39 BJJ Statistics Every Grappler Should Know

Are you curious about BJJ statistics such as the highest percentage submissions in BJJ, what chokes work best in the UFC, or general trends?

I’ve curated and categorized a list of BJJ stats and research below.

NOTE: If you’d like to cite this article, feel free! Just insert a link back to the original post: https://bjjequipment.com/bjj-statistics

Top BJJ Statistics

Here are the most interesting BJJ statistics I think you should know:

The rear-naked choke is the highest percentage BJJ submission performed in The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). It accounts for 539 of 1086 (49.63%) choke finishes. (u/sjstell)
The rear-naked choke is the highest percentage submission in IBJJF competition. 45% of submissions performed in the 2023 IBJJF world championships were the rear naked choke. (IBJJF)
In Grappler vs Striker UFC Main Events, grapplers have won 68% of bouts. (Game Theory)
An estimated 10% of white belts get their blue belt, and an estimated 1% of blue belts get their black belt. (Rener Gracie)
The average time to get a black belt is 12 years, 1 month, and 1 day. (BJJ Belt Checker)
An athlete who secures a guard pass increases his chance of victory in BJJ competition by 99.6%. (BJJ Heroes)
The average age when people are promoted to black belt is 38. (BJJ Belt Checker)
90% of BJJ players are men, and 10% are women. (BJJ Belt Checker)

Highest Percentage Submissions In BJJ

You only have so much time to train, so which BJJ submissions give you the highest chance of submitting your opponent? Here are some stats about the highest percentage submissions in BJJ:

The rear-naked choke is the highest percentage submission in IBJJF competition. 45% of submissions performed in the 2023 IBJJF world championships were the rear naked choke. (IBJJF)
The armbar is the second-highest percentage submission in IBJJF competition. 21% of submissions performed in IBJJ2023 IBJJF world championships was the armbar. (IBJJF)
The inside heal hook is the highest-percentage submission in ADCC competition. 21% of submissions performed in ADCC competition in 2023 were inside heel hooks. (The Grappling Conjecture)
The rear-naked choke is the second-highest percentage submission in ADCC competition. 20% of submissions performed in ADCC competition in 2023 were rear-naked chokes. (The Grappling Conjecture)
The back position in BJJ leads to the most submissions. (The Grappling Conjecture)
The most attempted submission is the guillotine choke, but only has a 9.3% finish rate. (The Grappling Conjecture)
51% of submissions at the IBJJF world championships came from top, and 49% of submissions came from bottom. (BJJ Heroes)
Leg locks make up 28-30% of submission finishes in competition. (BJJHeroes)

doing a rear naked choke on the grappling smarty

Practicing my rear-naked choke on my Grappling SMARTY 2.0

BJJ Belt Statistics

How long do BJJ players spend at each belt level? Let’s look at the numbers.

An estimated 10% of white belts get their blue belt, and an estimated 1% of blue belts get their black belt. (Rener Gracie)
The average age when people start training BJJ is 29. (BJJ Belt Checker)
The average age when people are promoted to black belt is 38. (BJJ Belt Checker)
The average time spent as a white belt is 2 years, 5 months, and 18 days. (BJJ Belt Checker)
The average time spent as a blue belt is 3 years, 4 months, and 25 days. (BJJ Belt Checker)
The average time spent as a purple belt is 3 years, 2 months, and 24 days. (BJJ Belt Checker)
The average time spent as a brown belt is 2, 11 months, and 2 days. (BJJ Belt Checker)
The average time to get a black belt is 12 years, 1 month, and 1 day. (BJJ Belt Checker)

UFC BJJ Submission Statistics

What BJJ submissions work the best in the UFC? Check out these UFC submission statistics:

The rear-naked choke is the highest percentage BJJ submission performed in The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). It accounts for 539 of 1086 (49.63%) choke finishes. (u/sjstell)
The guillotine choke is the second-highest percentage BJJ submission performed in the UFC. Guillotine variations account for 21% of choke finishes. (u/sjstell)
11.6% of BJJ choke submissions in the UFC end up in a loss of consciousness for the loser. (u/sjstell)
The Anaconda choke submission has the highest “Loss Of Consciousness” rate in the UFC, with ~35% of submissions ending in the loser losing consciousness. (u/sjstell)

BJJ Guard & Guard Passing Statistics

Sure, submissions are sexy…but it’s important your guard and guard passing skills are up to par.

An athlete who secures a guard pass increases his chance of victory in BJJ competition by 99.6%. (BJJ Heroes)
The Knee Cut Pass is the most popular way to pass guard in IBJJF competition. (BJJ Heroes)
40% of back takes were secured while attempting to pass the bottom player’s guard. (BJJ Heroes)
Sweeps are the most common way to gain points in IBJJF competitions. (BJJ Heroes)
The Open Guard is the most common guard used for sweeping an opponent. (BJJ Heroes)
Close-distance guard passes had 2x as much success as mid and long-distance passes in ADCC competition. (BJJ Heroes)
The Half Guard Pressure Pass is the most popular way to pass guard in ADCC competitions. (BJJ Heroes)

BJJ Gear & Equipment Statistics

What are the top-selling BJJ gis and BJJ rash guards? Amazon shares the numbers:

The Elite Sports BJJ Gi is the top-selling BJJ gi on Amazon, with 300+ bought in the last month. (Amazon)
The Sanabul Essential Short Sleeve BJJ Rash Guard is the top-selling BJJ rash guard on Amazon, with 200+ bought in the last month. (Amazon)
The Elite Sports MMA Fight Shorts are the top-selling no-gi shorts, on Amazon with 800+ bought in the last month. (Amazon)
The Sanabal Men’s Compression Spats are the top-selling BJJ spats on Amazon, with 300+ bought in the last month. (Amazon)
The Sanabul Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu BJJ Pro Belt is the top-selling BJJ belt on Amazon, with 600+ bought in the past month. (Amazon)
The Venum Challenger Mouthguard is the top-selling mouthguard on Amazon, with 3K+ bought in the last month. (Amazon)

Misc BJJ Statistics

Here are a couple of more interesting BJJ statistics for you to think about:

In Grappler vs Striker UFC Main Events, grapplers have won 68% of bouts. (Game Theory)
Grapplers represent 44% of main-event fights in the UFC. (Game Theory)
90% of BJJ players are men, and 10% are women. (BJJ Belt Checker)
3% of BJJ black belts are women. (BJJ Belt Checker)
The most common injuries in BJJ are knee injuries — specifically, the right knee. (BJJ Belt Checker)
BJJ has been growing steadily in popularity since 2004. (Google Trends)

BJJ Research

What does the research say about the benefits of jiu-jitsu? Here’s what I’ve found:

Practicing BJJ is correlated with a higher quality of life. (Biomedical Human Kinetics)
Practicing BJJ can help improve PTSD symptoms and decrease symptoms of major depressive disorder, anxiety, and alcohol use. (Military Medicine)
Jiu-jitsu athletes have low body fat, and elite, experienced BJJ players have greater flexibility. (Sports Med Open)
BJJ helps people learn and acquire critical life skills: respect, perseverance, self-confidence, and healthy habits. (Journal Of Applied Sport Psychology)
BJJ can help facilitate a “flow state” when training. (Ido Movement for Culture)
BJJ helps improve your cognitive performance and executive function. (Journal Of Human Kinetics)
Mastery-based goals are associated with training effort in BJJ, and setting goals can prevent people from quitting. (Journal Of Physical Education and Sport)
BJJ can be viewed as a spiritual experience, constituting a way of asceticism. (Ronald Condé)

More BJJ Statistics & Research Resources

Looking for more BJJ statistics, data, and research? Check out these resources:

Less Impressed More Involved BJJ has some excellent breakdowns of high-percentage BJJ moves.
The Grappling Conjecture does statistical breakdowns of individual grappling tournaments.
ADCC Fighters EDA and Clustering (KMeans) showcases data visualization for ADCC fighters.

Or check out these resources to “learn how to learn” about BJJ:

If you have a resource with some interesting BJJ statistics or research, let me know in the comments and I’ll add them to this article.

Takeaway Thoughts & Discussion

These are the most interesting BJJ statistics I’ve found.

What stat did you find the most interesting? Did any of them surprise you?

Will you make any modifications to your grappling based on the data?

Hit me up in the comments below and join the discussion.

And if I missed any BJJ statistics, drop them in the comments (along with the source)!

Happy rolling. 🤙

Tsavo Neal

Tsavo is the founder of BJJ Equipment, an assistant BJJ instructor at InFighting, and a BJJ blue belt. He’s a passionate hobbyist and BJJ gear/equipment aficionado who wanted to share his favorite pickups with other jiujiteiros. He launched BJJ Equipment in 2022 to make it easy for jiu-jitsu practitioners to find the best BJJ gear so they look, feel, and perform at their best on the mats.