Frank Edgar earns Brazilian jiu-jitsu purple belt under Ricardo Almeida
by MMAmania.com on Nov 24, 2008 11:51 AM EST
32 comments
Frank Edgar recently earned a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu while training at Ricardo Almeida Jiu-Jitsu in Hamilton, N.J., according to TheGarv.com.
Almeida -- the star pupil of Renzo Gracie -- is a world champion jiu-jitsu player who has also competed in mixed martial arts as a professional in the UFC, Pride FC and Pancrase since 2000. He is among the top grapplers in the sport today.
In short, he knows a thing or two about good ground skills, which makes the promotion of Edgar that much more impressive.
"The Answer" is a decorated high school (Toms River High School East) and collegiate (Clarion University) wrestler out of Toms River, N.J. He currently moonlights as an assistant wrestling coach at Rutgers University.
Thanks to his strong wrestling credentials and experience, Edgar made a successful transition to mixed martial arts in 2005. In fact, he rattled off eight consecutive wins to begin his professional career -- and he didn't do it against tomato cans, either.
Jim Miller, Tyson Griffin, Mark Bocek and Spencer Fisher are just a few of the notable opponents who Edgar has handled, which has helped him rise to the top of the very crowded UFC 155-pound division in short order.
Edgar recently rebounded from the first professional loss of his career to Gray Maynard (unanimous decision) at UFC Fight Night 13 to outpoint former number one contender Hermes Franca on all three judges scorecards at UFC Fight Night 14: "Silva vs. Irvin" in July.
The latter bout was dubbed the "Fight of the Night," earning Edgar and Franca each an additional $25,000 for their performances. It came as no surprise — Edgar is often involved in action-packed battles.
He'll get to put his new belt to the test soon enough. Edgar is slated to co-headline UFC Fight Night 16: "Fight for the Troops" against Matt Wiman at the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, N.C., on Wednesday, December 10.
And you can watch him do it live on Spike TV, beginning at 9 p.m. ET on fight night.
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Edgars the game I wanna see him and Tyson Griffin in a rematch
by BMO on Nov 24, 2008 11:53 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Never would have guessed that he was any where close to being black belt status in BJJ watching his fight against Gray Maynard. All I remember is him laying flat on his back doing nothing but getting man handled and smacked around for about 12 minutes of that fight.
I’d bet that any Cesar Gracie student that is above white belt level would be able to submit Edgar in a grappling match
by ViolentMike on Nov 24, 2008 3:13 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
It says he just got his purple belt, not his black belt. But from what I’ve seen of him, even that seems to be a stretch. I can’t remember him going for many submissions from either the top or bottom position in fights, but he does seem to have pretty solid submission defense.
by GregC on Nov 24, 2008 4:35 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
where the hell has Almeida been hiding anyways? havent heard about him in forever
by brendan on Nov 24, 2008 8:41 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Almeida lost a split decision to Patrick Cote this past summer. Although a BJJ purple belt is a very heavy belt to wear, in most legit jits academies, a newly minted purple belt has at least 3-5 more years to get to black. And, these are professional fighters who train 5-6 days/week. If anything, Edgar will have better sub defense and better hips. Most wrestlers I’ve rolled with that get into jits have so-so hips.
by TabascoSAUCE on Nov 24, 2008 11:07 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
OR, at least NOT get submitted by Edgar…
by ViolentMike on Nov 24, 2008 3:14 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Typo; should have been Spencer Fisher.
by WebGarden on Nov 24, 2008 11:58 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
No. He’s a hybrid of Tyson Griffin and Spencer Fisher. He’s crazy talented.
by MMAmania on Nov 24, 2008 12:02 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
… how can you guys compare Frankie to Griffin or Fisher. Frankie Edgar is such a boring fighter, and when he can’t outwrestle his opponent and do nothing but control them for a unanimous decision win, (Maynard), he loses. The only reason his fights are exciting are because of his opponents, his style personally is boring and is useless against a better wrestler.
by zzz on Nov 24, 2008 10:51 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
dude, new jersey is the worst state i’ve ever been to. it stinks like ass the whole time you travel through it as well.
by allamerican on Nov 24, 2008 1:40 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
lol theres alot of waste management companies in jersey
by brendan on Nov 24, 2008 2:40 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
That is a ridiculous comment. Let me guess, you went to Newark, did like that city, and proclaimed that the rest of the state must such as well. For an “allamerican” guy, you really don’t know jack about the garden state.
by Nate on Nov 24, 2008 3:20 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
really dont want to either. i do know that people from jersey have the worst accent EVER. and suck at driving too. (hey man, i was just messin around. but, since you fired back…)
by allamerican on Nov 24, 2008 3:34 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Dude – the whole reason I wrote my initial comment was to get a rise out of someone. No worries. By the way, please let me know what state you are from so that I can bust on it!
by Nate on Nov 24, 2008 3:40 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
loved by few, hated by many. i am….a MASShole.
by allamerican on Nov 24, 2008 3:56 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
edgar is in my ever changing top 5 favourite fighters well most of the time lol
by ukmma on Nov 24, 2008 2:53 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
I have to pick Frankie in this fight. The only guys that are gonna give Frankie big problems are the top level wrestlers in the division and BJ Penn. He’s difficult to hit and he can take almost anybody down. I don’t see Wiman posing a threat in the wrestling game, and Frankie survived the ground game of Hermes Franca which is far better than Wiman’s. I got to go with Frankie.
by DB on Nov 24, 2008 3:06 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
This belt won’t do anything to change is game of scrambling and outwrestling. He will never go for subs in a fight.
by NameNotRequired on Nov 24, 2008 3:06 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
I like Edgar but I want Wiman to catch him with another big knockout. Wiman is a prospect and I wont be surprised if he beats frankie.
by Jared on Nov 24, 2008 3:53 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Wow good job Edgar, maybe actually use jiu-jitsu in your fight now? No no wait just hold them down and win a decision.
by Brandon on Nov 24, 2008 4:15 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
I hate this fucking guy go take your lay n pray shit to the undercard fights.
by Hitmanbert on Nov 24, 2008 9:21 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
are you kidding me? have you even watched the griffin, bocek, fisher, or franca fights? frankie is exciting as shit. don’t hold it against him that gray maynard dry humped him for three rounds.
by ActionJackson on Nov 24, 2008 10:11 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Ewwww he’s not exciting. Fisher and Griffin always make exciting fights. His lay n pray is boring as hell man.
by zzz on Nov 24, 2008 10:52 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Weird my first add comment didn’t work. And his lay n pray is boring as hell. Griffin and Fisher always make a fight exciting, and against the other two he just took them down and layed on them. Saw what happened when he couldn’t outwrestle Maynard? FRANKIE IS BORING!
by zzz on Nov 24, 2008 10:54 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
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