Top jiu-jitsu star postpones MMA career, signs new grappling deal – BJJ Beat

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

Top grappler Mica Galvao signs new BJJ deal, won’t move to MMA… yet?

In 2024, Mica Galvao won all four major IBJJF events and took gold at the ADCC world championships to complete an incredibly rare “Super Grand Slam” in jiu-jitsu. At just 21 years old, he has already won every major jiu-jitsu tournament both in gi and no gi, and Galvao has repeatedly discussed a move to MMA to test himself further.

Those MMA plans will have to wait a little bit longer though. Galvao will be sticking to jiu-jitsu for a while, as he has signed a new two-year deal with FloSports and their jiu-jitsu arm, FloGrappling.

“After winning all possible titles in Jiu-Jitsu, my heart beat hard to test my Jiu-Jitsu and my wrestling in MMA. I even decided that I would make my debut at Shooto Brazil, the promotion of master @dede_pederneiras,” Galvao wrote. “Because if I were to migrate to MMA, my debut would have to be in Brazil — it was here that I grew up, and it is the Brazilian public that has always been by my side.

“But after conversations with my parents, I realized I still have a lot to add to jiu-jitsu. My dad believes I’m too young to make this transition now and with the visibility I have today, I can help Jiu-Jitsu grow even further. My mom also said she’s not ready to see me get punched in the face yet — and that weighed heavily on the decision,” Galvao joked.

While the idea of one of the top pound-for-pound grapplers moving to MMA is intriguing, the professional grappling scene is rapidly growing, and Galvao has the potential for a lucrative career as one of the faces of jiu-jitsu. Should he also decide to push through with a move to mixed martial arts after, Galvao would have more than enough time, as he’ll only be 23 when this contract ends.

This FloSports deal will involve Galvao competing in five WNO events, starting with WNO 28. He will also be competing in BJJ Stars 15’s pretty deep -83 kg tournament on April 26, which will also be streamed on FloGrappling.

Specific details weren’t revealed, so it’s unclear just how restrictive Galvao’s FloSports deal is. UFC has been looking to sign up BJJ stars to exclusive contracts, so that’s out of the table, but it’ll be interesting to see if Galvao will be allowed to compete in one-off or annual events like the upcoming Craig Jones Invitational 2 (CJI 2).

Drills

ADCC double champ Adele Fornarino teases future MMA move

Mica Galvao isn’t the only top BJJ star to tease a move to mixed martial arts.

Adele Fornarino was supposed to be the UFC Fight Pass Invitational’s (UFC FPI) first female headliner, until her match was scrapped at the last minute. The ADCC double gold medalist still attended both UFC 312 and UFC FPI 10 though, where she seemingly found a new goal in mind after taking in the experience.

“Getting a look at that UFC belt, that 115 belt, I was like ‘oh that’s shiny I really like that,’” Fornarino told Southern Cross Combat. “I’d like to have a crack at MMA at some point. I just need to tick the boxes in jiu-jitsu first.

“That’s definitely my first priority and where I’m putting all my attention, but maybe I’ll start dabbling and see if I like it like I do jiu-jitsu,” she said. “I do jiu-jitsu because I enjoy it. So if I get the same amount of enjoyment out of competing in MMA, then yes, I would make the transition.”

Fornarino also revealed the goals she wants to accomplish in BJJ first.

“I want to leave a legacy of mine in jiu-jitsu, so part of that is winning all the titles consistently… One set of ADCC titles is great, it’s cool, but I’d like to do that again,” she said. “A gi world title would make the 12-year-old version of myself very very proud, so a gi world title would be cool.”

Fornarino was the biggest standout at ADCC 2024, winning two gold medals and being the first ever ADCC absolute champion from the lightest division. She is also still just 25 years old.

Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images

Move of the Day

Olympic wrestling champ pulls guard in BJJ tournament

After going 5-0 and winning her first ever BJJ tournament last December, Olympic wrestling champion Helen Maroulis went back to the mats for her second competition at blue belt. Interestingly enough, the 33-year-old decorated wrestler pulled guard in one of her matches, and showed that she’s further evolving as she dives into this new sport.

“Second BJJ competition in the books. Pulled guard for the first time ever, so can’t tell me I’m just a wrestler anymore,” Maroulis wrote.

Watch Maroulis continue her BJJ journey and win her second gold medal.

Rolls

Part timer Deandre Corbe upsets Diego Pato, wins stacked $100,000 tournament

The Sapateiro Invitational hosted an incredibly stacked lightweight grand prix in Florida this past weekend. With a $100,000 prize money involved, several of the world’s best at 155 lbs. joined, such as Diego Pato, Ethan Crelinsten, Josh Cisneros, Gianni Grippo, Julian Espinosa and Max Hanson.

Interestingly enough, it was Deandre Corbe, who balances his full-time day job with training, that beat top BJJ pros and took home the cash prize. The ADCC trials winner won four matches, where he scored a massive upset over top pound-for-pound star Diego Pato, and then submitted Josh Cisneros in the final.

Cooldown

WNO 27 fight card to feature several BJJ stars

While Nick Rodriguez’s UFC FPI 10 loss may have taken some of its shine, WNO 27 will still have a pretty intriguing main event match putting the CJI champion against the reigning ADCC double champ Kaynan Duarte.

The main card for April 18 is also pretty stacked, with the promotion announcing other excellent match ups.

Fresh off his UFC FPI 10 win over Nicky Rod, Victor Hugo will rematch Luke Griffith, who scored a huge upset over him at the inaugural CJI event. Elisabeth Clay will also defend her WNO featherweight title against teenage BJJ phenom Helena Crevar. The rest of the card will feature BJJ legend Xande Ribeiro and young upstarts Andrew Tackett and Owen Jones, on separate matches.

WNO 27 fight card

• Kaynan Duarte vs Nick Rodriguez
• Victor Hugo vs Luke Griffith
• Elisabeth Clay vs Helena Crevar [WNO FW title]
• Andrew Tackett vs Fabyury Khrysthyan
• Owen Jones vs Julian Espinosa
• Xande Ribeiro vs Richie Martinez

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Review

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