A circulating video clip documented the moment the world champion in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) and one of the Russian MMA champions, Jeff Munson, converted to Islam and pronounced the Shahada.
The video showed Jeff Monson reciting the Shahada behind one of the sheikhs, and announcing his conversion to Islam in the Russian capital, Moscow, amid a large crowd of people.
Watch.. The world champion in martial arts, “Russian Jeff Monson,” converts to Islam and pronounces the Shahada
بطل العالم في الفنون القتالية جيف مونسون يعتنق الإسلام وينطق الشهادتين وسط صيحات الله أكبر بموسكو!#jiujitsu #bjj #grappling #martialarts pic.twitter.com/vfPv0yb79S
— mmamag.ma (@jamalsoussi10) June 21, 2024
It is noteworthy that “Jeff” was an American citizen, renounced his citizenship, traveled to Russia, and was granted Russian citizenship in 2018.
He is a world champion in jiu-jitsu and a former mixed martial arts star. He spent most of his career under the American flag, but in March 2013 he announced his willingness to change his nationality to Russian.
In 2018, Monson obtained a Russian passport, and in September of the same year he was elected to the District House of Representatives in the city of Krasnogorsk, Moscow Province.
In 2020, Monson moved to Ufa and opened a jiu-jitsu and wrestling school there, and in September 2023 he became a deputy in the parliament of the Russian Republic of Bashkiria for the “United Russia” party.
