Attention All Professional Grapplers or Jiu Jitsu Fighters – please read this and know it comes from the bottom of my heart. I want greatness for this sport and the largest cash prize in the history of martial arts for you. Grapplers Quest is already on television and the sponsors are getting HOT – now, I really need you to understand where we’re coming from, I need you to understand how much we need your professionalism to help make our special featured “professional” divisions, especially now that we are on television and drawing larger spectator crowds, to be marketable in advance. Do you know why ADCC doesn’t post the brackets until the night before the tournament? Because they don’t know either, because competitors are letting promoters down. Yes, some people get hurt, get sick or have personal and or family issues – I totally respect and understand that.
I’m upset about the people who NO-SHOW on promoters or pull out with a half-ass lame excuse. It’s not fair to the fans, the promoter or the sport. Don’t “throw your name in the hat” just to pull out 4 days before the tournament. Those days are done, it’s just not fair to other hard working competitors who would DIE for the same spot, you’ve not respected, it’s not fair to anyone.
I’ll never forget the second World Series of Grappling back at Texas Station Hotel and Casino. We sold the whole place out and featured the first ever Professional World Series Grappling event – every casino in Vegas’ ears perked up. I remember getting contacted by several online and casinos interested in carrying odds on the result of an 8-man or 32-man tournament, I was elated – this was BIG time! It could have been the ultimate hook to get real casino prize money for athletes. Of the 40 confirmed athletes, only 22 showed up, the rest were pieced together from Advanced Division champions, the odds became garbage and all bets were refunded – did you guys know that? The odds makers balked on any future odds for “grappling” due to “unreliable athletes”. That sucked to hear, but I guess it’s my fault, I never made a big deal about it, I never held any of the athletes that disappointed the grappling world accountable, but that will forever change moving forward.
Flash forward to July of 2010 when we hosted the first ever $11,500 cash prize 32-Man Tournament at Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore, California. The line-up was stacked to be the greatest grappling tournament in the history of the sport, even better than any ADCC Tournament ever assembled. Within the final weeks, many of the top seeded athletes fell off the charts and dropped out of the tournament and once again, many of the Advanced Division champions (10 of them) filled in the last open slots. It was disheartening, but I just found a deeper respect for the athletes that actually showed up to compete and an even deeper respect for the athletes who jumped at the opportunity to compete against some of the World’s Best.
The past is the past, I no longer want to talk about who backed out of which tournament, who agreed to financial terms and backed out after brackets were released, who skipped out on plane tickets, wasted hotel rooms – you name it, I’ve had it done to us – I’m done with it, no more drama.
If you agree to compete in a professional Grapplers Quest division and “stand the grappling world up”, you will not be invited back to a professional division at Grapplers Quest. Respectfully, I wanted to put all aspiring professionals or pro fighters or grapplers on notice that we just can’t tolerate it any more.
I would rather reward our amateur champions spots in tournaments for cash prizes if that’s the case. I want you guys to appreciate the opportunity we’ve all worked so hard to build, grappling on television. Now is not the time to become a prima donna and make unrealistic financial requests, now is the time to get sponsors and come compete at Grapplers Quest to be seen by 15 million homes before the end of 2011 and syndicated on ESPN Classics for years to come. If your sponsors don’t recognize the value of being featured on television, please find one that will. Show us loyalty, honor and respect and we’ll take you to the TOP!
We always treat our athletes like professionals and we appreciate the mutual professionalism. Having grappling featured on national television to 15 million homes creates some of the greatest sponsorship opportunities for professional grapplers – we can get YOUR sponsors more exposure than any other grappling event in the world. Believe in us and respect your word, your honor and your integrity – the grappling world and your fans deserve it too.
Show me loyalty, show me excitement, show me consistent
Advanced and Professional placings and
I’ll make you famous in the grappling world.
Guaranteed.
Your Grappling Promoter,
Brian J. Cimins, President and Founder
Grapplers Quest Worldwide
Brian Cimins 
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