BJJ legend and multiple-time world champion Marcio ‘Pe De Pano’ Cruz has just made some explosive allegations of match fixing and gambling against IBJJF referees. Cruz is one of the most decorated competitors to ever set foot on the mats and he has won multiple titles over the course of his career, with many of them coming in IBJJF competition. He has won the IBJJF World Championship, the IBJJF Pan Championship, and the IBJJF Brazilian National Championship multiple times over. When he was at the height of his career in the early 2000s, Cruz was one of the most successful competitors around and his status in the sport certainly lends some credibility to his claims.
This isn’t the first time that Cruz has shed light on some of the IBJJF’s business practices, as he previously accused USADA of offering reductions in suspension to athletes failing drug tests in exchange for ‘snitching’ on fellow competitors. He was quite clear in his accusations this time around too, and he directed most of them at one of the top figures in the organization, Pedro Arruda:
“They are betting cash and then going in to referee. Pedro (Arruda) also commented several times in this group how to make a deal.”
Obviously referees should never be gambling on the outcome of the sport they are officiating and in many other organizations this would be grounds for immediate dismissal, and allegations alone would lead to a suspension pending further investigation. Cruz has made his accusations in public in order to see whether the IBJJF takes the same course of action, or not:
“I want to see what IBJJF will do. So far nothing, everything is normal. I sincerely hope that when I come back here I congratulate the attitude of IBJJF, but from what I’ve seen it seems that nothing will change.”
Competitors have criticized the IBJJF for allegedly showing favoritism to Brazilian competitors in the past, but this is the first time that a major figure like Cruz has made specific accusations towards particular referees. The IBJJF hasn’t commented on the issue yet, but Cruz is determined to bring attention to the alleged issue regardless:
“For me it’s absurd. I couldn’t even (stay silent) and the funniest thing is that no one is talking about this on the internet. That’s why Jiu-Jitsu is going forward, everything is under the cloth.”
The full interview with Marcio ‘Pe De Pano’ Cruz where he accuses the IBJJF of match fixing was uploaded to the official YouTube channel of MMA Hoje:
