5 UFC fighters who went from Jiu-Jitsu white belt straight to black belt

Black belt. The aforementioned term is one that is widely used, often disregarded, and widely misunderstood. Unfortunately, Americans (primarily) have bastardized the true meaning of this term as well as what it means to obtain such a rank through the practice of awarding gimmie belts, i.e. belts awarded primarily based on attendance records and the practitioners monthly check clearing rather than actual skill level, and the watered down criteria of martial arts instructors looking to satisfy students and their parents.

One art that has very rarely, if ever, engaged in this practice is the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and therefore, one of the most coveted and highly regarded martial arts ranks that can be obtained is that of the BJJ black belt. The BJJ ranking system, which consists of white, blue, purple, brown, and black belts, has been explained to me as compared to degrees in the world of academia and is as follows (note: there are always exceptions and this by no means is a standard or guideline):

White belt: High school diploma. You basically get one for showing up.

Blue belt: Associate’s degree. This takes approximately 2 years of consistent work.

Purple belt: Bachelor’s degree. This takes approximately 4-5 years and the separation in regards to dedication and achievement begin here.

Brown belt: Master’s degree. This is a realm of dedication entered by few and will take 5-7 years of continual hard work, dedication, and commitment.

Black belt: A Doctoral degree. The process of achieving this degree takes 8+ years, oftentimes over a decade. This degree is considered the achievement of a lifetime but as all academics know, this is where the real work begins.

In the list that follows we will look at five martial artists who amazingly were awarded their BJJ black belt having previously held only a white belt ranking. For those keeping up at home that is akin to a high school graduate never earning an AA, BA, or Master degree yet being awarded a Ph.D.

5) Rashad Evans

Rashad Evans who also made THIS LIST received his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from Rolles Gracie Jr. before UFC 108.

Rolles Gracie Jr. stated that even though Rashad has not trained in a Gi, that he considered him at ‘No Gi black belt level’.

4) Josh Barnett

UFC fighter and catch wrestler Josh Barnett was awarded a BJJ black belt from Erik Paulson without having ever worn a Gi or trained any BJJ whatsoever; in 2009 Erik Paulson, endorsed by Rigan Machado, presented him with a Black Belt in BJJ. In his own words, Barnett had this to say:

“In 2009 Erik Paulson, endorsed by Rigan Machado, presented me with a Black Belt in BJJ. I was Incredibly surprised and a bit shocked, see I have never, NEVER trained in the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I didn’t start out a simple white belt and work my way up the ranks and eventually grind into a black belt.”

3) Kimo Leopoldo

UFC fighter from the early days, Kimo Leopoldo was promoted by Joe Moreira straight to BJJ black belt. Kimo lost to Royce Gracie by armlock at UFC 3 after giving him a very tough fight.

The interesting story of how Kimo met Joe Moreira, according to BJJ Heroes:

“The two met backstage at UFC 8, at an event where Allan Goes and Tank Abbot had an exchanging of harsh words. The next day in the lobby of the hotel, Moreira and Goes were checking out and coincidently so was Kimo and his manager. Suddenly Tank Abbot comes in with Tito Ortiz and a group of 8 more men wanting to cause a fight with the pair of Brazilians. Kimo thought this was unfair and took Allan Goes’s side together with his manager, making Abbot and his men back out. Kimo then asked Moreira if he could learn BJJ from him as he was very interested in the martial art, a request immediately accepted by Joe. The two maintained a student/instructor relationship for years.”

2) Marco Ruas

Marco Ruas a Luta Livre black belt and effectively known as the king of the streets was promoted straight to BJJ black belt by Joe Moreira. This was met with a lot of criticism at the time, notably from Carlson Gracie.

BJJ Heroes tells the story:

During his time with the UFC Moreira met Marco Ruas, a luta livre (a form of Brazilian Wrestling) fighter who had grown up in the same neighborhood as Joe (Leme in Rio de Janeiro). Ruas asked moreira if he needed training partners and Moreira agreed, from that 28 day training camp, their friendship grew and never broke since.

Marco Ruas also introduced another Luta Livre fighter to Joe Moreira, Eugenio Tadeu. Both Ruas and Tadeu had a long history of rivalry against Jiu Jitsu and its fighters in the battle for the dominance of Martial Arts in Brazil in the late 80’s and early 1990’s. Even though that rivalry was still pretty much alive, Moreira (maybe recognizing his friend’s technical ability) handed them their black belts in Jiu Jitsu, causing an uproar of criticism from the BJJ community at the time.

1) Milton Vieira

Milton Vieira is a Luta Livre and BJJ black belt widely credited as the inventor of the anaconda choke. Vieira was promoted straight to BJJ black belt by Murilo Bustamante and competed in several top grappling competitions including Grapplers Quest and appeared at the 2007 ADCC World Championship and also the 2009 ADCC World Championship.