We love a good enemies-to-allies story.
Today, Fight 2 Win CEOÂ Seth Daniels announced that 3rd Coast Grappling CEOÂ Ryan McGuire has been hired as F2W’s new matchmaker. McGuire will still be running 3CG in addition to his duties for F2W, and Daniels has not bought out 3CG.
The news may come as a surprise to those who have followed the former rivalry between the two promoters. Daniels and McGuire once had a bitter relationship as adversaries, but over time, particularly in the midst of the pandemic, they’ve spent more time working together.
McGuire shared the news with the Jiu-Jitsu Times yesterday, expressing his excitement for the development. “Despite mine and his history, he’s a legend and created the industry. It’ll be a great learning experience and I’ll get to take the load off of him in the fall when his kids’ football is going on.”
Daniels announced the news to the public this morning:
“Very excited to announce that @ryanhates5050 (Ryan McGuire) will be taking over as match maker for @f2wbjj . Ryan will still be running @thirdcoastgrappling and I did not buy 3CG. Ryan and I have been working behind the scenes together for the past 16 months to help each other’s businesses survive. It’s no secret that Ryan and I had issues in the past mainly due to my jealousy of his amazing fashion sense and neck beard and his jealousy of my awful tattoos and fupa but we moved past it and become besties. As f2w went back on tour it became very clear to me that I am unable to keep up with my own schedule and I needed help. In this industry no one works harder than us or has a better fuck you attitude. I’m very grateful that Ryan’s partners at 3CG were open to this and look forward to growing the professional jiu jitsu scene across the world with Ryan.”
While this isn’t the first time jiu-jitsu promoters have worked together, the sheer size of F2W and 3CG makes this a significant development in the industry. Though the promotions were once direct competitors with each other, both Daniels and McGuire have repeatedly expressed their desires to use their businesses to grow jiu-jitsu as both a sport and as an entertainment venture. This may be an unconventional move, but it makes sense for their big-picture goals.
