In a recent interview, Budo Jake McKee offered a candid assessment of how money has transformed Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu’s culture, particularly in how athletes market themselves and engage with social media.
“More money has come into it and that brings Instagram culture,” McKee observed in Combat Base podcast appearance. “Just doing things for the views and the more outlandish things you can say, the better.”
This observation rings particularly true when examining recent statements from BJJ’s most prominent figures. Gordon Ryan, the sport’s most successful competitor, has repeatedly generated headlines with provocative declarations. He recently launched an assault on athletes who compete naturally, claiming they have a “built-in excuse,” while also going nuclear on Mikey Musumeci over team switching and arguing that PEDs are legal.
Craig Jones, another top athlete known for his marketing savvy, has contributed his share of controversial statements. He famously dismissed Sambo as “just two guys who trained judo and thought it would be fun to do it without the pants,” and provocatively claimed that “black belt is like a marketing gimmick to keep people hooked.” He even took aim at the mystique surrounding John Danaher, suggesting he has a “Steven Seagal mythology about him.”
In addition to openly joking about nose candy at times and even kissing a guy recently.
The success of such outspoken personalities highlights a growing divide in the sport. While Ryan and Jones have masterfully leveraged controversy to build their platforms, many accomplished BJJ world champions struggle to market themselves effectively, often hampered by limited English proficiency and a reluctance to engage in provocative behavior.
This dynamic hasn’t gone unnoticed by other athletes. Mikey Musumeci recently fired back at Gordon Ryan and Craig Jones, declaring “they’re not athletes, they don’t have the values of martial artists.” Yet such principled stances often generate less attention than the more inflammatory content that dominates BJJ social media.
McKee, who began documenting BJJ through video content in the early 2000s when YouTube was in its infancy, has witnessed this transformation firsthand. While his early work helped democratize access to BJJ knowledge, today’s landscape increasingly rewards those who can generate the most controversy rather than those focused purely on technical development.
