The organization’s head of Jiu-Jitsu signals a major shift in athlete exclusivity that could reshape the grappling landscape heading into 2026.
Claudia Gadelha has revealed that athletes signed exclusively to the promotion will no longer be permitted to compete at ADCC starting in 2027, a statement that carries significant implications for the sport’s most prestigious submission grappling tournament.
Speaking in a recent interview, Gadelha made clear that while UFC BJJ has granted some of its exclusive athletes permission to compete at ADCC this year, that flexibility will come to an end. She told Mundo de luta:
“There are some of our exclusive athletes that we’ve given the ADCC to this year, but from next year on, they can only be an athlete of the UFC BJJ.”
The comments came during a discussion about the UFC’s relationship with other major grappling organizations. Gadelha was careful to frame UFC BJJ not as a competitor to events like ADCC or the IBJJF circuit, but as a distinct product operating in its own lane.
“We don’t want to compete with anyone. We believe in what ADCC is doing, what IBJJF is doing, we believe that these are different products from what we have and what we are doing here. But we also believe that for an athlete to be able to build a professional career in Jiu-Jitsu, this is the place he or she has to be, because we have consistency. Last year we did six events, now there are ten events this year.”
“We don’t have a relationship yet with UFC BJJ, but we’re talking.”
Despite the diplomatic tone, the exclusivity policy signals that UFC BJJ is beginning to operate more like a traditional sports league, where roster athletes are tied contractually to the promotion.
For top grapplers currently competing across multiple organizations, the choice of whether to sign exclusively with UFC BJJ may soon mean walking away from ADCC, one of the sport’s most celebrated and career-defining stages.
With ADCC 2026 on the horizon and UFC BJJ rapidly expanding its event calendar, the next several months could prove decisive in determining where the sport’s top talent will compete and under whose banner.
