What Happened to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) in UFC?

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu's journey within the Ultimate Fighting Championship began with a seismic impact, fundamentally altering the landscape of combat sports. In November 1993, Royce Gracie, a relatively slender BJJ practitioner, shocked the world by winning UFC 1, defeating much larger opponents from various martial arts disciplines using chokes and joint locks. This early dominance, which continued with Gracie winning UFC 2 and UFC 4, unequivocally demonstrated that technique, leverage, and ground control could neutralize brute strength and striking prowess.

The reason for BJJ's initial overwhelming success was its novelty and effectiveness. Most martial arts at the time focused primarily on striking or stand-up grappling, leaving a significant gap in ground fighting knowledge. BJJ provided a comprehensive system for taking an opponent to the ground, maintaining dominant positions, and finishing fights with submissions, a skill set largely unknown to other competitors. This forced a paradigm shift, making ground fighting an unavoidable aspect of any serious martial arts training.

Key turning points emerged as the UFC evolved. The introduction of stricter rules, including weight classes, time limits, and the ability for referees to stand up stalled ground fights, gradually pushed MMA towards a more well-rounded approach. Fighters like Georges St-Pierre and Demetrious Johnson exemplified this new era, seamlessly blending striking, wrestling, and BJJ into a complete package. While pure BJJ specialists became less common as champions, the art's principles became foundational, with every elite MMA fighter needing a strong understanding of BJJ for both offensive submissions and defensive escapes.

Consequently, BJJ itself adapted, with the rise of no-gi grappling and a greater emphasis on sport BJJ techniques that translated well to MMA. Today, BJJ remains a critical component of MMA, with top fighters like Charles Oliveira holding records for most submission wins in UFC history (16 as of 2023). Many current UFC champions, including Mackenzie Dern, Tom Aspinall, and Ilia Topuria, are decorated BJJ black belts, showcasing its continued relevance at the highest level.

As of May 22, 2026, the current status of BJJ in the UFC is dual-faceted. It continues to be an indispensable skill for all MMA fighters, influencing takedown defense, scrambles, guard work, positional control, and finishing ability. Furthermore, in a significant development, the UFC launched its own dedicated submission grappling promotion, 'UFC Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu' (UFC BJJ), in June 2025. This new venture features a revolutionary format with 3 rounds of 5 minutes, a 10-point must scoring system, and a 'pit' with curved walls. The promotion has rapidly expanded, planning 14 events for 2026, and has already crowned multiple champions across various weight classes, with its 8th event, UFC BJJ 8: Musumeci vs Dantzler, taking place on May 21, 2026. This signifies a new era where BJJ not only underpins MMA success but also thrives as a standalone sport under the UFC banner.