“I’m 46 years old and I’m 10% body fat and I’m stronger than you and I’d beat your a** in a match,” Moneyberg stated confidently during recent podcast. “Almost anybody. If you’re not a professional grappler, if you’re not a professional like powerlifter or weightlifter, you know, almost for sure I’m stronger than you and I’d beat your a** in a fight.”
Derek Moneyberg, the wealthy entrepreneur who controversially earned his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt in just 3.5 years, is now making extraordinary claims about his physical condition and grappling abilities that have raised eyebrows throughout the martial arts community.
In a recent podcast appearance with Jake Shields, the 46-year-old businessman declared he maintains a “ridiculous 10% body fat” while boasting about his current training sessions with elite UFC grapplers and world champions. His most audacious claim? That these same professionals who once dominated him can no longer submit him during training.
“There’s a lot of UFC guys and world champion guys. They can’t tap me anymore,” Moneyberg revealed. “Occasionally, I tap them and they don’t tap me at all anymore.”
The businessman claims he’s withholding specific names out of respect for his training partners but insists the transformation from novice to elite-level competitor is genuine.
From Mauled to Untappable
Jake Shields, who served as Moneyberg’s head coach throughout his accelerated journey to black belt, appeared to confirm the dramatic improvement during their conversation. The former UFC welterweight described how Moneyberg went from being “mauled” by virtually everyone, including smaller female grapplers, to allegedly holding his own against world-class competition.
“Now you’re doing really good with a lot of really good grapplers,” Shields acknowledged. “There’s dudes in there you’d be surprised.”
Moneyberg has previously admitted to being submitted by female UFC grapplers like Michelle Waterson and Valentina Shevchenko during his early training, and described hard sessions with Chuck Liddell that left him questioning his martial arts pursuits.
The 3,000-Hour Investment
Moneyberg attributes his rapid progression to assembling what he calls “the best coaching team ever assembled” and investing approximately 3,000 hours of one-on-one instruction with elite coaches. His roster included legends like Royce Gracie, Chuck Liddell, Gordon Ryan, Gilbert Burns, and Frank Mir among others.
“I spent about 3,000 hours of one-on-one time with the best coaching team ever assembled,” he explained, comparing this to the decades it would take most students to accumulate similar training time with high-level instruction.
Perhaps the most startling claim? Moneyberg spent an additional 3000 hours just thinking about BJJ.
“Like, I put in the, you know, 3,000 hours of real training. And then, you know, I spent more than 3,000 hours when I wasn’t training—thinking about it and making the adjustments in my head, watching tape. And a lot of it is thinking about it. People don’t understand, like, processing through your head.”
Community Backlash
The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu community has been overwhelmingly critical of Moneyberg’s rapid promotion and bold claims. ADCC veteran Vinny Magalhaes unleashed a scathing response, suggesting financial incentives played a role in the promotion and questioning the legitimacy of such rapid advancement.
“The hardest thing about promotions like this? It’s not just about being or getting elevated–it’s the entire bloodline,” Magalhaes wrote, adding pointed commentary about loyalty to “someone’s Zelle account.”
Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland also weighed in sarcastically, commenting:
“Lmao but hey least everyone in this pic got paid extremely well…”
Critics have noted apparent inconsistencies in Moneyberg’s timeline and questioned whether private lessons, regardless of quantity, can replace the testing ground of regular sparring with diverse training partners and competitive validation.
Historical Context
While most BJJ practitioners take 7-10 years to reach black belt, there are historical precedents for rapid advancement. BJ Penn earned his black belt in three years before becoming the first American to win a World Championship and Travis Stevens achieved the rank in 18 months leveraging his Olympic Judo background.
However, these cases typically involved competitors who proved themselves through competition success and demonstrated exceptional natural talent combined with previous martial arts experience – elements that critics argue are absent from Moneyberg’s journey.
