At the UFC 300, Pereira received a black belt , as he knocked out Jamahal Hill in round one, but without using any submission techniques of the grappling. Many grappling fans were astonished when Pereira won the black belt at UFC 300, as he did not even win by submission.
Renato Alves Carneiro, better known as Renato Moicano, is a Brazilian UFC Fighter and BJJ Black Belt Under Alex Leleco. Moicano expresses his views that mixed martial arts and Brazilian jiu-jitsu are two very distinct sports. He emphasizes that achieving a black belt in BJJ should be done according to the BJJ tournaments . In addition, he says that the traditional art of jiu-jitsu and MMA are two distinct disciplines. He argues that proficiency in one art does not translate into the other skill set. He further states that a black belt in jiu-jitsu means nothing in MMA. Moicano said that it does not even make sense.
“Brother, let me tell you something, I don’t think a black belt means nothing in MMA. Demetrious Johnson, you’re doing Jiu-Jitsu, right? So it’s a completely different sport, right? It’s a completely different sport, I don’t think even makes sense,”
In a discussion with Demetrious Johnson, Renato Moicano says that the black belt signifies the mastery of BJJ in itself only, rather than in the combat prowess in a cage. He reacted to Alex Pereria who received a black belt after winning the UFC 300 bout. Moicano emphasizes that the achievements in the octagon do not confer traditional grappling honors.
“Belts don’t matter in MMA; what matters is winning,”
The jiu-jitsu black belt discussion stays prevalent in the mixed martial arts community. If a lot of people, like Pereira, kept getting black belts without showing their grappling skills, the topic would become more critical.
“Maybe the coaches, they are giving black belts just so people can say ‘ah, he is my student’, you know, but it’s a different sport,”
Alex Pereira believes that grappling requires more practice and a tiresome activity. The light heavyweight fighter Pereira is working to improve his grappling and submission techniques. He is a kickboxer and most of his fights do not go to the ground.
The 36-year-old fighter is boosting his skills in grappling, he shared a video on his YouTube Channel showing his submission methods. He expresses that grappling is an ‘’energy-intensive process’’ he is training under the former light heavyweight champion Glover Texeira.
‘’You have to get tired, if you get tired it’s because you trained. You can’t play here, the people here are badass. Training here with Glover, there’s no way not to learn. I’ve seen a lot of people criticizing, and not wanting to train. I go there and train with women, older, heavier guys, beginners…That’s how we evolve.’’
The video was posted before the UFC 300, and the results of the efforts showed after his victory against Jamahal Hill. After the triumph, his coaches awarded him with the prestigious black belt.
Watch Full Interview Here:
Photo Credit: @bjjee
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