There’s been a change in the lineup for Who’s Number One 31 very late in the game, as Faris Ben-Lamkadem has stepped in to replace an injured Jordan Preisinger in his main card match against BJJ legend Xande Ribeiro. It was one of the most hotly-anticipated matches of the event, as many fans were interested to see how Preisinger would fare against one of the best to ever do it. Preisinger was an active competitor at one point but has since become more well-known for his popular YouTube channel, Jordan Teaches Jiujitsu. This was intended to be a big opportunity for him to demonstrate exactly where his technical ability lies among top competitors.
Unfortunately Preisinger has revealed that he took an accidental elbow to the face during a training session, damaging his teeth and fracturing the bone. This has left him in temporary braces and unable to train at all for 6 weeks, never mind compete at the highest level of the sport. He’s even revealed that his doctor has advised that he may end up losing his front tooth as a result of the injury, and training will only increase that risk. Although Preisinger has said that he’s going to continue working on his cardio so that he can compete relatively soon after healing, it’s still forced him out of WNO 31.
Ben-Lamkadem is the man who’s been tapped to replace him, and he’s taken the match with Ribeiro on just two weeks’ notice. Like many elite grapplers, Ben-Lamkadem stays active both in training and even in competition too. He actually stepped on the mats earlier this month at the IBJJF No Gi European Championship 2025, where he won gold in a tough heavyweight division. His biggest successes have come in no gi and has only just turned 30, giving him the advantage in both age and activity over Ribeiro. Obviously Ribeiro has won pretty much all there is to win in the sport though, so it’ll be interesting to see if he can turn back the clock in this match.
The full Who’s Number One (WNO) 31 live event, including Faris Ben-Lamkadem vs Xande Ribeiro for the lightweight title, will be available to watch on December 5th, 2025 on FloGrappling, click here to subscribe and watch.
