3-time IBJJF Pan champ Gianni Grippo is one of the best-known featherweights in the game. The berimbolo aficionado just turned 29 on March 20, and he will join in the stacked EUG 8-man black belt tournament on April 3 for a stacked 8-man winner-takes-all $10k tournament. Checking in on Grippo we found him busy as ever and he shows no signs of slowing down. 

Where do we find you this weekend?

You’ve caught me on a unique Sunday actually. It was my birthday and I went to go visit my parents before making training trip to Miami.

What’s for breakfast?

Birthday breakfast was some awesome avocado toast with smoked salmon, poached egg and tomatoes made with love by my mom.

How many training sessions did you average this week?

I did 12 sparring sessions last week in total as well as three strength training sessions.

Sundays: Competition, day of rest, active recovery or regular training?

This Sunday was a full day of rest, felt like my body really needed it. But some other Sundays I’ll do an active rest workout on the airdyne machine for about 30 minutes or so. I usually never like to do any jiujitsu on Sundays unless I’m competing.

Any special meals today?

I’ve been working on having a more consistently clean, mostly plant-based diet so right now I have no craving for any particular Sunday meal. But my most recent weekend go-to cheat meal was a chicken parmigiana over penne vodka.

Instagram, Snapchat or Tik Tok?

I’m an Instagram person, mainly because I don’t have a Snapchat or TikTok.

Your advice for staying on top of laundry.

Find a place that has a washer and dryer like mine. It’s a complete game changer! After every session I wash my gi so it’s pretty much clean and dried if I’d choose to use the same one later that night.

Watching match videos or studying technique?

I do enjoy watching matches and technique but more as a leisurely thing. If there’s something I like, I’ll take a mental note and think to work on it but I’m never diving too deep into the technique videos.

What's top on your Netflix watchlist right now?

I haven’t been on Netflix in a while actually. But the last thing I binge watched on there was Ozark. Right now I’m into the Disney+ channel and would recommend WandaVision if you are a Marvel fan like I am.

Do you prep your gear for Monday morning?

Every night, not just for Monday, I prep my gear for training the next day. Clothes, gis, rashguards and all—I like to have everything ready to go once I wake up in the morning.