What Are the Biggest BJJ Competitions and Promotions in the World?

The largest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competition circuits and professional grappling promotions include IBJJF, ADCC, AJP Tour, UFC BJJ, Who's Number One, Polaris, ONE Championship submission grappling and the Craig Jones Invitational.

They do not all operate in the same way. IBJJF and AJP Tour run broad international tournament calendars. ADCC combines a qualification-based World Championship with Trials and Open events. UFC BJJ, WNO, Polaris and ONE Championship use professional fight cards and championship matches, while CJI is built around invitational tournament formats.

The major organizations also differ in rules, athlete access, rankings, prize structures and whether they focus on Gi, No-Gi or submission grappling.

An open tournament circuit allows eligible athletes to register for divisions based on age, belt and weight. IBJJF and AJP Tour use this structure across large international calendars.

A qualification-based championship limits entry through Trials, returning champion status or invitations. The ADCC World Championship follows this model.

Professional promotions select athletes for a fight card, title match or invitational bracket. WNO, Polaris, UFC BJJ and ONE Championship generally operate through selected professional matchups rather than standard belt divisions.

CJI uses an invitational tournament model, with athletes or teams selected for a limited bracket and published prize money.

The International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) organizes Gi and No-Gi competitions in multiple countries throughout the year.

Its calendar includes International Opens, national championships, continental championships and major annual events. Athletes compete in divisions organized by age, belt and weight, with separate absolute divisions at selected levels.

Registration normally requires an active IBJJF membership under an approved academy and the athlete's current belt rank.

IBJJF also publishes event results, athlete rankings and academy rankings, creating one of the largest public competition archives in modern BJJ.

The World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship is the organization's central adult Gi championship.

Other major events include the Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championship, European Jiu-Jitsu Championship, Brazilian Nationals, World Master Jiu-Jitsu Championship and World Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship.

These events serve different age groups and competition formats. World Master is dedicated to master divisions, while No-Gi Worlds uses a separate No-Gi rules and uniform structure.

Most IBJJF championships are registration-based, although ranking requirements or eligibility rules may apply to specific divisions and events.

The ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship is a major international No-Gi submission grappling event.

The World Championship uses professional weight classes and an absolute division. Its rules combine takedowns, positional points, penalties and submission opportunities, with parts of some matches taking place before positive points are activated.

ADCC uses a distinct ruleset rather than the IBJJF No-Gi system. Match duration, scoring periods, penalties and qualification routes are specific to the organization.

The official championship archive records divisional and absolute champions across multiple editions.

The ADCC World Championship field is formed through several athlete pathways.

Trials winners qualify through regional events, while returning champions receive places based on previous results. ADCC also selects invited athletes for the remaining positions.

The Trials system is divided by region and uses passport eligibility requirements. The qualification structure separates the World Championship from ordinary open-registration tournaments.

ADCC also operates Open events. These are accessible to a broader range of competitors and do not require athletes to qualify for entry.

Abu Dhabi Jiu-Jitsu Pro (AJP Tour) organizes an international calendar of Gi and No-Gi competitions.

The circuit includes Regional, International, National, Continental and Grand Slam events, together with the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship and AJP World No-Gi.

AJP uses seasonal athlete and academy rankings. Event levels award different ranking points, with World Pro and AJP World No-Gi positioned above Grand Slam, Continental, National, Regional and International events in the ranking structure.

Divisions vary by event and may include kids, youth, amateur, professional and master athletes across multiple belt levels.

The Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu World Tour brings high-ranking AJP competition to selected international cities.

The Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship is one of the highest-value events in the AJP ranking structure.

AJP publishes brackets, match schedules, results and rankings through its own competition platform.

The circuit provides athletes with a season-long points pathway rather than focusing only on a single annual championship.

UFC BJJ is a professional grappling promotion operating under the UFC brand.

The promotion uses numbered events, selected matchups and championship bouts. Its cards are built around professional No-Gi athletes rather than traditional white belt through black belt tournament divisions.

UFC BJJ has introduced divisional championship matches and recurring event cards at the UFC's production facilities.

This structure places UFC BJJ closer to a professional combat sports promotion than to an open-registration tournament circuit such as IBJJF or AJP Tour.

Who's Number One (WNO) is a professional No-Gi event series produced by FloGrappling.

The series began staging events in 2020 and later introduced divisional championships. WNO cards commonly include a main event, co-main event, championship matches, professional superfights and undercard bouts.

Some editions have also used Grand Prix brackets or local qualifying events, but the main format remains a selected professional fight card.

WNO is tied closely to FloGrappling's media platform, rankings and event archive.

Polaris Professional Jiu-Jitsu was established in 2015 and is based in the United Kingdom.

The promotion has used several formats, including professional superfight cards, championship matches, Grand Prix brackets and team-based Polaris Squads events.

Polaris events have featured both Gi and No-Gi matches, although recent cards have been primarily associated with professional No-Gi grappling.

Its long-running event series has made Polaris one of the established professional grappling platforms in Europe.

ONE Championship is a multi-sport combat promotion that includes MMA, Muay Thai, kickboxing and submission grappling.

Submission grappling bouts use ONE's Global Submission Grappling Rule Set. Current rules use a single 10-minute round and allow victory by submission, verbal tapout, referee stoppage, corner stoppage or judges' decision.

ONE has promoted professional submission grappling World Championship bouts alongside its other combat sports divisions.

Because ONE is not a BJJ-only organization, its grappling division is best understood as one part of a broader professional combat sports platform.

The Craig Jones Invitational (CJI) launched in 2024 as an invitational submission grappling event.

The first edition used two 16-athlete men's brackets, one under 80 kg and one over 80 kg. Each division winner received a published $1 million prize, and the event was streamed free on YouTube.

CJI 2 took place in 2025 and changed the main format to an eight-team tournament with five athletes per team. It also included a separate women's openweight bracket and professional superfights.

CJI is an invitational event series rather than an open-registration ranking circuit.

IBJJF and AJP Tour maintain large Gi calendars alongside No-Gi competitions.

ADCC, UFC BJJ, WNO and CJI are primarily associated with No-Gi submission grappling. ONE Championship also uses No-Gi attire for its submission grappling bouts.

Polaris has presented both Gi and No-Gi matches, though its professional identity is now strongly connected to No-Gi cards.

This division matters because Gi and No-Gi use different grips, pace, tactical systems and legal techniques depending on the ruleset.

IBJJF and AJP Tour allow eligible athletes to register for many events within their age, belt and weight divisions.

ADCC Opens are also available to a broad range of competitors, while the ADCC World Championship requires Trials qualification, returning champion status or an invitation.

WNO, Polaris, UFC BJJ, ONE Championship and CJI select professional athletes for specific cards, title matches or invitational brackets.

These pathways give hobbyists, developing competitors and professional athletes different entry points into the international BJJ ecosystem.

Amateur and developing athletes can enter many IBJJF International Opens and AJP Tour events if they meet registration and membership requirements.

ADCC Open events accept competitors across multiple age and experience divisions without requiring World Championship qualification.

Local and regional events affiliated with major circuits can provide a pathway into larger tournaments and rankings.

Professional promotions such as UFC BJJ, WNO, Polaris, ONE Championship and CJI generally select athletes rather than accepting standard public registration for their main cards.

IBJJF and AJP Tour publish seasonal athlete and academy rankings based on results across their tournament calendars.

ADCC qualification is based primarily on Trials, returning champion status and invitations rather than a standard open ranking pathway into the World Championship.

UFC BJJ, WNO, Polaris and ONE Championship use professional divisional titles or championship belts.

CJI focuses on tournament winners and prize-based invitational formats instead of a season-long public belt ranking system.

IBJJF: international Gi and No-Gi tournament circuit; registration-based divisions; athlete and academy rankings.

ADCC: No-Gi World Championship, Trials and Opens; qualification and invitation pathways; distinct submission grappling ruleset.

AJP Tour: international Gi and No-Gi ranking circuit; Regional through World-level events.

UFC BJJ: professional No-Gi promotion with numbered events and championship bouts.

WNO: selected professional No-Gi cards, title matches and occasional brackets.

Polaris: UK-based professional promotion using superfights, titles, Grand Prix and team formats.

ONE Championship: professional submission grappling division within a multi-sport combat promotion.

CJI: high-prize invitational tournament series with changing bracket and team formats.

Modern Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu includes open tournaments, ranking circuits, qualification-based championships, invitational brackets and professional fight cards.

IBJJF and AJP Tour provide broad competitive calendars for multiple belts and age groups. ADCC connects Open competition and regional Trials to an elite World Championship. Professional promotions create selected matchups, title bouts and media-focused events.

Athletes frequently compete across several organizations because each ruleset and format rewards different technical and strategic strengths.

IBJJF, ADCC and AJP Tour form major international competition pathways, but they use different rules, rankings and athlete access systems.

UFC BJJ, WNO, Polaris and ONE Championship focus on professional matchups and championship bouts, while CJI uses a high-prize invitational tournament model.

Together, these organizations represent the main structures of modern BJJ competition: Gi tournaments, No-Gi submission grappling, open registration, qualification, professional titles and invitational brackets.