Pat Downey discusses his upcoming appearance at the IBJJF no gi world championship at blue belt, and his plans to rise up the BJJ ranks.

Pat Downey is an NCAA Division I All-American and a US Open National champion in wrestling before he transitioned to other combat sports. Pat is a Bellator MMA veteran and he has recently started to invest more time into his professional Jiu-Jitsu career, including an appearance at the inaugural Craig Jones Invitational. Pat is also currently preparing to compete at the IBJJF no gi world championship as a BJJ blue belt.

Jits Magazine spoke to Pat about his time in both wrestling and MMA, and whether he would ever return to either sport. We also broke down his appearance at the Craig Jones Invitational and how it felt to compete on such a big stage, along with his upcoming appearance at the IBJJF no gi world championship at blue belt. We spoke about his debut match against Gordon Ryan, his desire to face Nicky Rodriguez, and even his plans for the future with Polaris and other promotions.

Subscribe to the channel for more interviews with elite BJJ competitors and coaches.

For the latest news in the sport, find us at:

Home

Or click here to learn from the best grapplers in the world:
https://bjjfanatics.com/?rfsn=8011898.d84b92

0:00 Introduction
0:24 IBJJF no gi world championship at blue belt
4:38 Debut against Gordon Ryan
7:04 Future matches at other promotions
10:38 Other wrestlers at no gi worlds
11:56 Returning to wrestling?
13:22 Returning to MMA?
15:45 The Craig Jones Invitational experience
19:19 Nicky Rodriguez
22:23 Other matches Pat wants
24:19 ADCC 2026
25:29 Coaching wrestling at Fight Sports
26:07 Thanks & signing off

We spoke to Andy Murasaki about winning the IBJJF No Gi World Championship in 2022 and he revealed that he wasn’t actually preparing for the tournament and only decided to enter it just a few weeks before.

For the latest news in the sport, find us at:

Home

Or click here to learn from the best grapplers in the world:
https://bjjfanatics.com/?rfsn=8011898.d84b92

Andy Murasaki is an IBJJF no gi world champion and three-time IBJJF world silver medalist, but he most recently won the 2024 edition of The Crown.

Jits Magazine spoke to Andy about the earliest days of his Jiu-Jitsu career, every single IBJJF world championship final, his performance at The Crown, the rematch with Tainan Dalpra, and a potential return to no gi competition.

Subscribe to the channel for more interviews with elite BJJ competitors and coaches.

For the latest news in the sport, find us at:

Home

Or click here to learn from the best grapplers in the world:
https://bjjfanatics.com/?rfsn=8011898.d84b92

0:00 Introduction
0:17 Discovering Jiu-Jitsu
6:54 Meeting Caio Terra & coming to the US
10:42 Moving to ATOS
11:37 Andy’s father
13:19 IBJJF no gi world championship 2022
16:05 Returning to no gi in 2024
21:26 Fighting through a broken rib (Tainan Dalpra)
29:19 Competing against teammates (Gustavo Batista)
32:09 Controversial decisions & visualisation (Mica Galvao)
36:19 The Crown 2024 recap
38:34 Tainan Dalpra withdrawing due to injury
43:30 Thanks & signing off