Gabriel Almada 
The PBJJF is on the rise in the Jiu-Jitsu competition scene and has already established itself in the American market after two years of activity. The Federation is a benchmark in holding events and has stood out for the structure of its championships and the care it takes with its athletes. The PBJJF intends to innovate in Jiu-Jitsu and differentiate itself from other organizations.
Black belts JP Ferreira and Max Gimenez, multi-champions in Jiu-Jitsu, lead the PBJJF and are responsible for the Federation’s significant growth.
JP recalls the beginnings of the PBJJF
In an interview with VF Comunica, JP Ferreira told us what motivated him to found the PBJJF.
“The PBJJF came about because of the lack of organization and professionalism of events in our area. Max Gimenis, who still competes at a high level, and I are the co-founders of PBJJF. We’re very good friends and, at some point, we realized that we couldn’t get our students into championships. So we decided to create PBJJF because of the lack of events with the necessary quality. We started this mission at PBJJF two years ago and our purpose is to elevate Jiu-Jitsu and bring more and more professional championships. We want to promote competitions that don’t just benefit the athlete, but Jiu-Jitsu itself. Also we want to give Jiu-Jitsu visibility so that people come to our events, people who have never trained Jiu-Jitsu and come to watch their friend. And once they’ve had a good experience in the championship, they’ll want to train,” explained JP.
PBJJF innovates in Jiu-Jitsu
The PBJJF has enjoyed considerable success in the market because it is always looking to improve after each championship. João Paulo said that the plan is to listen to the athletes in order to provide a unique experience for each competitor or each person who attended the event.
“This is essential for us. We want to improve every day. If you come to a PBJJF event today, you’ll see something completely different at the next one. Something will improve because we’re constantly evolving. Another thing we do is send questions to the athletes to see what we can improve,” said JP.
The PBJJF is about to achieve a historic milestone since its foundation. The Federation’s first World Jiu-Jitsu Championship is scheduled for next Sunday, November 12, in Baltimore. The competition will see a belt at stake in the adult male and female black belt absolutes.
Belt up for grabs at the World Championship
JP highlighted the importance of the belt to enhance the champion and projected the next Federation World Championship as a great show.
“I think it will be a turning point for our Federation. As it’s the first one, we still have a lot to learn, but we’ve decided that the absolute black belt needs to have something special. So we decided to create the belt. We see that other federations give belts to children, it becomes something normal because it takes away from the prestige of the belt. So we wanted to give the belt only to the men’s and women’s absolute champions. When we started in a gym, we were already thinking about where we wanted to be today. So our World Championships will be a show in the future. It’s something we need to learn and work on, but we want to make the athlete a superstar. So, in the absolute final, the guy will enter with a song, as if he were fighting for a UFC belt. We believe it’s possible to have a belt for each champion in the categories in the future, but something exclusive to black belts,” said the PBJJF leader.
Check out the full interview in the video below.
