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Islam Makhachev Criticizes BJJ Black Belt Promotions: “You Have To Compete”

Islam Makhachev Criticizes BJJ Black Belt Promotions: “You Have To Compete”

Islam Makhachev has once again voiced his opinion on the standards for earning a BJJ black belt in MMA – questioning the legitimacy of promotions for certain fighters.

In his view, the current system allows for promotions that aren’t always reflective of the skill and dedication traditionally associated with a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Specifically, many MMA fighters achieve this rank without competing in BJJ tournaments or demonstrating elite-level grappling in their fights.
For Makhachev, this practice undermines the prestige of the black belt and calls into question the criteria used by coaches to award it.

During a conversation with Demetrious Johnson, Makhachev specifically referenced his former opponent Dustin Poirier – criticizing his reluctance to engage in grappling during their bout:

If you black belt, why you scared to go with him down?

Makhachev then questioned whether Poirier’s grappling truly reflects black belt-level skills, a sentiment he has expressed about other fighters as well.

For him, the solution is clear – to truly earn a black belt, an MMA fighter must demonstrate their skills in competitive Jiu-Jitsu:

You have to compete in Jiu-Jitsu, you have to do like a lot, you know?

Now it’s like a big deal, give some fighter a black belt.
No, (it doesn’t) have to working like this, you know?

I think people agree with me…
If you’re like UFC champion you cannot be one-day black belt.

No, it’s not working well.

Closing his argument, Makhachev emphasized the time and effort required to truly embody what a black belt represents:

You have to spend like hours, hours…
Like five, six years to be black belt.

They have to go some competition, World Championship.
Instead like do something special to be black belt, to deserve this.

Sloth Jiu-Jitsu: you can be slow and unathletic and still kick butt in Jiu-Jitsu.

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