Fitness influencer and former convict Wes Watson launched a scathing attack on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners and professional UFC stars.
The drama unfolded when Watson, who has built his brand around his prison experience and ‘Alpha’ persona, made inflammatory remarks. During what was supposed to be a routine session with content creator Jack Doherty, Watson unleashed a tirade against UFC competitors and grappling arts that quickly went viral.
“Your parents were rich enough to buy karate class. I had a g*n at 12,” Watson declared, dismissing martial arts. His attacks escalated when he specifically targeted Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, mockingly imitating practitioners by saying, “Can I BJJ you? I don’t want to blow. I don’t want that. I want to BJJ. I want the [censored] down. You guys are gay.”
Watson has had several brushes with UFC stars in the past including Masvidal, Kevin Holland and Sean Strickland.
On the BJJ side, Dean Lister and Gordon Ryan previously questioned Watson’s credibility entirely.
“Imagine living in this delusion?” Ryan responded. “The people you’re talking about could make sweet love to you and you couldn’t do a thing about it. Also, you wanna see real violent people? People who know and are good at HIGH end violence? Make friends with vets not ‘I see red bro’ cons.”
Dean Lister previously expressed his disdain for Watson’s claims.
“Anyone heard of this guy? Damn would be so easy to beat him in less than a minute unless he had like 4 friends or something,” Lister wrote. “Such an embarrassment that he claims to be from San Diego.”
What makes Watson’s comments stand out are his alleged proclivities. Investigation into his background reveals a stark contrast between his online persona and reality. In 2009, Watson was arrested for robbing and beating a man unconscious in a motel room over an unpaid weed debt. On July 28th 2010, he was sentenced to nine years in prison.
However, Watson has transformed this relatively straightforward record into an elaborate mythology, claiming to have dominated entire prison systems. Former inmates and investigative content creators have since revealed that Watson served his time primarily in facilities housing non-violent offenders which contradicts his claims of running high-security prison yards.
What makes Watson’s prison boasts particularly concerning is how he weaponized his background while still incarcerated. Using a contraband cell phone, Watson began building his social media presence from behind bars, creating grainy black and white prison photos that would later become the foundation of his “authentic” ex-convict brand.
Furthermore, Watson is on record as having bragged about smuggling in his rap sheet to the prison. How? Let’s leave that one up to your imagination. But it certainly sheds a different light on his claims about BJJ.
Is hooping your paper really necessary?
byu/the_walrus_was_paul inPrison
The timing of these inflammatory comments proves particularly awkward for Watson as he currently faces legal troubles in Miami. According to recent reports, he was arrested on February 6 by the Miami Police Department on felony battery assault charges following a previous incident in late 2024 when Watson allegedly assaulted someone at Elevation Fitness.
What emerges from this latest controversy is a troubling picture of someone who has commodified their record into a marketing tool while making increasingly reckless public statements. It’s funny to see BJJ catch strays from someone who barely has any credibility especially given what he preaches.
