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
UFC star Diego Lopes signs up for 2026 IBJJF Masters Worlds
Arman Tsarukyan isn’t the only UFC star taking grappling side quests. Former UFC featherweight title contender Diego Lopes is also staying active with a BJJ side venture, but he’s taking a completely different approach.
Instead of competing in a no gi super-fight in professional grappling organizations
like Tsarukyan and other MMA fighters have been doing, Lopes is taking a much harder — and unpaid — route. The UFC star will be competing in the gi, and against high level black belts and former champions.
Lopes, 31, will be competing at the 2026 IBJJF World Master Championships. He has signed up for the Black Belt Master 1 division (for athletes over 30 years old) at 168 lbs, with his deep bracket having 37 competitors as of this writing.
For context, UFC Hall of Famer Demetrious Johnson won titles at brown belt, but struggled at previous iterations of the Masters Worlds as a black belt. Competing at an older Master 2 division, “Mighty Mouse” was submitted in the quarterfinals in 2024, and injured in the opening round in 2025.
Diego Lopes is coming off a KO win over Steve Garcia at the UFC White House event last June.
Drills
UFC pioneer Murilo Bustamante gets promoted to rare red and white coral belt
MMA legend Murilo Bustamante has been promoted to a red and white coral belt, a rare distinction in jiu-jitsu reserved to pioneers with decades of experience as a black belt.
Bustamante has competed against many of the best fighters in his era, where he won and defended the UFC middleweight title in 2002, before dropping the title and deciding to move to PRIDE. The former BJJ world champion retired from MMA with a 15-8-1 record.
Bustamante, now 60, has been leading and coaching the Brazilian Top Team for decades. He was previously a 7th degree BJJ black belt and was wearing a red and black coral belt, before getting this red and white coral belt for his 8th degree.
Photo by Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images
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Photo by Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images
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Hollywood star Tom Hardy teaches BJJ class
He may have a busy schedule and millions in the bank, but Hollywood star Tom Hardy still found the time to help out and teach BJJ classes. The 48-year-old actor secretly competed in jiu-jitsu multiple times in the past, and was eventually promoted to brown belt early in 2026.
Hardy seems to be taking a completely different approach to his jiu-jitsu journey than fellow actor Jonah Hill, who made cringeworthy threats about his BJJ skills.
Watch Bane teach options from s-mount:
Rolls
UFC BJJ 10 fight card set with two championship bouts, flyweight title tournament
The UFC BJJ 10 fight card has been finalized, and there are a few changes to the previously announced match ups. The lightweight title bout between Renato Canuto and Ethan Crelinsten has since been moved to UFC BJJ 12 in October, and two-time jiu-jitsu world champ Jalen Fonacier has been added.
As reported earlier, the card will also have the flyweight title tournament that includes ADCC double champ Adele Fornarino and UFC BJJ bantamweight champ Cassia Moura, who will look to win a title in her second division.
UFC BJJ 10 fight card
UFC BJJ 10, August 20, 2026
- Andrew Tackett vs. Jonnatas Gracie [WW title]
- Rebeca Lima vs. Brianna Ste-Marie [FW title]
- Cassia Moura vs. Bre Stikk [Tournament semis]
- Adele Fornarino vs. Carol Brunacio [Tournament semis]
- William Tackett vs. Fedor Nikolov
- Jalen Fonacier vs. Mourece Ramirez
- Vagner Rocha vs. Andy Varela
- Ana Lima vs. Danielle Kelly
Cooldown
2026 IBJJF Crown set for November
The biggest professional gi tournament is set to return, with the 2026 IBJJF Crown happening on November 8, 2026 at the Long Beach Pyramid in California. As announced by the promotion, there will again be six tournaments with eight-person brackets.
Last year, Sarah Galvao, Cole Abate and Gabi Pessanha were among the six winners, who each took home the gold Crown and a $20,000 prize.
Review
To close things out, here are other interesting BJJ stories you might have missed:
- Craig Jones released an exposé on Melqui Galvao, the most powerful BJJ coach in Brazil that is allegedly threatening his victims from jail.
- New blue belt energy – Actor Jonah Hill promises to “annihilate” anyone that calls him “The Fat Guy From Superbad” now that he’s “good” at jiujitsu.
- Arman Tsarukyan destroyed an Indian fitness influencer in his latest BJJ side quest.
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