The Future of Professional BJJ
The sport of professional Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is still in
its very early stages of development.
Outside of a very few select tournaments there are not many
opportunities for elite level BJJ practitioners to earn a living from
competition. The ADCC Submission
Fighting World Championships is probably the most prestigious, and although
traditionally dominated by BJJ practitioners, it is not technically BJJ, but
rather submission grappling. Most
of the world’s best BJJ athletes still make their living from teaching or they
transition into MMA. However, as
of late, driven by the meteoric rise in the popularity of BJJ around the world
we are starting to see the development of a platform for professional BJJ
athletes to showcase their skills to the world. This is a great step forward for the sport. Elite level BJJ practitioners are some
of the best athletes in the world, and it is due time they received recognition
as professional athletes.
On October 14th at the Viejas Arena in San Diego,
California fans of BJJ will have the opportunity to see 14 of the world’s best
BJJ athletes compete in a 20 minute submission only gi match. That’s right, no point scoring, just
submissions. The event is being
put on by Metamoris, and is being marketed like a professional MMA
event. It is truly the first of
its kind, and will be available to all via live steaming. Check out the awesome trailer for the
event below. There is also a
countdown video for one of the event’s biggest matches: 14x World Champion
Roger Gracie vs. 6x World Champion Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida.
Evolve Mixed Martial Arts® is Asia's premier brand of MMA academies. With World Champions in Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Mixed Martial Arts, Boxing, Wrestling, and No Gi Grappling, Evolve MMA is the top martial arts training organization in Asia. It ranks among the best martial arts academies in the world.
