Moneyberg, Inspired by BJ Penn
After being the center of controversy for months, Derek Moneyberg made his way onto the Ariel Helwani Show to answer questions. One of the first questions Helwani asked was about his quick promotion to black belt.
The influencer was promoted in just 3 years and 7 months after just paying for expensive private lessons. He claimed that he was inspired by the legendary BJ Penn, who also earned his black belt in just 3 years.
“BJ Penn was legitimately my inspiration for that. I’m like, alright, if I ever do this, I have to do it the way he did, private instruction with black belts with high-level instructors.”- Moneyberg.
The issue with Derek’s statement here is that this was not how BJ Penn earned his black belt. BJ was legitimately obsessed with grappling and spent 10-12 hours on the mat training.
He not only did private lessons, but also live trained with anyone and everyone he could to improve his skill. Penn also practiced wrestling, Judo, and competed in them, as well as Jiu-Jitsu.
The only similarity is the time frame of each promotion.
Threatening to Sue Sean Strickland
Helwani later brought up the confrontation between Derek and former UFC champion Sean Strickland. The influencer is now considering taking legal action against Strickland for the video the champion posted that “hurt his reputation.”
“It looks like I’m going to have to sue him because of the things he said. He said a lot of very nasty things that are false, that hurt my reputation and my brand, I don’t like that.”- Moneyberg.
If the influencer is going to sue Sean Strickland, he should probably go ahead and sue half the internet, because just about everyone is saying the same thing about him.
Bobby is martial artist for almost 20 years with a BJJ black belt under Professor Sergio Miranda. He is also a karate black and former combat sports athlete, who loves all things grappling.