- The Josh Saunders controversy has resurfaced after black belt Stephan Kesting publicly flagged older posts he characterizes as praising Nazi-era Germany.
- The material at issue — archived screenshots and video — shows Saunders raising his arm in a gesture widely read as a Nazi salute, alongside references to “Thuleism.”
- Saunders finished second in the ADCC 2026 +99kg division after losing to Victor Hugo in the final.
- No public response from Saunders, HPU Coaching, or ADCC was located by deadline.
The Josh Saunders controversy has resurfaced, and the person driving the renewed scrutiny is not a rival or a promoter but a senior figure in the sport. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Stephan Kesting has publicly flagged older social-media posts and videos from the Australian grappler — material that first drew attention in mid-2025 — and characterized it as praising Nazi-era Germany.
What Stephan Kesting Flagged About Josh Saunders’ Past Posts
Kesting did not point to anything new. His concern centred on Saunders’ existing social-media activity, which he characterized as enthusiasm for “the mustache man” and admiration for “German genetics and the German Wehrmacht circa the World War II era.”
That characterization revives scrutiny that first flared more than a year ago, when archived screenshots from Saunders’ Instagram stories and highlights began circulating on Reddit’s r/BJJ community.
What The Available Posts And Reports Actually Establish
The documented material is limited and largely second-hand. Screenshots that circulated in July 2025 allegedly referenced “Thuleism” and other symbolism associated with Nazi Germany and esoteric fascist belief systems. Thuleism is linked to the Thule Society, widely regarded as an ideological forerunner of the Nazi Party.
A separate clip shows Saunders asked to name his favorite historical figure. He declines to answer directly and instead offers a clue, then raises his arm:
If I mention my favorite historical person on this app, I will immediately get removed from the app, but I will give you a clue.
– Josh Saunders, in a video that circulated online –
That gesture — reported as Saunders performing a Nazi salute, once in a still photo and once in a short clip — sits at the centre of the Nazi salute allegations. What the posts actually amount to remains unresolved: they are archived screenshots and clips whose authenticity has not been confirmed by the athlete or by any of the organizations involved, and they do not, on their own, prove an ideology.
The reaction was sharp. One commenter called Saunders “a literal Nazi,” while others warned that the themes echoed dangerous historical ideologies, and still others questioned whether Saunders knowingly shared the content or was pulled in by fringe online communities.
ADCC 2026 Kept Saunders In The Spotlight
Whatever the posts show, Saunders’ competitive profile has only grown since they surfaced. At ADCC 2026, held September 12–13 in Krakow, Poland, he competed in the +99kg division and reached the final, finishing second after losing to Brazil’s Victor Hugo, who submitted him to close out the men’s card.
The silver-medal run placed a fresh news cycle directly on top of the old screenshots. Full results from the tournament are covered in our ADCC 2026 results roundup.
Has Josh Saunders, ADCC, Or HPU Coaching Responded?
Not publicly, as of this writing. Reporting from mid-2025 stated that Saunders had not yet issued a public response and had not responded to requests for comment, and no statement from him, from HPU Coaching, or from ADCC was located by deadline.
That silence matters because Saunders is not a marginal figure. He runs HPU Coaching, sells instructional material, and competes at the sport’s biggest events. The absence of any on-record answer leaves the core questions — what exactly was posted, and what he stands by — unanswered.
Why The Josh Saunders Controversy Is A Grappling Accountability Test
The Josh Saunders controversy is ultimately a question about standards. Grappling organizations have no consistent, public code of conduct for what competitors share off the mats, and the reporting reviewed here offers no indication that ADCC has addressed posts that resurfaced around its flagship event.
The uncomfortable part, critics argue, is financial: many practitioners buy instructionals and coaching from Saunders without knowing about the allegations, and some defend the idea that athletic performance should be kept separate from personal beliefs. The counterargument is that this separation has a poor track record when it comes to extremism and sport.
Until the posts are independently authenticated and either Saunders or the organizations answer, this stays exactly where it is now: documented content, strong accusations, and no response. That is a grappling accountability gap the sport has yet to close.