During FloGrappling’s WNO 32 live broadcast, Ben Kovacs sat down with broadcaster Kendall Reusing for an interview that touched on controversy in jiu-jitsu, the reality of grappling promotions, Craig Jones, and what fans can expect from CJI 2.5.
The conversation opened with Kendall Reusing pressing Ben Kovacs on the current state of the sport.
“There is so much going on in jits right now,” Reusing said. “A lot of controversy, a lot of dark stuff. What do you think is necessary in jits right now? What do you think about what’s going on?”
Ben Kovacs did not avoid the question and was clear about where FloGrappling stands.
“I think you’re right. There is a lot of dark things out there right now that dominate the internet and the narrative out there,” Kovacs said. “I think what we are at Flo is really an organization that is not necessarily a gossip type organization and trying to be so opinionated, but instead we’re really trying to report on what’s going on in jiu-jitsu, who’s winning, who’s beating who, what’s coming up, what events are out there. And I think that’s what we’ll stick with mostly at Flo.”
Rather than focusing on the negative, Ben Kovacs said Flo’s role is to highlight what is working in the sport.
“I think what we can really do from our side is to try to help that problem and highlight what’s going on that’s good. There’s 95% of the people out there doing jiu-jitsu are awesome. Teachers are great. And we’re going to keep platforming those people. Keep getting them on our shows. And just like we’re doing tonight, all the kids that are on the card and new people, giving them an opportunity to find the big stage for the first time.”
The quiet part out loud is that Flo is part broadcaster, part promoter, and part media company. The conflict of interest between these roles takes center stage whenever bad behavior and culture overshadow the actual sport.
