There are some jiu-jitsu schools that allegedly won’t allow Swanson to train with them because he is fighting a member of the Gracie Family.
“I’ve been able to get a lot of jiu-jitsu in because he’s a Gracie, and he has the name. It’s been an interesting one,” Swanson said on UFC Unfiltered (via Farah Hannoun of MMA Junkie). “I’ve been kicked out of a couple of jiu-jitsu schools because of the respect. They don’t want to train somebody that isn’t a Gracie, which really pisses me off.”
The fighter has declined to name any specific school that have denied him the opportunity to train at.
Swanson admits that the politics in the jiu-jitsu world are what lead him to transition to professional MMA.
“This is what I mean by it takes me back, because when I got into jiu-jitsu as a sport, it helped save my life,” Swanson said. “I was going down the wrong path. People know the story, I was getting into trouble, and I found jiu-jitsu. I fell in love, and I just competed all the time, and it became a passion. I was really interested in the Gracie family and what they did. And huge honor and respect to them and then after competing and doing all that, I learned the politics of the sport and how ridiculous it could be, and it kind of left a little sour taste in my mouth, and that’s why I started doing more MMA.”
UFC Fight Night Tampa takes place on Saturday, October 12 from the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida with Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Michelle Waterson headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which streams live on ESPN+.
