Claudia Gadelha, a former UFC competitor who now works as an executive within the promotion’s Brazilian jiu-jitsu division, recently spoke on the TruePerforma Podcast about what it takes to compete in UFC BJJ and how much top athletes in the division are earning.
Gadelha said the division, which is less than two years old, went through an early adjustment period. Her initial instinct was to sign the best jiu-jitsu competitors from around the world.
“I’m going to get the world jiu-jitsu champions, the guys who compete in a gi or without a gi, I’m going to bring them here and it’s going to be amazing,” she recalled. The results did not match her expectations.
The core problem, she said, was that traditional competitive jiu-jitsu does not play well with a general audience.
“In competitive jiu-jitsu, you sit there, put your butt on the ground, and just drag your butt along the ground… and for us, it doesn’t work for you, nor for us, nor for Dana White, nor for anyone,” she said.
Passive guard pulling and points-based strategies may be legitimate competition tactics, but they lack the visual appeal needed to attract viewers unfamiliar with the sport.
That realization pushed Gadelha toward a different frame of reference. She stated plainly that the UFC is not a martial arts company.
“UFC is an entertainment company,” she said.
The product happens to involve jiu-jitsu and MMA, but the guiding principle is entertainment, not sport for its own sake.
With that in mind, she outlined two main qualities the division looks for in potential signings. The first is an aggressive, fig ht-oriented approach on the mat. Athletes who play for advantages or stall for position are not what UFC BJJ wants to present.
The second is marketing ability. Gadelha pointed to Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey as reference points for the kind of self-promotional instincts the division values.
“If you understand marketing, if you understand sales, how you work your social media, then it’s extremely important to be a good salesperson, perhaps even before being a good fig hter,” she said.
On compensation, Gadelha said the promotion approaches athlete pay the way the entertainment industry compensates performers.
“We pay the athlete as if they were an actor, a singer, an actress, or an artist, because it’s a spectacle,” she said. She then disclosed that some athletes in the division are “earning almost R$1 million per match,” a figure that converts to approximately $200,000 USD.
Gadelha also noted that heart and effort inside the match can matter as much as the outcome. Reflecting on her own career, she said the matches where she lost while giving everything were often remembered more than the ones she won in a more controlled fashion.
[Editor’s Note: Quotes have been translated and edited for clarity and readability.]
