Andrew Tackett has been at the forefront of some of jiu-jitsu’s biggest decisions over the past two years. From leaving ADCC for CJI to signing an exclusive contract with UFC BJJ, Andrew Tackett has consistently bet on the future of the sport.
But with exclusivity contracts now dividing the top talent across organizations, the grappling star opened up about the challenges this creates and what he needs to see happen next.
When Andrew Tackett signed with UFC BJJ, it was another calculated risk in a series of bold moves.
“The past year and a half has just been nothing but tough decisions,”
Andrew Tackett explained in a recent podcast appearance.
“It seems like almost every week I have to make a new tough decision.”
“I didn’t want to leave the freedom of getting to do any of the cool random promotions,”
he said.
However, Andrew Tackett ultimately chose stability over variety.
“Do I want stability with my exclusivity or do I want freedom and non-stability? I was like, I want stability. I just want consistency, something I can work towards, something I don’t need to plan or worry about at all.”
Looking back, he believes he made the right choice.
“If I wouldn’t have went UFC BJJ, I don’t think I would have gotten the results that I would have gotten choosing UFC a year ago. They got some big things planned for me this year.”
The current landscape of professional jiu-jitsu presents a significant challenge: the best athletes are scattered across different organizations with exclusive contracts, preventing dream matchups from happening.
“It does suck,”
Andrew Tackett admitted when asked about top talent being divided between UFC BJJ, ONE Championship and other promotions.
When asked about the ideal future of jiu-jitsu, Andrew Tackett had a clear answer.
“The most ideal future for me is the UFC just keeps this year they just keep envisioning what’s happening and then by next year everyone’s going full send on UFC.”
He believes UFC has the resources to make this happen.
“UFC has the money and the funding. As long as Dana sees the vision behind it, he’ll throw money at it. If this year goes how UFC wants to go and how my career wants to go, I think by next year we’ll see all of the best people in UFC.”
“If not the best people are still not in UFC and I’ve done everything I can, then I’ll probably leave and I’ll probably go fig ht the best people where I can meet them. That’s all I want to do. I just want to prove I’m the best.”
“Maybe if not, if all the companies are still balanced out and conflicting, then there needs to be another CJI where all of the athletes can meet up from other organizations and just compete,”
he suggested. However, he acknowledged the challenge:
“That’s really hard for the companies because they don’t want to prove that your athlete’s better than theirs.”
For now, Andrew Tackett expressed contentment with the treatment and plans for him from UFC BJJ.
“They’ve been great. I’ll just call the promoter and he’ll just tell me everything. I feel confident now.”
He noted that he hasn’t pushed for permission to compete elsewhere because UFC BJJ has been delivering.
“I haven’t really asked them because I’m so happy of what they’re giving me already. If I wasn’t competing often, then I would probably sit down with them. But they’ve been great.”
