CAN YOU MAKE MONEY IN JIU JITSU?

By Benjamin Strusnik, September 22, 2022

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has become an extremely popular brand of Martial Arts, especially throughout the United States of America. The art of grappling has always been hard to make money from, and this was due to the low numbers of students training in the art. Nowadays there have been significant inroads made into helping athletes start to make money for their athletic abilities. The rise of international grappling is due to some of the world's best no gi jiu jitsu fighters like Gordon Ryan, Andre Galvao, Marcelo Garcia, Nick Rodriguez, Royler Gracie, Dean Lister and Eddie Bravo. These athletes have paved the way for many generations in the future, as the exposure of televised events like the ADCC, Submission Underground, Who's Number One, Fight 2 Win, and subversiv bjj are shining brightly throughout the BJJ world.

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IS BJJ A GOOD CAREER CHOICE

Becoming a professional athlete, and competing in high profile BJJ tournaments is every young grapplers dream. For some it will be a wild ride to the top of the mountain, as they travel to California, Brazil and Abu Dhabi to compete in IBJJF, and ADCC events. Reaching the top level, like some of the world's top submission grapplers, can be extremely challenging, as it takes extreme dedication, and perseverance.

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Not all athletes will be capable of getting to the top level, as it takes a significant amount of exposure, and a big break to make a name for themselves. If a student has the ability to become a world champion, then choosing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a great career choice. Although the story will say believe in yourself and you can achieve anything, the harsh reality is that unless a student can win world championships, or take out a significant scalp, they will fall short of reaching the pinnacle of BJJ. The good thing about Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is that a student will never give up, and as long as they are entering competitions and challenging the world's best, they are always a chance at making a name for themself. Putting the accolades aside, becoming a professional Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fighter is living the dream, as what avid grappler would not love to travel the world, and train amongst living legends of the sport, and compete against world class black belts. Competing in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu may not always pay the bills, but in terms of satisfaction, and inner peace, becoming a professional BJJ fighter is a great career choice.

HOW TO MAKE MONEY FROM BJJ

Making money from Brazilian Jiu Jitsu can be quite complicated. Most high level athletes end up paying more to compete, then they will ever earn from competing in tournaments. It is an extremely hard sport to earn money from, unless the athlete is in the group of jiu jitsu legends that can demand money to compete in highly prestigious tournaments. There are many different competitions that offer prize money to the winners of their tournaments. The harsh reality is that unless the practitioner is winning multiple tournaments per year, then it is extremely hard to make enough money to support themselves. Be that as it may, it can be quite profitable if the competitor is highly skilful, and knows how to win the big moments. They may also be paid to go on high level tournaments, as high level black belts can be a draw card for a promoter to sell tickets to their event. Athletes like Felipe Pena, Gordon Ryan, Erberth Santos, and Nicholas Meregali have all won big fight purses at various BJJ events. Tournaments like the Eddie Bravo Invitational offer a $50,000 fight purse in the open weight division, but fighters can only earn this amount if they submit all four of their opponents, meaning they will receive $12,500 dollars per submission win. There is money in BJJ, but the student needs to become exceptionally good at their craft, and know how to win.

There are other avenues to make money from Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and this can usually be achieved by high level black belts from some of the best bjj teams. Becoming well known on the world Brazilian circuit means students all over the world are desperate to learn their techniques. Many high level black belts go on world tours, where they offer seminars to students all over the world. This can become quite profitable, as students are known to pay up to $200 or more just to go to a seminar, with one of the greats of the sport. Seminars are a great informative way to learn techniques from talented black belts, as the popularity of this format has become quite substantial. Practitioners can also charge money for private lessons, and some athletes will fetch up to $200 per hour just to teach students in a one on one style of lesson. There is money in the sport, and all the student has to do is pay their dues, as they rise up the ranking order, and become talented enough to make some significant money in the sport.

One of the most popular ways to make money from the sport is through the online platform. Setting up YouTube accounts or even selling their instructional videos on world famous platforms like bjjfanatics.com can become quite profitable. The world is a market, and practitioners should understand that if they have something to sell there are always thousands of people buying their products. Many of these products are instructional videos, but they can also sell a wide range of sporting apparel. The more famous a grappler is, the easier it will become to sell their content. Students across the globe are always looking to boost their knowledge, and learning from some of the world's best is becoming extremely popular. There is a huge range of different instructional videos available, with athletes like Gordon Ryan, Craig Jones, John Danaher, Kazushi Sakuraba, Andre Galvao, and Bernardo Faria selling remarkable instructional content.

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MAKING MONEY IN BJJ GRACIE STYLE

From the beginning of the creation of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, the Gracie family became famous throughout Brazil. Their innovations became the cornerstone of what Brazilian Jiu Jitsu personified. During the rise of their Martial Art, the Gracie clan had open challenges, where different athletes like fighters, body builders, and even local thugs would challenge the Gracie's to claim the remuneration on offer. The Gracie clan remained unbeaten for a long time, as they began building an extremely vast net wealth. In the 1920's they opened their first BJJ school in Rio de Janeiro, where they began their legendary rise up the mountain. Over time the Gracie clan would organise high paying fights including hundreds of thousands of dollars for Rickson Gracie to fight in Japan. Eventually they would test their skills on the ultimate fighting platform in America, as Royce Gracie continued the culmination of their financial wealth. By this stage the Gracie clan had schools everywhere, as BJJ became one of the mainstream Martial Arts that students would search for.

The wealth of the Gracie clan exceeded millions of dollars, as they became the pioneers of Gracie Jiu Jitsu. As the art found its way into the United States of America, their wealth increased exponentially. On top of all of their money for fighting, the innovation continued through the distribution of their instructional content. Famous Gracie fighters like Rickson, Renzo, Rorion, Rolls, and Royler, opened schools all over the United States of America, as they began to corner the market in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu instruction. Their evolution continued throughout the generations, as they built an empire. Nowadays the Gracie clan's net wealth is said to be upwards of 50 million dollars. The Gracie University is an academy spearheaded by Rener and Ryron Gracie, who are the grandson's of Helio Gracie. The Gracie University are more than an academy, as they offer many online courses like the Women's Empowered Program, the Gracie Combatives Program, Master Cycle Courses - blue to purple, the 32 Principles - purple to brown, Master Cycle - brown to black, and Gracie Bullyproof for children. The success of many of the Gracie clan's programs have become world renowned, and extremely popular amongst many of the world's BJJ students.

THE HIGHEST PAID ATHLETES IN BJJ

The question that most people want to know is how much do professional jiu jitsu fighters make, and unless they are winning competitions, it is not much. There are pro athletes that only earn money from competing, and others that do a combination of competing and promotional work. It is extremely hard to make money just from competing, as most athletes will either host seminars, organise competitions, sell instructional content, or sell merchandise online. There are many Brazilian Jiu Jitsu celebrities that have become extremely rich due to their innovation and promotional work. Joe Rogan is a classic example, as he has a net worth of over 25 million dollars. Joe does not run his own academy, but his cult following throughout his role as a podcaster, and a UFC analyst has become extremely profitable.

Eddie Bravo is a notorious innovator of BJJ, with his outlandish style of Jiu Jitsu that has become extremely popular in the no gi version of BJJ. His franchise of 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu academies have become a worldwide phenomenon, as his empire is worth millions. Eddie has furthered his empire by firstly creating the Eddie Bravo Invitational, and more recently Combat Jiu Jitsu, as both organisations are platforms for athletes to make money from grappling. Andre Galvao is another wealthy grappler who has a net worth of nearly 3 million dollars. Andre has become one of the greatest grapplers of all time, and has won every major championship there is to win in BJJ. Andre is also the co-founder of one of the most famous BJJ teams in the world, Atos BJJ. Andre's academy has built some of the world's most dominant champions, as his brand is fast becoming a legacy.

Roger Gracie would have to be one of the most successful grapplers in the history of the sport, as he has also won every major title there is to win in grappling. Along with all of his BJJ achievements he has also made money from competing in Mixed Martial Arts. Roger Gracie worked extensively selling instructional video content, and hosting seminars across the globe, as his net worth is estimated to be up near 3 million dollars. Roger Gracie is currently retired from competitive BJJ, as he puts his attention into his academies in the United Kingdom. Marcelo Garcia is another high level champion of BJJ who has a net worth nearly 2.5 million dollars. Marcelo has an innovative style of grappling that he used to win multiple World Championships against larger and stronger opponents. Marcelo was one of the first Brazilian Jiu Jitsu athletes to sell online instructions, and he also runs his own academy, which has become one of the premier destinations for high level athletes to visit.

Learn the back attack system of the best grappler on the planet, Gordon Ryan! Head over to BJJFanatics.com and learn from the best!

Gordon Ryan has an estimated net worth of over 3 million dollars, and at 27 years of age he is fast becoming the king of bling. Gordon has achieved an impressive amount of wins throughout his career including 76 submission victories out of his 92 wins. Most of Gordon Ryan's remuneration has come from prize money wins, as he is a highly sought after athlete on the superfight circuit. Ryan hosts seminars around the world, and his instructional content on bjjfanatics.com has become one of their best sellers. Ryan has a number of sponsors for his No Gi gear, including Hypnotik and Future Kimonos. Another extremely influential BJJ athlete is Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida, who has amassed a net worth of somewhere near the 2 million dollar mark. Marcus has become one of the world's leading champions having won multiple World Championships throughout his career. Marcus is another athlete that has a large number of instructional content available, as he also hosts a number of seminars across the United States. Marcus Almeida has become an amazing role model, as he looks to further his legacy of being one of the greatest grapplers of all time.

Felipe Pena is yet another high level BJJ black belt that has won multiple world titles, and has claimed a high revenue stream from his Martial Arts abilities. Felipe has won multiple cash prizes for many of his tournament wins, as he boasts a net wealth of around 1.5 million dollars. Felipe was a famous Gracie Barra student, and after winning the World Championship as a brown belt his notoriety went through the roof. Nowadays Felipe runs his own academy called Belo Horizonte, which has become extremely famous, as he passes on his knowledge and expertise to many of his academy students.

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