Derek Moneyberg‘s Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt has sparked relentless controversy in the MMA community, drawing criticism from keyboard warriors and professional MMA stars alike. Yet when pressed to defend his credentials during a recent interview with UFC’s Chito Vera, Moneyberg didn’t shy away.
“BJ Penn was my inspiration to do this,”
Moneyberg stated plainly. He referenced the legendary MMA star who earned his black belt in roughly three and a half years through intensive private instruction with elite coaches.
“When I understood… he got his black belt in, I think, three and a half years, but he was working with, like, from the beginning, private, private instruction with high-level black belts.”
For Moneyberg, this wasn’t just inspiration—it was a blueprint.
The entrepreneur-turned-bjj addressed the elephant in the room: the relentless accusation that he “bought” his belt.
“Of course, I paid the f-cking guys. Do you pay your coaches? I pay my coaches,”
he said matter-of-factly.
“You know who else pays their coaches? All the UFC guys.”
Moneyberg then presented what he considers irrefutable evidence: his coaching roster.
“How much could I pay Chuck Liddell and Royce Gracie, Lyoto Machida? How can, how much could I pay those guys to lie and say I’m better than I am?”
He pointed to his list of instructors, which includes Jake Shields, Paulie Malignaggi for boxing, Gordon Ryan, Gilbert Burns, Lyoto Machida, and numerous other elite practitioners.
“Is it more likely that I bribed all of those people to lie about me, or that I just did the work?”
It’s worth pointing out that this logic works on paper but in reality UFC stars are massively underpayed and most of them take up regular jobs once their career is over. Marlon Moraes is a cop, Al Iaquinta sells real estate, countless guys are running gyms or trying to do media for the UFC. Several prominent former champions contributed statements about dire financial situations when UFC classaction lawsuit settlement was being considered hoping to incentivise the judge to greenlight payments. Jake Shields has taken to trying to become a niche political personality and has had some truly putrid conversations in hopes of boasting his ‘stardom’.
Regarding training frequency and intensity, Moneyberg was unequivocal:
“I never missed one day of MMA training. I never missed one day in four years.”
He described flying in world-class coaches to his private 3,600-square-foot facility—a $4 million investment that allowed him to train at any hour without distraction.
“I put in the same hours, or more hours, as any other black belt. I just did it in less number of years. And I did it with some of the top, top, top guys in the world ever.”
When UFC middleweight Sean Strickland publicly questioned his credentials, Moneyberg confronted him face-to-face at Glover Teixeira‘s gym.
“I said, ‘If you think this is bulls- t, come train with me,'”
Moneyberg recounted. Despite Strickland’s online bravado, he allegedly avoided the gym while Moneyberg was present and declined multiple invitations to roll.
“I spent 10 hours, 10 and a half hours at the gym on Wednesday. Sean, don’t come the whole time.”
When they finally crossed paths at their shared hotel, Strickland refused to engage:
“He start walking away. He don’t say nothing.”
Moneyberg also received public congratulations from BJ Penn himself after earning the belt, further validating his accomplishment.
“He congratulate me publicly. He say, uh, you know, congratulations.”
As for critics demanding competition footage or tournament participation, Moneyberg was dismissive:
“I don’t have to do anything. I do any f-cking thing I want to. I don’t need to make one more dollar before I die.”
He emphasized that his training serves a specific purpose—self-defense and personal development—not competitive validation for strangers online.
His philosophy boils down to a fundamental question:
“How much would I pay for this person’s opinion before they offer to me? If I was hiring a consultant, if I was hiring a coach in this space, is this the person I would hire? How much would I pay for their opinion? Nothing. It’s worthless.”
Moneyberg concluded with a challenge to skeptics: visit any professional gym where he trains and ask the MMA stars there.
“If I go to Glover’s gym, if I go down to Texas to John Danaher’s gym, I go to Henry Hooft’s gym… I could go to any professional gym and the guys respect me and everything’s good.”
For Moneyberg, the opinions of those who’ve never stepped on the mats—or accomplished anything significant themselves—simply don’t register. The work speaks for itself, even if the internet refuses to listen.
