Metamoris Pro started with a bang, but is fizzling out on a whimper. The submission-only BJJ tournament attracted some of the biggest names in combat sports, but couldn’t keep a good foothold in the budding niche space for its high profile grappling shows.

Headed up by Ralek Gracie, the events were extravagant, with high end production values and big purses for the top stars ($50K checks were not uncommon). The live shows would sell out the venue, and saw standing-room-only crowds.

The pay-per-views were another story. At a relatively pricey charge of $19.95 per event, it remains questionable if they were able to make money from the PPV buys. It wasn’t long after when Gracie decided to hold “underground shows” that weren’t broadcast to the public, in an effort to create a mysterious vibe around the tournaments. The effort was met with broad criticism by fans and pundits alike.

The list of problems and accusations against the promotion continued to grow. Reports started showing up as early as July 2015 of purses/salaries not being paid or only being partially paid. There were problems cropping up with their online activities in the form of stored credit cards receiving multiple charges after purchases of PPV events, as well as unsecure/improper handling of customer information.

Now, another blow has been dealt to the all but defunct promotion. Older brothers Rener and Ryron Gracie issued an internal email last week, advising Gracie Certified Training Center owners to avoid doing business with Ralek. They further stated that they have no stake in Metamoris, undoubtedly a gesture to distance themselves from their younger brother.

In a report from FloGrappling, part of the email was posted with a confirmation from Rener Gracie of its authenticity.

"We have no stake in Metamoris, but we have always supported our brother, Ralek," the email reads.

"Although we haven't always agreed with the Metamoris business practices, we never felt it was our place to publicly express our concerns with the operation... until now."

"Ralek has engaged in dishonest and fraudulent activity, and continues to do so despite our repeated efforts to guide him," the email reads. "We have decided to terminate all business relations with Ralek and Metamoris."

The email, dated October 19, closes with the following:

“We feel obligated to caution anyone who is considering doing business with [Ralek] or Metamoris on any level.”

At its peak, Metamoris looked to be the next big thing in the combat sports community. Grappling ace and 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu founder, Eddie Bravo conducted his long awaited re-match with Royler Gracie under the promotion’s banner, which saw the two long-time foes provide fans with an action-packed match that left them calling for the trilogy-ender.

Bravo recently appeared on Bloody Elbow’s Three Amigos Podcast where he discussed the differences in his own promotion (Eddie Bravo Invitational or EBI) and Metamoris.

“We started super low budget, and we grew slowly. Metamoris came out with a gigantic explosion, and maybe they bit off a little bit more than they could chew. I’m not sure. I like Metamoris, you know what I mean?

I don’t share the same views as Ralek Gracie, and we’re not buddies and we’re not hanging out. We definitely had our share of arguments and debates and even a feud or two, but Metamoris was a great show. Anytime there’s a Metamoris, I want to go see it.

Did Ralek make some mistakes along the way? Hell yeah, he did. Hopefully, he can somehow, some way figure out a way to work it out, because I want Metamoris to succeed.”

Eddie spoke about his EBI promotion in detail, including the addition of open palm strikes for special event matches and tournaments, aptly dubbed “Combat Jiu-Jitsu.” You can check out the whole interview HERE or via the player below at the 1:03:40 mark of the audio.