Ethan Crelinsten had just put away his opponent with a submission in the first round of the Polaris 36 headliner in Croydon England when he decided the moment called for something more than a victory celebration.
Standing on the FloGrappling exclusive platform that had just broadcast his performance to grappling fans worldwide Crelinsten made his ambitions known in no uncertain terms.
“I had this (Polaris) belt for a while, and UFC BJJ, I want that f—ng belt! I want that Octobowl, I want to be in there,” he said. “UFC BJJ hit me up, I’m coming for that belt!”
The declaration landed with an irony so thick you could pass it from guard.
FloGrappling, the platform that had just carried Crelinsten’s victory to the world, has a complicated history with the UFC organization he was publicly courting.
Former UFC media relations head Ant Evans, who led that department for over a decade before later working on their subscription service, recently detailed on a podcast how the UFC set its sights on dismantling FloGrappling entirely.
“Me and Stephen Tecci wanted to go after FloGrappling in the worst way. We wanted just to smash them and we needed to get the crown jewel,” Evans recounted.
When Crelinsten stepped into a FloGrappling broadcast and pointed his career ambitions directly at UFC BJJ it was a brazen display showing that Flograppling might be counting out their final days.
Whether UFC BJJ takes Crelinsten up on his invitation remains to be seen but the compensation structure was recently openly discussed.
Claudia Gadelha offered one of the most transparent public breakdowns of how UFC BJJ pays its contracted athletes.
According to Gadelha exclusive athletes competing four times per year can earn between roughly $97000 to $155000 USD.
The fine print however warrants attention. UFC BJJ’s pay structure separates show money from submission money meaning an athlete who wins without a finish leaves a significant portion of their potential earnings on the table.
There is also the matter of exclusivity. Gadelha framed it as an investment relationship.
“Our exclusivity contract is not to control the athlete, because we invest in the athlete.”
Crelinsten was matched with a winner of a Polaris challengers bracket showing why he had such an easy path to victory.
Also worth noting, Crelinsten teammate Nick Rodriguez recently signed with UFC BJJ.
This public callout may or may not produce a call from UFC BJJ but it has definitely generated an incredibly embarrassing moment for Flograppling.
Polaris 36 Results
Ethan Crelinsten def. Shaï Gerena by submission
Kendall Reusing def. Anabel Lopez by armbar
Owen Jones def. Gianni Grippo by decision
PJ Barch def. Shane Fishman by decision
Ross Nicholls def. Sam Gibson by decision
Sarah Galvão def. Libby Genge by kimura
