JitsCast #6 features Pat Downey, one of the most popular wrestlers to make the transition to professional Jiu-Jitsu in recent years. Downey was an NCAA Division I All-American and US Open National champion before he ever decided to take up Jiu-Jitsu, and those elite wrestling skills have served him well throughout his combat sports career so far. Downey also had a two-fight stint as a Bellator MMA fighter so when we spoke to him about his background in wrestling and whether he would ever return to the sport, we also wanted to know whether or not a return to MMA was on the cards too.
Although we spoke about Downey’s experiences in both wrestling and MMA, the biggest point of interest for us was always going to be his professional Jiu-Jitsu career. Downey shared some background information on his very first BJJ match with Gordon Ryan, along with explaining why he didn’t decide to pursue a career in the sport immediately after that. He also shared some insight into his appearance at the inaugural Craig Jones Invitational, where he competed in the over 80kg division. Downey made it to the quarter-finals of an incredibly tough bracket and he was happy to break down both of the matches that he had at the event.
It was important to talk about his matches with Luke Rockhold and Adam Bradley, but it was also interesting to discuss the one match in particular that he didn’t get to have. His former opponent in wrestling, Nicky Rodriguez, was the man who won the entire tournament and if Downey had won his second match then he would have faced him in the semi-final. Not only was he clear that he was eager to get that match with Rodriguez under a Jiu-Jitsu ruleset, but Downey also listed off a number of other elite competitors that he’s interested in facing next year.
JitsCast #6 with Pat Downey is now available to watch on the official JitsMagazine YouTube channel, click here to subscribe for more or check out the interview below:
