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Fran Papasidero’s journey in jiu-jitsu is a story of persistence, calculated risks, and learning how to train with purpose. On this episode of Weslee Weighs In, Fran joins us to talk about his path from being a teenager in Mar del Plata, Argentina, to pursuing a career in jiu-jitsu in the United States. Fran opens up about his early days as a teenage white belt, getting overwhelmed by bigger and stronger training partners, and learning that hard work alone isn’t always enough to improve. From the coaching of Pablo Lavaselli to the training culture at AOJ and the opponent-specific preparation he now gets at Brea, Fran breaks down how the right environment and a more intentional approach to training has helped shape his game. We also get into the details of preparing for competition: studying match footage, identifying patterns, developing new skills, and knowing when to stick to your A-game instead of making major changes before a tournament. Fran shares how he handles self-doubt, why confidence comes from knowing you’ve done the work, and what it was like to compete at Crown on just six days’ notice and walk away with third place. Whether you’re a competitor, coach, or jiu-jitsu fan, this episode is packed with insight into the mindset, preparation, and decisions that help athletes reach the next level. In this episode: Fran’s journey from Mar del Plata, Argentina, to the U.S.Overcoming the challenges of being a smaller, less experienced white beltWhy training harder doesn’t always mean training betterWhat effective coaching and purposeful training look likeHow to study opponents and turn match footage into a game planBuilding confidence through preparation and managing competition nervesCompeting at the Crown on six days’ notice and earning third place Tune in for an honest conversation about the work behind high-level jiu-jitsu and what it takes to keep improving when the competition gets tougher. Follow Fran on socials: @fraanbjj

As the first athlete signed to UFC BJJ through the UFC BJJ Opens, Daniel Deeder is making waves in the sport, , and his viral kimura finish has everyone talking. This week, we down with Daniel Deeder, black belt competitor and Kingsway athlete, to break down his journey to UFC BJJ, the opportunity that changed his career, and the viral submission that put him in the spotlight. Daniel takes us behind the scenes of the UFC BJJ Opens, explaining how he went from competing in the events to earning a contract and stepping onto one of the biggest stages in the sport. We talk about how UFC BJJ is changing the competitive landscape, what it takes to stand out, and what the experience has been like for an athlete helping pave the way for future signings. We also get into his viral kimura finish on Kolby Gonzales, the technique and mindset behind taking risks in competition, and the reactions that followed including the backlash and death threats he received. Beyond UFC BJJ, Daniel shares his journey from childhood jiu-jitsu champion in California to black belt, what his time training at B-Team was like, and what he’s learned training under John Danaher at Kingsway. In this episode, we discuss: Daniel’s journey from the UFC BJJ Opens to signing with UFC BJJWhat it means to be the first athlete from the Opens signed to a UFC BJJ main cardHow UFC BJJ is changing opportunities for jiu-jitsu athletesBreaking down his viral kimura finish and the reaction it sparkedThe backlash and death threats that followed his match against Colby GonzalezHow Daniel approaches risk-taking, leg locks, and creative submissionsTraining under John Danaher at Kingsway and what makes the system uniqueWhy brown belt is the real proving ground for developing competitorsHow to turn losses, criticism, and being underestimated into motivation UFC BJJ is creating new opportunities for athletes to turn their competition careers into something bigger, and Daniel Deeder is right in the middle of that evolution. Whether you’re curious about the future of professional jiu-jitsu, the story behind his viral kimura, or what it takes to get noticed on the biggest stage, this is an episode you won’t want to miss. Follow Daniel Deeder: Instagram: @danieldeederjj 🎙️ Subscribe to Weslee Weighs In for more conversations with the athletes, coaches, and personalities shaping the world of jiu-jitsu and combat sports.

At just 14, Icaro Moreno has already lived the kind of jiu-jitsu journey most athletes spend a lifetime chasing. In this conversation, he breaks down how a kid from Boston became one of AOJ’s most talked-about young stars, why his family moved across the country to fuel his career, and the mindset that helped him turn criticism, pressure, and a brutal ADCC weight cut into fuel. He opens up about the sacrifice behind the spotlight, from leaving his mom in Boston for a year to chasing training opportunities at Atos and then finding his home at AOJ. He also reveals how a conversation with Gui Mendez changed the direction of his life, why he believes the best athletes are built on trust, basics, and the right circle, and how his dad has become his coach, mentor, and marketing director all at once. You'll hear: - Why Icaro believes copying your idols is the fastest way to become forgettable - The training philosophy AOJ uses for competition, from bad positions to no-emotion performance - How he rebuilt after a devastating ADCC loss and changed his weight-cut strategy forever - Why he thinks flashy jiu-jitsu is overrated compared to dominant, repeatable fundamentals - How faith, family, and a Bible study group keep him grounded through the noise He also shares his thoughts on WNO, UFC BJJ, the state of matchmaking, the future of leg locks, and why he believes the next generation needs more triangles, guard retention, wrestling, and control, not just highlight-reel submissions. And if you want to hear what drives a teenager to train like a veteran, speak like a coach, and compete with the confidence of a world champ, this one delivers. Perfect for jiu-jitsu fans, parents of young athletes, and anyone who wants to understand what it actually takes to build greatness before most people are even old enough to drive. Follow Icaro on socials: @icaromorenojj

In this episode, Weslee and Bailey sit down with elite jiu-jitsu athlete and coach Alexa Herse to talk about competition, confidence, resilience, and the mental side of becoming a champion. Alexa shares her journey from starting jiu-jitsu as a kid to competing at the highest levels of the sport, including what changed when she earned her blue belt, the challenges of moving from kids’ divisions into juvenile and adult competition, and how she navigated a difficult stretch of losses before winning the 2026 Adult Purple Belt World Championship. She opens up about the mindset shift that helped her stop focusing on the outcome, trust her preparation, compete with confidence, and give her best regardless of what happened on the mat. The conversation also dives into the changing world of kids’ jiu-jitsu, including how parents can support young competitors without creating unnecessary pressure, the impact of social media on young athletes, and why keeping the sport fun while building strong fundamentals matters so much. Alexa also talks about changing gyms, finding the right training environment at Alliance San Diego, learning from Janaina Lebre, and how intentional drilling and training rounds have helped develop her game. Plus, she explains the meaning behind her “Braveheart” mantra, shares advice for athletes going through a tough season, and talks about her goals for the future of her competitive career. Whether you’re a competitor, coach, or jiu-jitsu parent, this is a conversation about what happens after the losses and how resilience, perspective, and the right environment can change everything. Follow Alexa on socials @alexahersejj Tatami Fightwear: Code ALEXA20

In this episode of Weslee Weighs In, we get the medical perspective on some of jiu-jitsu’s biggest injury risks, including heel hooks, reaping, guard jumping, weight cuts, and more. Dr. Kreiswirth has been on the mats providing medical coverage for jiu-jitsu tournaments since the sport looked very different than it does today. From the early days of tournament medicine to massive multi-day events like Worlds, he’s seen firsthand how the sport, and the way we respond to injuries, has evolved. Dr. K explains how medical staff evaluate an athlete in seconds, what injuries they see most often, and why some of the most serious-looking injuries aren’t always as catastrophic as they appear on video. We also get into the issues surrounding youth and Masters competition, the effects of stress and caffeine on athletes, parental pressure, and why understanding your own body and recognizing when you’re in danger may be just as important as the rules themselves. Plus, Dr. K shares stories from decades of working tournaments, including dislocated jaws, unconscious competitors, serious knee injuries, and the incident that led us to sit down with him in the first place. If you’re a jiu-jitsu athlete, coach, parent, or just someone who wants to understand the medical side of the sport, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss. About Dr. K: Dr. K is the founder of Black Belt Sports Medicine and a certified athletic trainer who has provided medical coverage at jiu-jitsu tournaments for decades. He has helped pioneer injury tracking in the sport and has published research on heel hook injuries and tournament medical coverage. If you're interested in providing medical coverage at IBJJF events, contact Dr. K at https://www.blackbeltsportsmedicine.com/ or direct message him on Instagram at @blackbeltsportsmedicine1

Josh Beam has turned martial arts, competition, and curiosity into a career, and in this episode of Weslee Weighs In, we get into the ideas, experiences, and lessons that have shaped his journey. Josh is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu purple belt, Judo practitioner, former Muay Thai striker, and one of the fastest-growing martial arts creators on YouTube. From Brazil to Japan and beyond, he’s trained and competed in a wide variety of martial arts while building a massive audience by testing the questions that grapplers are always arguing about. Josh and Weslee break down the real differences between Judo and BJJ, what competition can teach you about training, how rules can completely change the way a martial art is practiced, and why the right constraints can transform the way you train and think. They also dive into Josh’s approach to creating content, what it’s like putting martial arts experiments in front of millions of people, dealing with negative comments and online criticism, and how he decides whether a video is actually worth making. Whether you’re a BJJ competitor, a Judo player, a martial arts nerd, or just someone who loves seeing people test conventional wisdom, this is an episode you won’t want to miss. Follow Josh Beam: 📸 Instagram: @joshbeambjj ▶️ YouTube: Josh Beam BJJ 🎵 TikTok: @joshbeambjj 🔗 All links: linktr.ee/joshbeambjj

In this episode, we sit down with Phil Daru, one of the most respected strength and conditioning coaches in combat sports. Phil takes us through his journey from fighter to coach and shares what he’s learned working with elite athletes across MMA, boxing, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. We talk about what actually drives performance at the highest level, from strength and conditioning to recovery, mobility, fatigue management, and building training programs around the individual athlete. Phil also breaks down the biggest mistakes he sees athletes and coaches making, why a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work, and how understanding the demands of your specific sport can completely change the way you train. We also get into weight cutting, nutrition, training for busy athletes, recovery, and the mindset required to keep improving. Whether you’re an athlete, coach, or just a fan of combat sports, there’s a ton of practical insight you can take from this conversation. Follow Phil on socials @darustrong

This week on Weslee Weighs In, we sit down with one of the most recognizable photographers in jiu-jitsu, Dorian Brownlee. Dorian’s story is about a lot more than taking pictures. From watching UFC 1 as a kid and serving in the Army, to getting humbled on his first night of jiu-jitsu, Dorian eventually found himself shooting tournaments with a borrowed camera, and turned that opportunity into a full-time career photographing some of the biggest events in the sport. We talk about how he Heath Pedigo gave him his first opportunity at an IBJJF tournament, what it takes to capture that split-second moment that tells the story of a match, and why he believes the best jiu-jitsu photographers actually need to understand the sport from the inside. But this conversation goes way beyond photography. Dorian gets real about toxic gym culture, over-the-top parents, sportsmanship, women’s programs, youth coaching, and what it actually takes to build a strong jiu-jitsu community. He also shares the story behind his signature giraffe look, the tragedy that pushed him to stop waiting for permission and bet on himself, and the journey that eventually led him to opening a brand-new Pedigo Submission Fighting gym in Columbia, Missouri. In this episode, we talk about: • Dorian’s journey from marketing cars and using a borrowed camera to becoming a full-time combat sports photographer • How he got his start photographing IBJJF tournaments • What separates a great jiu-jitsu photograph from just another picture of a match • Why photographers who compete have a unique perspective on the sport • The communication between athletes and photographers that can make tournament coverage better • The story behind Dorian’s signature giraffe look 🦒 • Toxic gym culture, bad sportsmanship, and the impact they have on the next generation • Over-the-top jiu-jitsu parents and what coaches and gym owners can do about it • Why women’s programs and youth coaching are so important • What it really means to build a “tribe” in jiu-jitsu • The decision that changed Dorian’s life and pushed him to bet on himself • His new Pedigo Submission Fighting gym in Columbia, Missouri Dorian has spent years documenting the people, moments, and chaos that make jiu-jitsu what it is. Now he’s stepping into a completely different role as a gym owner. This one is part jiu-jitsu, part photography, part entrepreneurship, and a whole lot of honest conversation about the culture surrounding the sport. Follow Dorian on socials: @bjjedits Check out his new gym, Pedigo Submission Fighting in Columbia, MO @psfcolumbiamo www.psfcomo.com

Jared Wade is proof that starting late doesn’t mean you can’t chase the top. This week, we sit down with Jared to talk about his unconventional path from a finance career into jiu-jitsu at 21, eventually becoming one of the most talked-about purple belts in the sport and medaling at Pans and Worlds. Jared shares what changed between being “the worst blue belt in the room” and becoming an elite competitor, including the coaches, training rooms, and experiences that shaped his game. He breaks down why positional sparring, private lessons, and competing can be more valuable than endless competition rounds, and why he focuses on studying movement and concepts rather than simply memorizing techniques. The conversation also gets into something Jared believes is just as important as training: staying curious and having fun. After burning himself out, he found that getting playful with his jiu-jitsu has helped his game explode. Jared also opens up about the less-talked-about side of competing at a high level while building a public brand. He discusses social media, sponsorships, private lessons, content creation, and the challenge of balancing growing an audience with the focus required to become a champion. Whether you’re a competitor, hobbyist, coach, content creator, or just someone trying to get better at something you love, Jared’s story is a great reminder that you can chase and achieve your goals at any age.  Follow Jared on Instagram @jaredwadebjj

In this episode of the Weslee Weighs In Podcast, Weslee and Bailey sit down with three-time IBJJF World Champion, black belt, coach, and content creator Heather Morgan for a conversation about competition, coaching, confidence, and the evolution of her jiu-jitsu journey. Heather shares how she found jiu-jitsu after college, why she moved to San Diego to train at a higher level, and how her gymnastics background shaped her athleticism and style on the mat. She also talks about what it really takes to compete at the highest levels and how confidence is built through preparation, hard training, and constantly putting yourself in challenging environments. The conversation dives deep into Heather’s coaching philosophy, including why she believes coaches should help students develop their own game rather than create copies of themselves. She explains how constraint-led and gamified training can help athletes become better problem-solvers, the difference between being an instructor and being a true coach, and why studying live competition is just as important as studying techniques. Heather also opens up about how injuries forced her to rethink her identity as a competitor and ultimately pushed her further into coaching and content creation. She shares what she’s learned about building an audience, communicating jiu-jitsu through short-form content, and connecting with everyone from hobbyists to high-level competitors. Whether you compete, coach, or simply want to become better at jiu-jitsu, this episode is packed with insight from one of the sport’s most accomplished and thoughtful voices. Follow Heather Morgan on social media: YouTube: @heather_morganbjj Instagram: @heather_morganbjj TikTok: @heather_morganbjj

In this powerful and deeply honest conversation, Natalie Boss opens up about the highs and lows of her journey in jiu jitsu and the experiences that have shaped her both as an athlete and as a person. Natalie gets vulnerable about imposter syndrome, burnout, injuries, and what happens when the thing you’ve built your identity around suddenly changes. She shares how being forced to slow down helped her rethink her relationship with training and competition, and how learning to balance ambition with recovery, nutrition, self-care, and simply enjoying jiu jitsu has made her a stronger athlete. We also talk about staying curious, learning how to compete without letting results define you, her women’s retreats, her coaching philosophy, and why learning to take up space can be such an important part of growth. This is a conversation about much more than jiu jitsu. It’s about resilience, identity, ambition, and figuring out how to keep becoming better without losing yourself along the way. Be sure to follow Natalie on social media: @nattiebossrd @bodybyboss

On this episode of Weslee Weighs In, Weslee and Bailey sit down with one of the best grapplers in the world, Elisabeth Clay, for an honest conversation about what it really takes to build a career in professional jiu-jitsu. We dive into one of the most overlooked topics in professional grappling: how athletes actually make money. Elisabeth breaks down the financial reality of competing, why IBJJF events can make more sense than many people realize, the organization’s athlete payouts, and why the “superfights pay better” narrative isn’t always true. If you’ve ever wondered how elite competitors choose where to compete, this conversation offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at the business side of jiu-jitsu. We also discuss: The evolution of leg locks in modern jiu-jitsuUFC BJJ and the future of professional grapplingTraining intelligently without burning outJudging, coaching, and staying competitive at the highest levelBalancing competition with family life Whether you’re an active competitor, a coach, or just a fan of the sport, this episode offers a unique look at both the technical and business sides of elite jiu-jitsu. 🎙️ If you enjoy the show, be sure to follow Weslee Weighs In, leave a rating and review, and share this episode with a friend. New episodes drop every week.

This week, Beatrice “Berimbozo” Jin joins Weslee Weighs In to talk about her journey from starting jiu-jitsu as an adult to becoming one of the top-ranked lightweight black belts in the world. We get into what separates competitors at the highest level, from grip fighting and mat IQ to confidence, nerves, and the ability to make adjustments in the middle of a match. Beatrice also shares her approach to training and self-coaching, her thoughts on guard pulling, rulesets and CLA, and what she’s learned about building a strong women’s program and lasting gym community. We also dive into some of the bigger conversations happening in jiu-jitsu right now: guard pulling, different rulesets, CLA and games-based training, and how training methods change as you become a more experienced athlete. It’s a conversation about high-level jiu-jitsu, competition strategy, training, leadership, and everything Beatrice has learned during a pretty incredible climb through the sport. Follow Weslee Weighs In for more conversations with the athletes, coaches, and personalities shaping jiu jitsu and combat sports.

Rosie Miller (@rosierollz) joins us for one of our favorite conversations yet. We dive into her journey from dance and competitive boxing to becoming one of the most respected competitors, coaches, and educators in jiu-jitsu, and how each chapter shaped the way she approaches learning, teaching, and competing today. We talk about why fundamentals never stop mattering, how concept-based training and the Constraints-Led Approach (CLA) are changing the way people learn jiu-jitsu, and why simply collecting techniques isn’t enough to build a game that actually works. Rosie also shares her thoughts on cross-training, gym culture, the gi vs. no-gi conversation, and how different training environments have influenced her development. One of the biggest takeaways from this episode is Rosie’s perspective on helping athletes become problem-solvers instead of instruction followers. We discuss creativity on the mats, overcoming plateaus, coaching kids and adults differently, and creating an environment where people can develop their own style instead of becoming copies of their coaches. Of course, we also get into a little bit of Rosie’s personal story. We talk about how a difficult season in her life led her to jiu-jitsu, what kept her coming back, and why she’s so passionate about making the sport more approachable for everyone. Whether you’re a competitor chasing gold, a coach trying to develop better athletes, or someone just looking to improve your understanding of jiu-jitsu, this episode is packed with insights you’ll be thinking about long after it’s over. Check out https://rosierollz.com/ for Rose’s instructional or to contact her about coaching or scheduling a seminar. Follow Rose on socials at: Instagram: @rosierollz  TikTok: @rosierollzbjj  YouTube: @rosierollz  Link to the Gold BJJ x Rematch Gi (@rematch_gi) mentioned in this episode: https://goldbjj.com/products/rematch-gi?srsltid=AfmBOoooWle-Q_aEstuvyLWxODh5XY9BwBiUZSNWhFoeoh9wvXLuSobf

In this episode, we sit down with 15-year-old jiu jitsu phenom Connor Stallmer, a rising star already making waves on the biggest grappling stages. Connor shares how he got started in the sport at just five years old, the family support that helped shape his path, and how competition turned jiu jitsu into a lifelong passion. We dig into his journey from youth tournaments to adult divisions, his evolution from gi to no gi, and the mindset that’s helped him stay focused while so many others fell away. We also talk about his breakout Who’s Number One debut, his approach to leg locks, the grind of training at Simple Man, and what it takes to compete at an elite level as a teenager. If you love jiu-jitsu, high-level competition, and hearing from the next generation of grappling talent, this one’s for you.