EBI 5 went down Sunday night, and it was spectacular. An announcement was made regarding the next tournament, and it was pretty big news. EBI 6 will be taking place in Mexico City. It will be an Absolute division and the winner has a chance to take home $50,000, instead of the usual $20,000. The location is particularly encouraging for me. Branching outside of Southern California is an excellent idea. Although it isn’t that far, the more places EBI goes, the more fans it will gain. I would really like to see Eddie Bravo start hosting these tournaments in different places regularly. The increase in winnings is also something that I am happy to see. Yes, 20k is good, but obviously 50k is better. Being able to earn real money through competition is one of the things that has eluded the BJJ scene. Eddie Bravo has really made great strides in this area. But, I do hope that eventually all competitors get paid, not just the winner.
Having an Absolute division is going to be amazing. There are all sorts of amazing BJJ athletes who have not been able to compete at EBI due to its focus on the lower weight classes. This really opens the doors for superstars like Andre Galvao and Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu. Bravo also likes to have MMA fighters compete in his tournaments, so maybe we could see someone like Chael Sonnen or Benson Henderson in this upcoming tournament. All of the things Bravo has been doing is advancing the BJJ scene. He is putting on exciting tournaments that even the casual viewer can enjoy and this next tournament will be the biggest one yet.
