At any major sporting event there’s always a host of attendees that have a special eye on the action; the photographers. Competitive grappling is no different, as the men and women behind the camera lens capture the special angles on the action, anguish of defeat and elation in victory. Blanca Garcia is recognized as one of the leaders in this industry not only for her fantastic work, but for intense desire to see competitive grappling grow to levels beyond what is seen today.
Garcia’s work can be found around all the major events in grappling. She’s worked with major promotions such as the Eddie Bravo Invitational, IBJJF and FIVE Super League. Later this year her work will capture all of the action from the ADCC tournament; widely considered the most important competition in the sport. When looking at her background, it’s hard to find many that have the credentials to rival her own. She earned her Masters’ in Photography while covering events for major outlets and leagues such as ESPN, NFL, NBA, and NHL. Plus, she carries a commitment to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu on a personal level, training in the art for more than four years.
Garcia’s vantage point as a media member has helped her gain a level of understanding to what’s needed for the continued growth of competitive grappling. There’s been a number of recent developments that can be seen as a boost to the sport; many of which Garcia has seen first-hand. She attributes the current boom of competitive grappling partly to the growth of social media that has allowed athletes to better present themselves and their craft to the world. The emergence of FloGrappling and promotions such as EBI getting featured on UFC Fight Pass continued to push the sport to new heights.
“It was an extraordinary moment because it took us to a mainstream level,” Garcia said in speaking of the partnership between the EBI and UFC. “Everyone knows what the UFC is and now EBI and Polaris are on the platform. It makes me happy that they are going around to the major promotions around the world. This way they continue to spread the positivity of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.”
Continued growth of the sport falls not only in the big promotions but the smaller groups that are popping up throughout the country and the world. Many of which lean on local competitors to fill out cards and tournaments with names that people may recognize and pay to see compete.
“I get what these promotions are trying to do, but the need is to put more into the promotion of the people. These athletes want to become known in the sport,” Garcia said. “I hope that they do succeed and that they do fulfill the promises that these kids have for these shows on levels. A lot of these smaller promotions have the same athletes and matches that can be seen at smaller IBJJF events.”
Part of that success comes from the ability of these organizations to pay the athletes with either fight purses or tournament prize money. This is a new concept to many athletes and promotions, but there are models around to how to do so successfully.
“The IBJJF has been paying athletes for many years and has been successful doing so,” Garcia said. “Other promotions started doing the same thing; the problem is that the people that run these promotions are not main event savvy. It’s hard, but we’ve learned a lot with EBI. This isn’t the UFC; people do not know all of the players in these matches.”
Athletes are doing their part to become more well-known and trash talking on the Internet is a part of that practice. While many do not believe the practice has a place in competitive grappling, it’s helped build the following that some of the biggest stars have at this time.
“The athletes are very savvy in regards to trash talking on the Internet, but it does help them a lot to grab haters or followers,” Garcia said. “Look at the promotion of Floyd Mayweather versus Conor McGregor. The main attraction isn’t that these men are talented fighters; it’s the trash talk they’ve thrown at each other. Now, more athletes are doing the same thing. They are playing the card to see how far they can push the envelope, even though in real life they are some of the nicest people ever. The promotions are really showing money to these athletes which change their behavior. It’s starting to become more of a real professional promotion.”
The growth of competitive grappling will continue to be a slow burn. As live streaming grows and more promotions present their work to the public, opportunities for fighters will grow; a cause that Garcia believes in and is solidly behind.
“We need to get more people on UFC Fight Pass. FloGrappling is amazing but a lot of people don’t watch what is on there. People go back and watch EBI. It’s been shown in numbers,” Garcia said. “People may not go back to watch the other promotions, but they are going back to watch the EBIs. Getting two athletes that are the same quality and have a rivalry behind it and it’s fantastic to watch.”