The IBJJF published a statement this week advising that there will be no cash prizes awarded to athletes that close out in their finals match of the World Championships. Also, ranking and team points will be forfeited, affecting both the individual athlete and the standing of the team. 

This comes after four of the 10 male black belt finals were closed out by teammates at the 2022 IBJJF Pan Championships. 

Closeouts have long been a common practice in jiu-jitsu. Teammates rarely face off against other in the finals, preferring to decide who will get their hand raised and take the gold medal by agreement. This is called "closing out" the final match, as no combat takes place. 

The IBJJF's response is designed to eliminate (or at least, dissuade) people from the practice of closing out matches at the most important gi tournament of the year. Stopping short of actually banning the practice, the withholding of prize money or forfeiture of points is a step toward encouraging finals competitors to engage in a match with whoever is in front of them, be it fiend or foe. 

I spoke to three athletes who were part of the closeouts at Pans: Sebastian Rodriguez and Manuel Ribamar, who closed out the medium-heavyweight final, and Matheus Diniz, who closed out the heavyweight final with Dimitrius Souza. 

I asked them to share their feelings on the topic; how they felt when the announcement was made, how they felt knowing it came after their closeouts, what they thought about the overall reaction of the community, and whether they'd do it again. Their answers have been lightly edited to correct any mistakes in their English (all speak English as a second language) but their statements remain mostly intact. 

Sebastian Rodriguez 

"I wasn’t surprised by the reaction of some people, I think closeouts are not that great for the fans. Everybody wants to see a good fight by the people they look up to. But I also feel there are more things they could worry about to make the sport better, such as start paying little more money to the athletes, 

"I mean, imagine dedicating yourself to a sport– your life, your time, your energy– training, sleeping, eating, thinking about the biggest tournament of the sport, to be payed $4000. That doesn’t even cover one month for an athlete's preparation; food, rent, flights, hotel, physiotherapy, registrations... So I think they should find better ways to make the sport more professional. 

"I was a little sad about the reaction of some people but, who pays the registration are the athletes. IBJJF don't give prize money at the major tournaments besides Worlds, not even a different medal for the blackbelt professional league. IBJJF is a great league and they've been doing an amazing job in making the sport better, but at the end of the day there is room to improve in many different ways, for the athletes and for the fans." 

Manuel Ribamar

"At first I was surprised but then I realized for the sport to more professional it's a decision that had to be made. I believe this decision was made for the media to deliver more content to the people who subscribe with a membership. The truth is only a few people care about the professionalism of the sport. For example, subscribers don't understand friendship or loyalty.

"When teammates close out they should at least recognize that the team is doing good work, or maybe a shoutout to the professor of the school. No-one can erase that time when you didn't have anything to eat and that teammate shared his food with you, gave his best to be a better partner, or helped you to achieve the goals you reached. 

"Closeouts don't mean that one person was scared of the other, or that we didn't want to deliver a show to the spectators. It's a sign of respect and gratitude, a kind gesture of "hey man, look, I appreciate you and all you've done for me over the years, I'm honoring you in front of people", you know? The problem is to be selfish nowadays is something very normal. This is my opinion. 

"I believe that we can all adapt to a new ruleset, I don't see any problem in following the rules. What I truly want is the sport to grow so that the next generation can appreciate all the hard work of those that came before them. I appreciate anyone who is fighting for the sport to be more professional, even being so amateur. 

"I could do it again, in case of retirement or just like Buchecha and Leandro– a kind gesture of friendship like when Leandro got hurt. Besides that, I would not closeout. Or just like Sebastian becoming the first Costa Rican Pan champion in history. My mind is always open and ready for change, so I think that this is going to be a good decision and this can definitely take the sport to the next level." 

Matheus Diniz 

"It didn't bother me too much when I saw it, I think people are still going to close out. Like we see in other events, like in ADCC or Abu Dhabi (World Pro), we see people fighting and clearly they're not fighting for real. 

"I believe if IBJJF want to see athletes not close out they've got to motivate them more, not just have them compete and make them pay. I believe the athletes, as long as they are paying their fee, are doing their job. I see a lot of people out there giving statements about this, I think all they want is the hype, use this opportunity to show themselves, but for me I think the IBJJF could do much better, I think they could give back to the athletes. They've got to treat the athletes much better, that's what I beieve. 

"I feel the reaction of the community, I see a lot of people who don't even compete too much, who think they know what they're talking about, I think they just want the hype and to be seen. That's my opinion. You see a lot of other big name athletes really disagreeing with that, they just don't care. That's my point. Truth is, nobody cares what they say– they never did anything, never accomplished anything. And now they're talking all this shit, I don't really care what they say. 

"It's such a stupid thing to say "people pay to watch, people are there to watch the final". But the athletes pay to fight, they pay to get there, so they can do whatever they want. I believe IBJJF could do a lot better especially in the black belt divisions. In order for them to ask us for something, they've got to give something in return. Especially with the prize money, you can make a lot more money doing super fights than winning the World Championships, and this is a shame. 

"That's why a lot if other competitors don't want to do IBJJF any more. I think the IBJJF are treating competitors really badly, they don't give that much to the athletes, so that's my point. I could easily do a superfight and make way more money than winning the World Championships. They're asking something they have no right to ask. They're doing what's best for them, and not what's best for the athletes. 

"And trust me, if it's a huge prize money I would even fight my brother, even my training partners. I know how to separate things really well, friendship and fighting. But to just fight for a medal, especially after tough matches, you have your friend there, you both want to close out and you don't actually have motivation to compete, I don't mind closing out."