A gruesome arm injury suffered by a 17-year-old competitor at UFC BJJ 11 has sparked a serious conversation about athlete safety within the organization…

With Claudia Gadelha now questioning whether minors should be competing at the professional level at all.

Speaking at the post-event press conference, Gadelha didn’t hold back her reaction to the injury sustained by Kolby Gonzales:

It was nasty. I felt physically sick with that arm breaking. I felt like the submission was there. I didn’t think that Kolby Gonzales wouldn’t tap and he didn’t tap.
He showed how tough he is and he’s so young. I think that’s going to be a good lesson for him.

This marked the first time UFC BJJ has featured a 17-year-old at one of its professional events, and Gadelha said the decision is one the organization is now reconsidering:

This is actually the first time we bring in a 17-year-old to UFC BJJ. I personally still disagree a little bit with bringing juvenile athletes to UFC BJJ.
This is a professional event and we should be a little bit more cautious with bringing in young athletes that are still learning how to compete.

She suggested the injury may have stemmed as much from Gonzalez’s inexperience navigating high-pressure professional situations as anything technical:

I think was probably a mistake on our side to bring in such a young athlete and we’ll probably reveal that decision and not do it again.

Asked about 14-year-old rising star Joslyn Molina, however, Gadelha acknowledged how difficult it is to draw a clear line on age limits:

We need to spend some time. Maybe Dana and Hunter will be able to help us with understanding where to go from here.

By the time you get to 14, 15, 16 years old, you went through every kids belt and you are technically a kid that is a black belt, but you’re not an adult yet.

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