Famous UK rapper Tinie Tempah just managed to win a gold medal in his division at the English BJJ Open. Tempah, who’s real name is Patrick Chukwuemeka Okugwu, has been training in BJJ for quite some time now and is one of many celebrities to take an interest in the sport. What has separated him from the majority of famous people in BJJ, or most people at all, is the fact that he’s actually been willing to test himself in competition too. It’s no secret that competition can be intimidating and is often a source of anxiety, even more so if you’re someone who has a massive following outside the sport.
Regardless, Tinie Tempah has still chosen to put his BJJ skills to the test and has come out the other side with a gold medal for his efforts. He entered the Master 1 blue belt lightweight division, where he had one other opponent and competed in a straight final opposite them. He beat that opponent 4-0 on points and got his hand raised at the end of the match, before collecting his hard-earned medal on the podium. This isn’t the first time that Tinie Tempah has competed in the sport either, as he was spotted at a Grappling Industries tournament earlier this year.
It’s always good to see anyone involved in BJJ pushing themselves to go that little bit further, but celebrities choosing to do that helps grow the sport in an even bigger way. This is because they have an audience that is thousands of times larger than the average person and any positive experience they have in the sport helps bring it to the attention of tons of people who would otherwise be unaware. One of the biggest driving factors in the growth of the sport in recent years has been the popularity of The Joe Rogan Experience, and mainstream celebrities are the natural next step in the progression into the main stream.
Tinie Tempah announced the news that he had won a gold medal in his division at the English BJJ Open in a recent post to his official Instagram account:
