Meregali is back! Craig vs Dillon Danis? ADCC Euro Trials were wild

Love them or hate them, you're always going to tune in to see the "heel". From Gordon to Dillon Danis, bad guys bring the heat. Even UFC BJJ knows the value of a bad boy gatekeeper, as we discuss in the latest episode of Unknown Pressures.

It's a bumper episode for you today. There were two big no-gi events to recap, namely the wild 2nd ADCC European Trials in Serbia, and the return of Nicholas Meregali at the most recent UFC BJJ.

We also discuss the announcements that Gordon is retiring, Craig Jones may face or may not face Dillon Danis in a grappling match at CJI 3, and that Netflix is getting into the MMA business by booking a weird yet wonderful fight between Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano (it's not really about jiu-jitsu but it's too crazy to ignore).

We also look ahead to Polaris 36 (Match 7th), and Matt shares some of the inner workings of what it's like to be Creative Director of Scramble – be warned, he nerds out about Japanese fightwear brands but does reveal his biggest sources for inspiration.

Episode 20 of @UnknownPressures is out now on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and everywhere else.

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Unknown Pressures is 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, jiu-jitsu / grappling commentator and analyst.

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Timestamps

0:00 Matt went on holiday without telling anybody

2:21 Gordon Ryan is retiring

12:50 Craig Jones vs Dillon Danis is legit?

19:03 Ronda Rousey vs Gina Carano

23:56 What can jiu-jitsu promotions learn from the Netflix model?

26:00 A look ahead to Polaris 36

32:09 Matt still doesn't love UFC BJJ

34:38 UFC BJJ's biggest draw was Meregali

37:25 Why Mikey Musumeci vs Arman Tsarukyan would be sick

43:46 Why bad guys can lose and still get called back to pro BJJ events

45:53 ADCC Trials: a real moment for the European no-gi scene

54:24 Standout non-winners from Trials

1:03:25 The ethics of charging media for coverage