About — The BJJ Awards

Why it exists

The wall was empty

Walk into any great academy and the mats tell you everything: the kids' class at five, the competition team drilling at seven, the white belt who kept coming back. But the lobby wall, where a parent stands deciding whether to sign their kid up, usually says nothing at all. Or worse, it says something nobody voted for.

The BJJ Awards exists so that wall can say something true: this gym was chosen by its own community, in a public count, against real competition. Six categories per city. One verified vote per person. The full count published with the results, and printed on the plaque.

Who's behind it

Built by someone who lives on the mats

BLACK BELT
25+ YEARS ON THE MATS
2X BRAZILIAN CHAMPION

The BJJ Awards was founded by Felipe Dias, a Brazilian black belt with over twenty-five years of Jiu-Jitsu and two Brazilian championship titles, alongside a career building and operating technology products.

That combination is the whole point. The rules of this award come from the belt: recognition is earned in front of everyone or it means nothing. The execution comes from the career: verified counts, audited records, and a methodology anyone can read.

It's independent. No media company, no gym group, no federation behind it, and no investor with a stake in who wins anything.

The standard

Rules that don't bend

Winners are decided by the count, and only the count. Finalists are the most nominated, winners are the most voted. Nobody here curates, endorses, or votes.
The badge is free, forever. Every winner gets their digital badge and winner page the day results go out, at no cost, no strings.
Anything for sale comes after the results, and only if you want it. The plaque is optional. The award is not for sale, from anyone, at any price.
The count is public. Verified totals, excluded totals, and the full methodology, published every season.

If we ever break one of these, the award is worthless. That's not a slogan; it's the business model. This only works as long as winning here means something.

Where we start

South Florida first

We start where American Jiu-Jitsu lives densest: the Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach corridor, home to some of the deepest mat culture in the country. Orlando opens next, and after that, the map grows wherever the community asks loudest.

Train somewhere else? Put your city on the map →