Derek Moneyberg, the controversial businessman who earned his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt in just 3.5 years, defended his rapid promotion with an unusual justification: he claims to have spent an additional 3,000 hours simply thinking about jiu-jitsu when he wasn’t training. He detailed this during a podcast with Jake Shields where he argued that his mental processing time should count toward his martial arts development, dismissing critics who question the legitimacy of his accelerated timeline.
The Mental Training Defense
“I put in the, you know, 3,000 hours of real training,” Moneyberg explained. “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.”
The financial guru used this reasoning to counter critics who point to traditional timelines, arguing that individual learning speeds vary dramatically.
“Three times a week, and you did that for, you know, a thousand weeks—then, you know, in some, uh, whatever number of years later—18, 19 years later, I guess you’d get your black belt, maybe, you know?”
“So when some other person says, like, ‘You know, it took me 13 years,’ like, you know, ‘That’s not legit,’ like—no, a**hole, it took you 13 years. Doesn’t mean it’ll take me 13 years,” Moneyberg stated emphatically.
Jake Shields, who coached Moneyberg throughout his journey, tried to validate this approach during their conversation. Shields described how their training sessions often extended far beyond typical private lessons, sometimes lasting five hours, with significant portions dedicated to mental processing.
“A lot of people come and do one-hour privates—we’d do sometimes, like, five-hour private sessions. But sometimes you need to sit there and kind of stare off into space. I learned pretty early that you were, like, mapping the stuff out in your head. That your brain worked different. Because I could see you, like, compounding stuff,” Shields explained.
The former UFC welterweight suggested that Moneyberg’s learning style involved extensive mental rehearsal and visualization.
“So for a while you’re like, ‘Oh, I’m doing this.’ But I learned after, like, a day or—”
The Physical Claims
Beyond his mental training justifications, the 46-year-old businessman made bold assertions about his current physical condition and abilities.
“I’m 46 years old and I’m 10% body fat and I’m stronger than you and I’d beat your ass in a fight,” Moneyberg declared confidently.
He claimed that elite UFC grapplers and world champions who once dominated him during training can no longer submit him.
“There’s a lot of UFC guys and world champion guys. They can’t tap me anymore,” he stated.
“Occasionally, I tap them and they don’t tap me at all anymore.”
Community Skepticism
The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu community has responded with overwhelming skepticism to both Moneyberg’s promotion timeline and his current claims. ADCC veteran Vinny Magalhaes delivered a scathing critique, suggesting financial incentives influenced the promotion process.
“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.”
