The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu landscape has shifted dramatically in recent years. Comments Felipe Pena made this week, covered at BJJDOC, highlight a symptom of a deeper problem. The waning prestige of the IBJJF World Championships signals a crisis in BJJ’s promotional ecosystem.
The community suffered an irreplaceable loss with the untimely passing of Leandro Lo. Lo represented a rare breed in modern grappling. He was a Brazilian star with massive followings at home and abroad, achieved purely on merit without speaking English. Analysts like BJJScout amplified his brilliance while his willingness to keep getting bigge cemented his legend. Lo’s death marked more than the loss of a champion. It symbolized the end of an era where technical excellence alone could build a global fanbase.
When FloGrappling arrived around 2015, it tried to be a platform, media company and promoter all at once. Nearly a decade later it has failed at all three. Rankings became a punchline, promotions struggled to create stars and belts carried little prestige beyond the paycheck. Missteps like hiring Hywel Teague further eroded credibility. Ironically, Flo’s current financial success largely rides on BJJ Stars, one of the few Brazilian promotions that actually sells out events and mixes talent effectively.
The pandemic reshaped the community’s relationship with its stars. Keenan Cornelius saw his following fracture while his rivalry with Gordon Ryan pushed him into semi-retirement focusing on his academy and online platforms. Meanwhile ONE FC, despite signing Garry Tonon, often featured questionable matchmaking and inflated metrics though they found occasional success with names like Mikey Musumeci and the Ruotolo brothers.
From 2019 onward ADCC became synonymous with Mo Jassim whose U.S.-based editions boosted American interest. Yet his inability to implement better pay faced opposition culminating in 2024 with an unexpected challenger in Craig Jones.
Jones’s entry into promotion was audacious. Competing directly with ADCC he reimagined the ruleset, showcased BJJ’s excitement and translated it for audiences beyond the existing fanbase. The Craig Jones Invitational proved that BJJ never lacked athletes. It lacked promoters who could truly sell the sport. During CJI 1 media tour, Craig Jones spent time talking to every single podcaster with cross over potential and went on to build a number of significant relationships.
Even when the UFC entered BJJ with a ‘$12 million commitment ‘and reality-style programming it failed to capture the magic. Production missteps, unfamiliar competitors and an editing heavy approach to matches could not match the excitement Jones generated.
Jones has since made peace with ADCC showing a potential path toward collaboration rather than competition. His rise proves that BJJ’s problem has never been a shortage of talent. The sport has always had incredible athletes. What it lacked were promoters who could build stars and attract mainstream attention.
Felipe Pena’s comments on IBJJF decline capture a sport at a crossroads. Traditional power structures are collapsing, replaced by a new generation of athlete-promoters like Jones who combine technical skill with marketing acumen. Today a grappler must either self-promote or partner with someone who understands how to build the sport for a wider audience. And owning a huge social media account like those owned by Flograppling and the UFC is not as much of an advantage as one might think.
Craig Jones has shown the formula works. The question is whether anyone else can match it before BJJ’s mainstream opportunity closes. For now the community has plenty of great athletes but only one great promoter.
