Andrew Tackett has spent the last two years making some of the most consequential choices of any rising star in professional grappling.

From stepping away from ADCC opportunities to competing at CJI and eventually signing an exclusive agreement with UFC BJJ, the American grappler has repeatedly bet on where he believes the sport is heading.

Speaking on a recent podcast, Tackett described the constant decision-making that has come with competing at the highest level:

The past year and a half has just been nothing but tough decisions.
It seems like almost every week I have to make a new tough decision.

One of the hardest parts, according to Tackett, was giving up the freedom to compete across multiple promotions:

I didn’t want to leave the freedom of getting to do any of the cool random promotions.

Ultimately, he chose structure over flexibility:

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, Tackett believes the move benefited his career:

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.

He pointed to the promotion’s financial power as a major factor:

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.

Still, Tackett emphasized that his priority remains competition above all else:

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 fight the best people where I can meet them.
That’s all I want to do. I just want to prove I’m the best.

As an alternative, he floated the idea of cross-promotional super events similar to the Craig Jones Invitational, where champions from different organizations could meet despite contractual divisions:

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.

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