All You Need To Know About American Grappling Federation

In 2011, Brandon Quick and his friend Chris who are successful entrepreneurs decided to form a BJJ tournament organization where BJJ practitioners could compete in the most fair way possible. Hence, the American Grappling Federation was founded in October 2011. This organization was open for practitioners of every age and level. AGF conducts both Gi and No-Gitournaments. The tournaments were previously conducted in a few regions such as Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri but now European tournaments have started to happen.

The sole purpose behind AGF’s foundation was to provide a tournament to the struggling grapplers for every age and belt level.

Today AGF is a renowned name in the BJJ community. And even practitioners from elite BJJ academies vouch for the integrity of AGF.

AGF is a single elimination tournament. A single error can disqualify practitioners from competing in the whole division.

It was Brandon and Chris’ idea to build an app for organizing BJJ competitions. But as the tournament scenario grew, it became difficult for them to manage apps and then they founded American Grappling Federation in 2011.

• The scoring system is the same as that of the IBJJF.
• Coach’s Challenge is a term introduced by AGF. The tournament holders of AGF accept that mistakes can be made by anyone, even by the trained and talented referees.
• In that case, a Coach’s Challenge bean bag is given to the coaches. If they feel that the decision is not correct, they throw the bean bag on the mat and declare that they want to challenge the referee’s decision.
• AGF follows a pre-registration rule which means that practitioners can not sign up for the tournament only one day before the fight.

• If any practitioner argues with the referee, he is given a warning. If he does not take notice of the warning, it can result in a penalty.
• If a practitioner intentionally dodges his/her opponent, a warning is issued.
• The outcome for stalling for more than 20 seconds labels inactivity from the referee.
• The first penalty which accounts for warning is the verbal warning from the referee.
• Incase of a second penalty, the opponent gets two free points.
• For a third penalty, the practitioner is immediately disqualified from the tournament and the opponent is announced as a winner.

Consolation matches which were previously an important part of AGF, were removed from January 2023. These matches were conducted when practitioners lost a match, so that they could compete for the third position. It was like a last chance given to the fighters to earn a position.

The tournaments conducted under American Grappling Federation (AGF) are points only tournaments.

• It is not compulsory to wear rashguards under the BJJ Gi.
• It is mandatory to wear Gi and Gi pants of the same color.
• No patches are accepted 15cm up from the pant’s bottom.
• In case of a No-Gi match, rashguards and shorts are compulsory with no pockets.
• Groin protectors are also not allowed.

The American Grappling Federation headquarter is located in Texas, United States.

Some of the tournaments conducted by AGF are listed below:

• 2023 Missoula Championships
• 2023 Corpus Christi BJJ Championships
• 2023 Springfield BJJ Championships
• AGF Jacksonville BJJ Championships (Held in Florida)
• AGF Nationals (Conducted in the United States)
• AGF Oklahoma State Championships (Conducted in Oklahoma City)

The best way to compete in AGF tournaments is to train at one of their academies. Start competing in small AGF tournaments and later on the jump for the big championships. You can sign up for any AGF tournament by applying on their official website.

The aim behind the foundation of AGF is to provide a fair tournament for all belts and ages where they can perform and win championships.

Branson aims to expand AGF. He decided on PR Tours in which he aimed to visit new cities. In an interview, he said instead of passing shirts he wanted to visit every BJJ school and roll with students to raise awareness about AGF.

American Grappling Federation is a private BJJ tournament organized by two entrepreneurs Brandon Quick and his friend Chris who aim to change the whole game of BJJ championships. Their rules and regulations are thoroughly described on their official websites so that practitioners don’t lack any information. They have also introduced new tournaments this year due to the influx of practitioners.

They have a wide range of weight classes almost for every age and belt level. And there are new things such as the Coach’s Challenge, to make every fight fair.

Photo Credit: @the_agf