in the third round. Eight years without a win.
Sep 6, 2026, 06:07 PM
ADCC's Ticket Math: 'On Track' Doesn't Mean Selling Out
When a major grappling organization gets on the mic six days before its flagship event and boasts about selling exactly four tickets per day, you know the conversation has shifted from "come watch this" to "please, anyone, come watch this." ADCC's recent announcement: they're "ex
Sep 6, 2026, 03:36 PM
Josh Barnett Says Blue Belts Shouldn't Get Paid. He's Half Right, and That's the Problem.
Josh Barnett has a problem with you getting paid. The former UFC heavyweight champion, second-degree black belt, and catch wrestling promotion operator went on the record recently with a take that landed hard in the grappling community: blue and purple belts competing in tourname
Sep 6, 2026, 07:44 AM
Burroughs Called Out Makhachev in Moscow—Dominated a Russian World Champion, Then Went Straight at the UFC Champ Cageside
On September 5, 2026, Jordan Burroughs did what Olympic wrestlers had been itching to do for twenty years: he showed up to someone else's house and said the quiet part out loud. The setting was RAF Wrestling in Moscow.
Sep 5, 2026, 08:58 PM
Purple Belt ADCC Planning: The Gym's Most Predictable Cycle
Every grappling gym has one. A purple belt catches you between rolls and leans against the cage: 'Bro, I'm thinking ADCC 2028.
Sep 5, 2026, 11:18 AM
Mikey Musumeci: Why Grappling Is Dying Before ADCC
On September 3rd, one week out from ADCC, Mikey Musumeci gave an interview that landed like a depressing reality check: "The state of grappling is really bad right now." He wasn't being melodramatic. He was being precise.
Sep 5, 2026, 07:54 AM
Chimaev -10000 Favorite: When Betting Prices Out Drama
Khamzat Chimaev is -10000 to beat Tyron Woodley at RAF Moscow on September 5. Negative ten thousand.
Sep 5, 2026, 07:23 AM
Jose Aldo vs. Marlon Vera Grappling Match: UFC's Solution to Beating Real Grapplers Is Having Strikers Learn to Grapple
When Jose Aldo and Marlon Vera announced they were stepping into a pure grappling competition, the BJJ community did what it always does when an MMA fighter pretends to have a ground game: nodded politely while internally screaming. Jose Aldo is a generational striking talent.
Sep 4, 2026, 10:50 PM
Colby Covington Joins Hype FC Submission Grappling
Colby Covington has officially signed with Hype FC to compete in submission grappling. Think about that for a second.
Sep 4, 2026, 03:29 PM
Mokaev Won ACBJJ 22 Title with Headbutts, Called Out Dana White for UFC Return
When Muhammad Mokaev finished his match at ACBJJ 22 in Istanbul on August 30, he hadn't just claimed a no-gi grappling title. The former UFC flyweight defeated Moris Boleyan by unanimous decision in nine minutes, employed headbutts as a primary control tactic throughout the bout,
Sep 4, 2026, 08:00 AM
Gracie University Training Works: Purple Belt Beats Brown
When brown belt Clarence questioned Gracie University's online curriculum, he didn't expect anyone to show up. But Rener Gracie sees opportunity in noise.
Sep 4, 2026, 07:30 AM
Real American Freestyle Moscow Event Moved Over Sanctions
The American grappling world learned something this week that nobody wanted to learn on a 48-hour notice: when you take your sport international, you also take on international law. Real American Freestyle — the MMA-meets-wrestling promotion that's been eating Bellator's lunch on
Sep 3, 2026, 09:39 PM
Murilo Bustamante Earns Coral Belt: 50-Year Legacy at 60
Murilo Bustamante put on a coral belt on August 3rd, 2026, and that sentence carries more weight than most people who don't train will ever understand. Coral belt—8th-degree black—isn't a promotion you campaign for or market yourself into.
Sep 3, 2026, 04:45 PM
ONE Fight Night 47: Lovato Jr Cancelled—Here's Why
You saw the headline: ONE Fight Night 47, September 4 in Bangkok, Lovato Jr versus Jaworski on Prime Video. John Lovato Jr—43 years old, America's most decorated grappling specialist, a heavyweight submission artist who makes people stop mid-scroll and actually read the byline.
Sep 3, 2026, 03:45 PM
A Banned Move in a Sanctioned Event: What Willian Masuda's Injury Reveals About BJJ's Enforcement Gap
Willian Masuda, a 37-year-old BJJ instructor known to the community as "Kabuto," was attempting to develop a stronger foundation in what he thought would be a new phase of his grappling career. On August 22, 2026, at Super Pro Jiu-Jitsu 2026 in Londrina, Paraná, that plan ended i
Sep 3, 2026, 11:46 AM
Colby Covington Joins Hype FC for Submission Grappling
Colby Covington proved something remarkable in fourteen months: if you're elite at one combat sport, you can cash in on credentials in the next. He retired from MMA in May 2026 after twelve years in the UFC.
Sep 3, 2026, 11:16 AM
Banned Pile Driver Causes Cervical Spine Injury
On August 22, 2026, Willian Hiroyuki Masuda, a 37-year-old jiu-jitsu instructor known in the community as 'Kabuto,' suffered a catastrophic cervical spine injury during a no-gi competition at the Moringão gymnasium in Londrina, Brazil. The injury wasn't caused by a technical slip
Sep 3, 2026, 10:17 AM
Bo Nickal Faces Olympic Judoka at RAF Moscow
This Friday, September 5, 2026, Bo Nickal will step into the cage in Moscow to face Shirvani Muradov—a man who hasn't competed in professional combat sports since 2012. That's fourteen years.