The show has only recently started and already Dana White himself has started to push the idea that major celebrities would be welcome to compete in UFC BJJ events in the future. It’s not without precedent for the world’s biggest combat sports promotion either, as they famously allowed WWE superstar CM Punk to try his hand at professional MMA with a pair of fights in the octagon. It shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise then that the UFC is willing to do the same with their new Jiu-Jitsu brand when the stakes are going to be significantly lower, and there are far more celebrity BJJ practitioners in the world.
There’s also plenty of celebrities already actively competing in Jiu-Jitsu for fun too, so it shouldn’t be too hard to convince one or two of them to do it on a bigger stage. It isn’t like the UFC would struggle to come up with enough money for them either, as White has already announced an eight-figure investment into Jiu-Jitsu this year. It isn’t like Dana White was pushed on to the topic by an interviewer either, he was actually asked about MMA fighters competing at UFC BJJ and he brought up celebrities himself:
“(Mark) Zuckerberg has competed in tournaments. Mario Lopez competes in tournaments. Tom Hardy competes in tournaments. So, this is a spot anybody could come and compete here in Jiu-Jitsu.”
Not only did White bring it up of his own accord, but he was incredibly enthusiastic about the idea too:
“If Mark keeps training and competing and whatever, he could literally come here and fight in UFC BJJ, 100%. Tom Hardy, Mario Lopez, and many, many other actors that are really good Jiu-Jitsu guys that nobody knows about. That would be absolutely awesome!”
The full interview with Dana White where he discusses the idea of celebrities competing at UFC BJJ was uploaded to the official YouTube channel of TMZ Sports:
