Unknown Pressures – A Jiu-Jitsu Podcast

10 million dollars. Ten. Million. Dollars. What the hell is going on? Is Craig Jones really going all out with what he calls "CJI 2.5"? That's just one of the topics of conversation in this packed episode, where we talk about: - Meregali's reluctance to compete in ADCC - The recent ADCC Trials in Brazil and who qualified for the World Championships - The recent invites for ADCC 2026 - The bizarre...

Patreon: https://patreon.com/UnknownPressures | Sorry if we come across as kind of negative sometimes, but we find it hard not to look at things through a microscope. This week's show we turn our focus onto the recent UFC BJJ, and honestly, it's been hard to find something really good to talk about. I mean, it's kind of OK, right? But there is a lot of work to be done. Anyway, this episode isn't j...

Patreon supporters get full episodes and early access: https://patreon.com/UnknownPressures | Welcome back fam. If you didn't see it yet, Polaris 36 was a highly entertaining event with plenty of great grappling matches. Matt and Hywel discuss the highs and lows of the show with special focus on what happened behind the scenes during and after the action. We also talk about the ongoing trend of hi...

Polaris is coming up this weekend and Patreon supporters get the full 40-min episode that is over double the length of the free version on YouTube and Podcast platforms. If you've been following us, you know we talk a lot about Polaris as Matt is one of the founding directors of the event. We went through the main card superfights and discussed the most intriguing stories behind each match, and Ma...

We're taking on a tough topic in today's episode and to be honest we need your opinions on this. Exclusivity is currently one of the dirtiest words in jiu-jitsu as fans are complaining that contracts are holding back the sport and preventing us from seeing the best possible matches. Matt and Hywel discuss the UFC BJJ's recent signing spree and how the exclusive terms will even go so far as to prev...

Love them or hate them, you're always going to tune in to see the "heel". From Gordon to Dillon Danis, bad guys bring the heat. Even UFC BJJ knows the value of a bad boy gatekeeper, as we discuss in the latest episode of Unknown Pressures. It's a bumper episode for you today. There were two big no-gi events to recap, namely the wild 2nd ADCC European Trials in Serbia, and the return of Nicholas Me...

Even in a sprawling family of world-class fighters, there are some who stand apart from the rest. Through their titles and accomplishments they have earned the right to be included on this list of The Five Greatest Gracie Family Fighters of All Time. And nope, Rickson doesn't make it onto the list!  Support us on Patreon for uncut, extended episodes, early access, bonus content and more! We also i...

It was a rollercoaster weekend for jiu-jitsu: Matt and Hywel were in Wales for the excellent Polaris Squads event that saw Team Polaris take a close win against Team WNO, while on the other side of the world a major shockwave rocked one of the biggest and most successful teams in the world of jiu-jitsu. A female member of the Atos team levelled accusations of sexual assault and misconduct toward A...

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/UnknownPressures | Matt and Hywel are reunited at Polaris 35 for the Squads event between Team WNO and Team Polaris. We managed to catch up quickly backstage between matches and discussed how ADCC is going to influence the sport in 2026, the expansion polans for Polaris over the coming months and we try to figure out how much money the IBJJF are makin...

Metamoris exploded onto the jiu-jitsu scene in 2012 and immediately set a new standard for what pro grappling could (and should) look like. It started off strong, but quickly gained a controversial reputation for questionable business practices before spectacularly imploding as they left a string of unpaid bills behind them. Even still, it was an iconic event that had a huge impact on the grapplin...

Gordon Ryan and Marcelo Garcia are obvious choices, but who else shaped the development of the modern no-gi game? We list the Top 5 most influential no-gi grapplers whose impact on jiu-jitsu changed the art forever. We're now live on Patreon! Early releases, extended episodes, and exclusive community discussion for members, plus more perks to be announced soon. Check us out: https://patreon.com/Un...

Hello people, we're back and bigger and better than ever. This is the free version of the podcast – over at the full-length Patreon exclusive episode, you'll get access to over 30 minutes of extra content unavailable anywhere else. https://patreon.com/UnknownPressures Hywel has some strong opinions on what's going to happen to the gi this year, Matt questions everything we've been told to believe...

After a short interruption to our schedule (thanks, jiu-jitsu flu) we are back and we recap the major topics and best performances from the world of jiu-jitsu in 2025.  Topics of discussion include:  • Big money cash prizes from CJI and AIGA, but whether it's sustainable or not • ADCC's weird "in-between year"  • The proliferation of team jiu-jitsu events (best for entertainment?)  • The feeling t...

Hollywood has made some great films about fighting, but few about MMA and none at all about jiu-jitsu. In this episode Hywel and Matt discuss 2025 movie The Smashing Machine, which stars The Rock and Emily Blunt and tells the story of the infamous Mark Kerr, former UFC and ADCC champion. We question why Hollywood hasn't embraced jiu-jitsu despite it's popularity, how a series of influential BJJ do...

Matt and Hywel are back from their travels and have much to discuss, including: what it's like to train with leglock legend Imanari, what makes Helena Crevar so unique among pro grapplers, how a brand new gi brand has come out of nowhere to land a monster contact, and why UFC BJJ needs to start telling compelling stories. In addition to stories of eating ridiculous amounts of delicious Japanese du...

Superstar competitor Helena Crevar is known as much for her distinctive look as she is for her incredible jiu-jitsu skills. In this interview Helena talks about her competition mindset, how she manages her personal brand, avoiding burnout, what she learns from (very occasionally) losing, and her plans for the future. Apologies for any background noise - this interview was done in a hotel lobby in...

Welcome back, friends. Polaris 34, aka the Squads Final, was non-stop action and you should definitely watch it if you haven't seen it yet. As for your hosts, Hywel was uncharacteristically sat doing nothing except watching some great matches while Matt was running around and being stressed. In this episode we discuss the standout moments fro Polaris's last ever event on UFC Fight Pass, and talk a...

The recent Quintet 5 event in Dubai saw the long awaited return of Japan's coolest and most iconic grappling show. There were some great matches, some weird cultural dynamics between the Arabic and Japanese organizers, but the overall atmosphere was an authentic Quintet show just like the old days. We also discuss the upcoming Polaris Squads event, which will see Team Europe go against Team Asia &...

Matt is back from the Scramble training camp in Spain so we talked about our training stories (good and bad), plus discuss the upcoming Quintet 5 grappling event in Dubai, which features some legends of the most epic era of Japanese MMA. Episode 7 of  @UnknownPressures  is out now on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and everywhere else. Please leave us a review on Apple/Spotify Podcasts: Apple - h...

Joining us on this episode is UFC BJJ 135lb champion Mikey Musumeci, fresh off his title defence at UFC BJJ 3. Mikey reached out to us to come on the show to discuss his position as the "face" of UFC BJJ, and why he felt some people (maybe even us) were unfairly critical of him being chosen to lead the UFC's expansion into the world of grappling.  Mikey opens up about the criticism he faces from t...

Steroids in BJJ, what you need to do to get sponsored, and whether the gi is dying... We opened up our inbox to questions from listeners and in episode 5 of Unknown Pressures we give our professional opinions on the state of BJJ in 2025. Episode 5 of  @UnknownPressures  is out now on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and everywhere else. Unknown Pressures is a jiu-jitsu podcast brought to you by tw...

The UFC recently created a brand new jiu-jitsu event called UFC BJJ. Dana White has promised millions of dollars of investment, and Hywel and Matt discuss the implications for the grappling community. In episode 4 of Unknown Pressures we talk about the UFC's big plan for jiu-jitsu, the divisive octobowl, the reality show, and the way they chose the faces of their event. We also discuss the potenti...

In this episode of Unknown Pressures we discuss the recent Polaris Squads event. Matt talks about the evolution of Polaris over the past decade, and the many challenges faced in organizing an international grappling event, and how Polaris created a sustainable business model while other events came and went.  We also talk about the future plans for Polaris, including expansion in 2026 and the crea...

ADCC is back, and the recent European Trials kickstarted the year-long process that will lead into the biggest no-gi grappling event in the world – the ADCC World Championships. Matt Benyon and Hywel Teague discuss the Trials and give their take on the Europeans who qualified, and share some of their stories from behind the scenes of man y of the ADCC World Championships they've been to. Unknown P...

Matt Benyon and Hywel Teague discuss the recent controversies around the Craig Jones Invitational 2 (CJI 2) event, as well as the problems with matches under the submission-only ruleset, the growth of UFC BJJ and more. Unknown Pressures is a jiu-jitsu podcast brought to you by two long-time industry insiders: Matt Benyon, the co-founder of Scramble and Polaris, and Hywel Teague, creator of BJJ Hac...