February 17, 2024. It’s a cold morning, temperatures just above freezing in Zagreb, Croatia. Hundreds of athletes pace the floors or sit alongside the mats, warming up and patiently waiting for their turn to fight. Only eight will punch their tickets to the desert heat and fanfare of Las Vegas, Nevada for ADCC 2024, in exactly six months to the day.

Our bags were once again raided, this time for my mustache scissors which were, it seems, a millimeter too long to fly with.

With the conclusion of the 2024 IBJJF European Championships, Trey and I left Paris for Ireland, destined for East Coast Jiu-Jitsu Academy — ECJJA — in Dublin.

Brianna Ste-Marie has in a short amount of time become a star in submission grappling, with just a few years at black already yielding significant success at the biggest tournaments in the world. BSM is a medalist at the ADCC and IBJJF No-Gi World Championships, often winning by submission, and this Sunday she takes on Elisabeth Clay for the 145lb championship. While Ste-Marie usually competes lower, she has bumped up before with significant success.

Eight matches. Eight victories. Eight submissions. Roger Gracie’s 2005 ADCC tournament run is considered the greatest feat ever achieved in submission grappling. Roger did not only dominate great grapplers, he was able to submit three multiple-time ADCC champions in Xande Ribeiro, Fabricio Werdum, and the great Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Sousa.

Nicholas Meregali returned to the gi competition scene in style, winning double gold at the 2023 Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championships in dominating fashion. Meregali had stepped away from the gi to focus on no-gi, joining Professor John Danaher, Gordon Ryan, and the rest of the burgeoning New Wave team in Austin, TX and in short order won a bronze and silver medal at the 2022 ADCC World Championships. The urge to express his dominance in the gi returned though, and now Meregali has the benefit of being coached by Danaher, whom many consider among the great grappling minds on Earth.

Training for just over three years at Unity Jiu-Jitsu under the inimitable Murilo Santana, Laura Kolm already has a laundry list of accomplishments on her resume. A blue belt world champion, a European champion, and Pans champion, Kolm has build a game around the use of sleeve control through variations of lasso, spider guard, and collar-sleeve that makes her a nightmare for her opposition.

Watch Jaime Canuto roll with Jaime Canuto before his WNO match on February 25th!

Watch Gordon Ryan train at New Wave Jiu-Jitsu in Austin, Texas!

The first feature documentary of 2023 for FloGrappling dropped on January 31st, "Becoming Dangerous: The Rise of Giancarlo Bodoni."

Watch Cole Abate's entire run at the 2023 IBJJF European Championship!

Ellis Karadag of the Vault BJJ is the latest of a series of athletes to fly over his opponent's guard directly into a triangle.

Gordon Ryan picks apart the technique during the 88kg final at the ADCC World Championships, Giancarlo Bodoni vs Lucas Barbosa.

New Wave Jiu-Jitsu head coach John Danaher describes how to prepare for a no time limit match!

Hear what John Danaher thinks about the third match between Gordon Ryan and Felipe Pena before they meet for a fourth time!