Get up to date on all the biggest news from the grappling scene.

Welcome to the BJJ Beat! On this recurring feature, we’ll tackle the biggest news from the professional grappling scene, and roll everything up in an easily digestible and familiar jiu-jitsu format.

Warm Ups

Mikey Musumeci hospitalized due to stomach issues

Fresh off his UFC Fight Pass Invitational 9 (UFC FPI 9) debut win, Mikey Musumeci revealed that he has been dealing with health issues from even before the match.

“Just found out I did my last match with 3 stomach ulcers,” Musumeci wrote on his Instagram stories with a photo from the hospital. “After I couldn’t stand straight from the pain.

“Too much stress,” he said about the cause. “Fixing them now. Will be 100% for next match. Thank you everyone that supports me.”

The first ever UFC grappler has been busy trading barbs with Gordon Ryan as of late, making it a bit ironic that Musumeci was also hospitalized due to stomach issues. It seems much less serious though, and might not really impact Musumeci’s career like it has with Ryan’s long list of health problems.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Drills

Six UFC Fight Pass Invitational events planned for 2025, UFC FPI 10 set

Speaking of Mikey Musumeci and the UFC’s plans to “take over” the BJJ scene, the promotion recently announced that they plan to host six UFC Fight Pass Invitational events in 2025. These UFC FPI events are targeted to happen in March, June, July, September, October and December this year.

While no specific dates were revealed for the others, their next event, UFC Fight Pass Invitational 10 is already set to happen on March 6. No headliners or matches have been revealed just yet, but Musumeci previously stated that he expects to be part of that.

UFC also previously announced that Musumeci’s debut on UFC FPI 9 was viewed in 136 countries, and was the most watched grappling event in Fight Pass history.

Tony Jeffries at the Beijing Olympics Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images

Move of the Day

Olympic bronze medalist boxer Tony Jeffries wins BJJ debut

Tony Jeffries, a 2008 Olympic bronze medalist boxer, is currently hooked on jiu-jitsu.

Jeffries retired from competition back in 2012 due to hand injuries, before becoming a renowned boxing coach and YouTuber. He enrolled his kids into jiu-jitsu, before eventually trying it himself and getting addicted to the sport.

The Olympic boxer scratched his competition itch in a vastly different sport, and recently won his first ever BJJ tournament as a 39-year-old white belt. Watch the matches below, where Jeffries got emotional in his return to competition.

Rolls

WNO champ vs. Polaris champ headlines WNO 26

WNO 26 is set for February 7, and the main event will be a WNO champion vs. a Polaris champion. As recently announced, two-division WNO champ Diego “Pato” Oliveira will defend his lightweight title against Polaris featherweight champ Keith Krikorian.

Diego Pato is a five time BJJ world champion across gi and no gi, and took silver at ADCC 2024. He is coming off a dominant tournament win at the 2024 IBJJF Crown. Keith Krikorian, a former ADCC Trials winner, moved up a division and is fresh off an impressive win at Polaris 30.

Also announced for the WNO 26 card is PGF champion Ryan Aitken taking on Luccas Lira, and Daniel Sathler vs. Michael Sainz.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Cooldown

Craig Jones details the numerous times he came close to dying in 2024

Whether it’s death threats for going against ADCC, getting drugged in Colombia, or entering a war zone in Ukraine, Craig Jones had a pretty insane 2024. Watch the BJJ star and CJI promoter detail various dangerous situations that he got into this past year:

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Review

To close things out, here are other interesting BJJ stories you might have missed:

“Win at all costs!” – Gordon Ryan claims he’s willing to lose 20 years of his life from taking steroids if it means he’ll be the BJJ GOAT.
Kron Gracie questioned why MMA and BJJ are the only sports where people look past steroids, so Gordon Ryan took shots at him and the entire Gracie family.
UFC stars can beat BJJ pros too! Watch Sean Brady submit a 10th Planet Jiu-jitsu star, before making a nice UFC call out too.