Despite BJJ’s reputation as a ‘gentle art’ incidents at tournaments aren’t unheard of. UFC star Daniel Barez was the target of a serious confrontation at Europe BJJ Cup held in Valencia.
Barez is 16-6 in MMA and had lost his UFC debut against Jafael Filho in July of this year. Barez previously tried to make it into the UFC in 2021 when he did a stint on Dana White’s Contender Series, however he lost that as well.
Barez is a Valencia native, so it’s no surprise he chose to attend the Europe BJJ Cup held there.
While there he took a number of pictures with fans.
MMA source Marcel Dorff was among the first to highlight what transpired with Barez.
There are videos of the commontion and of the confrontation that took place outside of the competition, but Barez may have declined to file charges out of fear of retribution.
According to reports from the scene, this was allegedly perpatrated by the eldest son of Jose Luis Zapater also known as Titin. Titin has an MMA background as well, having won 20 and lost 13 bouts prior to retirement in 2017.
Barez trained with Zapater as late as 2019.
In Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the term “Creonte” is often used to refer to a person who switches teams, academies, or instructors frequently. This term is used pejoratively and is considered disrespectful within the BJJ community. It suggests disloyalty and a lack of commitment to one’s original team or instructor.
The term “Creonte” is derived from a character in Brazilian soap operas who was known for being disloyal and changing allegiances. In the context of BJJ, it is typically used to criticize individuals who leave one BJJ academy to train at another, often with a different instructor or team. Loyalty to one’s BJJ team and instructor is highly valued in the traditional BJJ community, and those who are seen as disloyal may be subject to criticism and social pressure. It’s important to note that not all BJJ practitioners use or endorse this term, and opinions on the subject may vary.
It’s unclear if the incident was caused just by the team switch if there is more to it. According to reports, Barez has made an attempt to train out of the US full time but it’s unclear if that’s still in the cards.
