In an interview, ADCC champion and fifth-degree black belt Robert Drysdale delivered a scathing critique of the entertainment-focused direction of modern BJJ, specifically calling out the recent exhibition match between Craig Jones and Gabi Garcia.
Drysdale didn’t mince words when discussing what he sees as the degradation of jiu-jitsu’s core values.
“Once you give someone a dose of any kind of dr*g, you can’t go back and give them a smaller dose the next round. It’s got to be a bigger one and a bigger one,” Drysdale explained. “And where does it end? Well, we know where it ended for catch wrestling. WWE.”
The respected veteran specifically referenced the controversial match between Craig Jones and Gabi Garcia as evidence of this troubling trend, asking pointedly:
“We saw Craig wrestle Gabi Garcia. I mean, why? Where does it end? Midgets wrestling in the mud? Midgets wrestling on the moon? You know, like—when does it stop?”
Drysdale‘s criticism extends beyond individual matches to what he perceives as a fundamental shift in jiu-jitsu culture. He contrasts today’s social media-obsessed practitioners with the warrior ethos of previous generations, noting that in earlier days, taking pictures at tournaments was considered shameful.
“If you took a camera to a tournament, it was embarrassing. It was shameful. People owed you,” Drysdale recounted. “They would rip you apart… Your own teammates would reprimand you because they would go, ‘What are you, a fighter or a model? Put that camera away.'”
The ADCC champion argues that the pursuit of entertainment value and social media fame has corrupted what was once an educational practice focused on combat effectiveness and character development. He warns that following this path leads to increasingly absurd spectacles.
“Girls in bikinis and mud wrestling. Why not?”
he questioned sarcastically, suggesting this could be the logical conclusion of prioritizing entertainment over martial arts integrity.
Drysdale believes the sport’s focus on entertainment metrics is “irrelevant and detrimental,” pushing promoters to continuously escalate the spectacle to satisfy audiences with an ever-growing appetite for drama rather than technique.
“There’s a reason why McGregor sells more tickets than Khabib or whoever else—because your grandma understands him. Because it’s drama. It’s a soap opera,”
he observed.
Drysdale’s comments reflect a growing concern among traditional practitioners about the sport’s direction and cultural values. While he acknowledges that change is inevitable, his critique serves as a reminder of jiu-jitsu’s older generation, which is still looking for its own place in the sun.
CJI 2 is set to feature Craig Jones and former Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson, so it’s unlikely either will show up in a bikini—but with Jones, we can never fully disregard the possibility.
