Unknown Pressures – A Jiu-Jitsu Podcast

We've heard some pretty wild stuff over the years, but never has one of the very best coaches in the game been accused of taking shortcuts by using artificial intelligence to create a champion. That's exactly what Kron Gracie said about John Danaher in an unexpected rant that led to a flamewar with Gordon Ryan. It's so preposterous that it's hard to believe we ended up talking about it in this epi...

Patreon: https://patreon.com/UnknownPressures | Big news in the jiu-jitsu world this week: every athlete who will compete at ADCC 2026 has now been confirmed, and all of a sudden the tournament has become a lot more interesting and exciting. PLUS Craig Jones announced the coolest looking jiu-jitsu gym we've seen in a long time. In this episode: The full list of every competitor for ADCC 2026 shock...

Patreon: https://patreon.com/UnknownPressures | We're back after a short break and there is so much to talk about: the return of Mica Galvao, the recent ADCC Asia & Oceania Trials, and a satisfying update about the criminal activities of a disgraced jiu-jitsu coach in Brazil. In this episode:  - Mica Galvao returns to action - Disturbing new details in the Melqui Galvao case - Jiu-jitsu coach...

Patreon: https://patreon.com/UnknownPressures | Last weekend, Team Polaris had to battle a rival Brazilian squad while dealing with stomach upsets and worse courtesy of Conor McGregor's pub, the Black Forge. It's a miracle only one team member, poor Polish submission hunter Mateusz Szczecinski, withdrew from the event. That didn't stop the mostly-European team from running away with the win after...

Patreon: https://patreon.com/UnknownPressures | Whatever your thoughts about the IBJJF, and people often have strong opinions one way or the other, there’s no arguing that the annual World Championships is the premier event when it comes to the gi. You’ll see the absolute best athletes in action, and there were plenty of incredible performances at the 2026 Worlds.  And while we saw some truly virt...

We asked how long it would be before more people became implicated in the Melqui Galvao case. Well, a bombshell just dropped when it was revealed that his brother Enoque, also a serving police officer, has been arrested on similar charges. One good thing from this case is that Melqui has ben put under a preventative prison order, meaning he will stay in jail while the investigation is underway.  T...

Patreon: https://patreon.com/UnknownPressures | There's no way we could go to Leglock camp without talking to Mateusz Szczecinski and Kamil Wilk. The Polish black belts are right on the cutting edge of leglock meta, and their camps have helped raise the level of leglock technique around the world. Hywel and Matt chat with Mateusz and Kamil to find out about the humble beginnings of Leglock camp wa...

Mica has finally broken his silence regarding the ongoing criminal case against his father Melqui Galvao by detailing the years of physical, psychological and emotional abuse he says he suffered. In episode 33 of Unknown Pressures we continue to cover the ongoing Melqui Galvao case, including updates from people associated with Melqui and his team, namely Amit Elor (Olympic champion and mother of...

Patreon: https://patreon.com/UnknownPressures | As if his alleged crimes and abuse weren’t enough, Melqui Galvao’s attempts to silence his victims and pervert the course of justice have been revealed. Given unauthorized access to a cellphone in jail, he had been contacting victims and employees in an effort to manipulate witness statements, and his son Mica Galvao has been drawn into the situation...

Patreon: https://patreon.com/UnknownPressures | This horrific case has affected many, including the victims, the promising athletes left uncertain of their future, and, of course, Melqui's son, Mica Galvao. As further details of Melqui's case come to light and more victim reports have been filed (taking the total number to 10), we fear that things will only get worse. Expect more cases, more accus...

Patreon: https://patreon.com/UnknownPressures | A bombshell rocked the jiu-jitsu world this week when one of the top coaches in the sport was arrested following serious allegations made by multiple female students. Police in Brazil have Melqui Galvao, father of Mica, in custody while the jiu-jitsu world witnesses another prominent name fall from grace.  In this episode, we summarize the facts know...

Patreon: https://patreon.com/UnknownPressures | Khamzat Chimaev is one of the scariest, awesomest and entertaining grapplers in MMA, and he's just booked a big-time grappling match. But why isn't he in UFC BJJ? Boggles our minds. We also discuss the recent ADCC North American Trials and highlight how the inconsistently applied rules led to a serious injury for one competitor. Also in episode 29 of...

Patreon: https://patreon.com/UnknownPressures | Another day, another failed doping test for PEDs. Roosevelt Sousa popped for meldonium, and he's not the first guy from his team to have been sanctioned for doping. Also in this episode, we discuss Rigan Machado's slightly dubious promotion to red belt, the steroid problem in jiu-jitsu and more. Patreon supporters get an extra 30 minutes where Matt a...

Mikey vs who...? UFC BJJ had people thinking it was maybe an April Fool's joke but nope, the main event for UFC BJJ 8 features an unknown challenger for Mikey to beat down, raising many questions about why such a match would take place. In this episode we discuss a lot, including: Caio Terra's lack of injury management throughout his career Joao Miyao's superb Scottish twister Polaris's expansion...

Patreon: https://patreon.com/UnknownPressures | In this week's episode, we discuss the crazy news that Nicholas Meregali si going head to head with Mica Galvao... but not as we expected. It turns out that Mica has fired off a series of lawsuits against Meregali – why? Listen and find out. Also in this episode: - Mikey Musumeci has another crashout, this time on potential opponent Joao Miyao - Dill...

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...