Ethan Major

Ethan Major, a Canadian Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, drew widespread attention in late October 2025 after producing a series of extraordinary point totals at an adult black belt tournament held in Canada under IBJJF/Smoothcomp-style rules.

Preliminary Round

In the preliminary round, Major methodically built a triple-digit lead before closing the match by submission. The final score carries a notable discrepancy across sources: an article published on October 31, 2025, cited the margin as 108-0, while the original Instagram caption posted by videographer Max R_BJJ — who filmed and uploaded the match — listed the score as 106-0. Neither figure has been formally resolved, and the inconsistency reflects the informal, social-media-driven manner in which the story first circulated, complicating any attempt at a clean historical record.

Finals Performance

Major followed that outing with an even larger margin in the finals, amassing 113 points under the same ruleset. Available coverage did not confirm whether that match also ended by submission.

Historical Context

Reporting on the events suggested that Major's totals could rank among the highest officially recorded match scores in Canadian Jiu-Jitsu history under standardized rules, though that claim remains subject to verification. For context, Mathias Luna had previously been credited with a 102-0 result under an "Official Jiu Jitsu Federation" banner, though the ruleset governing that bout may differ from the IBJJF/Smoothcomp-style framework under which Major competed. Specific details regarding the event name, host city, Major's team affiliation, and exact weight class were not available in coverage.

Community Reaction

Footage of Major's matches spread rapidly across social media in late October 2025, igniting a broad debate within the global BJJ community about sportsmanship norms in points-based competition, particularly at the black belt level.

Among the most prominent voices was Mikey Musumeci, a multiple-time world champion, who publicly criticized the celebration of lopsided scores. Musumeci characterized the behavior as "bullying" and argued that accumulating unnecessary points serves little competitive purpose while potentially discouraging hobbyists and recreational practitioners from entering tournaments. His comments amplified the story's reach and reframed the conversation around participant welfare as much as competitive ethics.

Structural Questions in Points-Based BJJ

The debate extended beyond Major's specific performances to raise structural questions about how points-based BJJ rulesets incentivize — or fail to discourage — score accumulation once a match's outcome is no longer in doubt. The score discrepancy between the article text (108-0) and the original Instagram caption (106-0) further illustrated how significant competitive moments in the sport are often first documented through informal channels before receiving more rigorous coverage, leaving gaps in the historical record that can prove difficult to close.