In a revealing interview on The Grapplers Perspective Podcast, ADCC World Champion and European CJI 2 coach Faris Ben-Lamkadem opened up about his contentious relationship with Polaris Promotion, highlighting issues with compensation that led to a public display of protest at a recent event.
Ben-Lamkadem, who gained notoriety for wearing a provocative t-shirt with a crossed-out Polaris logo at one of their events, explained his motivation stemmed from what he described as unfair payment practices.
“They just kind of done me a bit dirty with payment and stuff,” he revealed during the podcast.
The dispute centers around his fight against Pawel, a match for which Ben-Lamkadem claims Polaris severely underpaid him.
“They paid me so badly to fight obviously Pavle,” he stated. “I negotiated, but then I was away with PJ and Owen Jones. And at the time, that’s when they offered it to me.”
What makes the situation particularly frustrating for Ben-Lamkadem is the perceived double standard in how grapplers are compensated.
“I’m sure they’re paying him more,” he said, referring to his opponent. “They’re probably paying for his flights, hotel, and paying him to fight.”
The conflict came to a head when Ben-Lamkadem decided to make a statement by creating and wearing a custom t-shirt featuring a crossed-out Polaris logo at a subsequent event.
“I just thought what way I could get at these guys that they can’t really get at me for, but it’s going to be funny as hell and it can go potentially viral,” he explained.
The stunt gained significant attention, with Ben-Lamkadem positioned prominently in camera view during the broadcast.
“I was running around London finding a place. I found a place… I gave him the design and he just put the strip through it with like cross over the Polaris logo and I did Polaris sucks.”
Previously he elaborated on the issue telling Eoghan O’Flanagan more about the experience.
When asked about the origin of his issues with Polaris, Ben-Lamkadem didn’t hold back.
“My biggest thing, I think there was a bit of favoritism,” he explained. “I feel like there’s been a lot of good talents in the UK that haven’t been on the show. Some even have won the Worlds at Blue and Brown, Blue, Purple.”
The athlete expressed frustration about representation, noting that while local talent gets overlooked,
“they can find the money to fly out the Americans.”
His central complaint focuses on what he sees as a pattern of preference:
“If you’re not sponsored by their crew*, they won’t get you on the show.”
*(e.g. meaning likely Scramble)
The protest culminated in Ben-Lamkadem being escorted out of the venue.
“They got a bit upset and they were like, ‘Oh, you can’t do this. You can’t do this.’ Then I did it again. And then their friends kicked me out.”
Despite the controversy, Ben-Lamkadem maintains that he was simply standing up for fair treatment of grapplers.
“They just done me dirty in that sense. They didn’t support the home talent and they paid very badly.”
This incident highlights ongoing tensions in the professional jiu-jitsu world regarding grapplers compensation, with Ben-Lamkadem’s protest representing a bold stance against what he perceives as unfair payment practices in the industry.
Currently, Ben-Lamkadem has moved on to coaching the European team for the Craig Jones Invitational, a promotion he notes is offering grapplers significantly better compensation than what he received from Polaris.
