In a pointed social media post, Rocha highlighted the stark contrast between events that prioritize athlete compensation and those that rely solely on prestige. His comments came after the IBJJF offered genuine financial backing for competitors at a Thursday night Grand Prix, featuring show money and a $50,000 prize purse.
“It’s interesting that a smaller bracket can offer show money and $50K while the ‘most prestigious’ event in grappling happens every two years and expects athletes to compete for free,” Rocha wrote. “Prestige is cool. Valuing athletes is cooler.”
The timing of Rocha’s criticism is significant. ADCC only introduced show money for the first time in 2024, a change that came directly from pressure applied by Craig Jones and his competing invitational event. Brandon Reed, who competed at ADCC 2024, made this connection explicit when discussing his experience.
“Even me as an ADCC athlete, I got paid $2,500 to show up at ADCC, even though I lost in the first round,” Reed stated. “That was not going to happen if it wasn’t for Craig Jones. I have nothing against ADCC at all, but it was nice to get paid for it.”
Reed’s acknowledgment underscores a fundamental shift in competitive grappling. When Jones organized the Craig Jones Invitational on the same weekend as ADCC 2024, many in the community questioned the decision. Yet the impact proved undeniable. Beyond forcing ADCC to introduce show money for the first time in its history, Jones’ event also pushed the organization to equalize prize money between male and female competitors.
Fast forward to 2026, there’s no CJI to compete against so ADCC is back to their old tricks. This time the storied promotion opted to cut the women’s absolute completely, ignore the women’s prizes and only double the men’s. All while trying to charge more for tickets to attend the event in Poland than they did in Las Vegas.
ADCC faces mounting pressure to evolve beyond its historic model. Whether the organization will rise to meet those expectations or continue relying on its reputation remains to be seen.
