Unknown Pressures – 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 Hacks, jiu-jitsu / grappling commentator and analyst and formerly of FloGrappling.
Episodes
Patreon: https://patreon.com/UnknownPressures | What’s wrong with UFC BJJ? A LOT. At the risk of going full “they’re turning the frogs gay” tinfoil-hat-wearing cuckoo, there are too many signs to ignore that something – something – is not right. From dodgy decisions to a Brazilian mafia and an inability to keep their champions, something is going on and can’t be ignored.
Of course we&...
Patreon: https://patreon.com/UnknownPressures |
If we asked you to write a list of companies looking to sponsor grapplers, there is little chance you would have thought of who just signed a major deal with jiu-jitsu / MMA crossover stars the Ruotolo brothers.
The happy-go-lucky surf-skate-fight loving twins just landed a sponsorship from a major, major MAJOR corporate company: we're talking a blue-chip, globally-known, decades-old ...
Patreon: https://patreon.com/UnknownPressures | We are not squeamish here at Unknown Pressures, we’ve had our fair share of serious injuries (and even dealt a few out, but that’s another story). The recent arm break at UFC BJJ left us saddened, not just for the injury itself, but for what happened after.
A 16-year-old making his UFC BJJ debut had his arm snapped in a nasty kimura, and the resulting clip of his inj...
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/UnknownPressures | Usually things would quieten down after a major event like ADCC – a few weeks of rest and reflection before things gear up again for the next wave of events. That hasn't been the case this time around, with breaking news stories about PEDs, felony arrests and controversies. It's not all bad though – we also found out that one of the biggest names in the game will ret...
Patreon: https://patreon.com/UnknownPressures | Hello dear listeners, and welcome to our monster ADCC recap episode. Hywel was in Poland, Matt was watching from home, and in this week’s show we break down the biggest moments, the standout grapplers and yes, talk about the altercation that saw a division favourite ejected from the tournament.
In short, this year’s ADCC more than lived up to the hype. If there were ...
Patreon: https://patreon.com/UnknownPressures | We are days away from the 2026 ADCC World Championships, so Matt and Hywel predict who they think are the grapplers with the strongest chance of winning each division. We broke down every single division, highlighting the favourites, the front runners and the dark horses. Exciting!
Also in this episode:
- Failed doping test: Tayane Porfirio makes history for the wrong reason...
Patreon: https://patreon.com/UnknownPressures | In this episode of Unknown Pressures we discuss the tragic and horrifying case of a black belt who was paralysed as the result of an illegal move in a tournament, the war of words between Andrew Tackett and Mateusz Szczecinski, and the recent changes to the ADCC 2026 line-up that could signal the true start of the war of grappling promotions.
Scroll to the ...
Patreon: https://patreon.com/UnknownPressures | Nicholas Meregali is one of the greatest grapplers in the world, but his social media game leaves a lot to be desired.
When he's not posting selfies, he's talking trash to his opponents and taunting them ahead of their matches. Case in point: his upcoming bout with Felipe Pena. Meregali pulled off a strange stunt that left many people shocked and confused b...
Patreon: https://patreon.com/UnknownPressures | For all their best efforts, UFC BJJ hasn't exactly exploded onto the scene and taken over the grappling world quite as quickly or as effectively as they maybe hoped. And two recent news items illustrate that perfectly.
First Andrew Tackett is struggling with a problem that highlights what is maybe UFC's issue. The divisions aren't that deep and people are s...
Patreon: https://patreon.com/UnknownPressures | Jiu-jitsu drama never ends, right? Just when things go quiet, somebody says or does something and it all kicks off again.
The big news of late was that Adele Fornarino finally revealed her reasons for withdrawing from ADCC. The Australian, who did double gold at ADCC in 2024 winning both her weight division and the absolute, gave us the real reasons behind her decision not to compete....
Patreon: https://patreon.com/UnknownPressures | Matt's back from training in Finland so we have a bumper episode for you. The biggest news is that we got a good look into the inner workings of UFC BJJ and now have a lot more insight about which athletes they're trying to sign, how many are on exclusive agreements and – perhaps most importantly – how they plan to go global before the end of 2026.
Patreon: https://patreon.com/UnknownPressures | The Polish leg locker extraordinaire Mateusz Szczecinski showed why he's one of the most dangerous submission specialists in the game at the Polaris Welterweight Grand Prix, submitting two out of three opponents and taking the $30k cash prize.
As Matt was super stressed and Hywel was too busy enjoying the show, we didn't do an episode in person but there wa...
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 episode, but hey, this is jiu-jitsu af...
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 AD...
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 and serial abuser sentenced to...
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 a series of performances that becam...
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 ...
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.
The details around Melqui's cas...
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 way back in 2019 in Poland. From thei...
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 Mica's child), and 2-time ADCC cham...
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