Section · 5 pieces
Grappling
ADCC, the IBJJF pay dispute, submission-only versus points, and why no-gi is outgrowing the gi circuit.
Lead piece
ADCC Now Pays, and the Qualifying Circuit Is Why It Matters
Prize money alone did not make the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship the benchmark event in competitive grappling — but the qualifying circuit it built around that money is what made the prize defensible.
- 02
The IBJJF World Championship Can Cost Its Winners More Than It Pays Them
The International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation's prize structure against the fees athletes pay to compete — the specific figures, the public dispute they generated, and the federation's response, as a story about how a belt-granting body monetises its own ranking system.
- 03
Submission-Only Versus Points: Two Rulebooks Producing Two Different Sports
The IBJJF and ADCC both call their athletes grapplers. The rulebooks they compete under reward almost opposite skills.
- 04
No-Gi Outgrew the Gi Without Anyone Deciding It Should
The shift from a kimono to board shorts reshaped the economics of submission grappling — not by policy, but by market pressure on three fronts at once.
- 05
The Belt System Is a Commercial Franchise, Not a Standard
Belt promotion in Brazilian jiu-jitsu is not governed by any external body — it is a revenue mechanism operated by whoever runs the gym network.