JitsCast #19 features ADCC medalist and top no gi competitor Josh Cisneros, during his preparation for the highest-paying event of his career. He’s already one of the best grapplers in the world in his weight class and his proven this several times over, but yet another huge opportunity lies in front of him. Cisneros is one of sixteen elite competitors who make up the bracket for the inaugural Sapateiro World Championship at 160lbs. There’s a $100,000 grand prize on the line for whoever emerges victorious in the stacked division but Cisneros is clearly one of the top contenders to become the promotion’s first world champion.
We spoke to Cisneros about the earliest days of his career at first, focusing on his experience as part of a family that were heavily in to wrestling. He spoke about how his father actually started training in Jiu-Jitsu under Royce Gracie and how his younger brother Jacob was his main training partner at one point in time. That also gives Cisneros a more unique approach to Jiu-Jitsu as a wrestler first, but he is a very well-rounded grappler regardless. He shared some insight into what he’s been working on lately in training, and what he has felt he’s improved on in recent years.
Cisneros also shared what he’s learned from the last two editions of ADCC in 2022 and 2024, along with his preparation for ADCC 2026. Although he has one eye on the future in that respect, we spent the majority of our time together talking about the Sapateiro World Championship. Cisneros picked out three competitors that stand out to him as his main opposition in the tournament bracket, including his old rival Diego ‘Pato’ Oliviera. When talking about the future, he picked out some opponents that he would like to face and made a clear case for his involvement in the second edition of the Craig Jones Invitational.
JitsCast #19 with Josh Cisneros is now available to watch on the official JitsMagazine YouTube channel, click here to subscribe for more or check out the interview below:
