Faber (in the middle) already with his belt around his waist. Photo: Personal archives
This past Monday, February 1, former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber was promoted to purple belt in Jiu-Jitsu, reports GRACIEMAG collaborator Diego Marcello.
The professor responsible for the promotion was Fabio “Pateta” Prado (Gracie Ilha), who heads grappling practice at Faber’s gym, Ultimate Fitness.
Pateta mentioned that Faber has only been training in the gi for three years and has evolved tremendously. Furthermore, the fighter traveled to Brazil, where he brushed up on his Jiu-Jitsu and, in 2010, may repeat the trip, perhaps during this month of February.
And having his ground game up to date is essential, as Faber’s next challenge is Jose Aldo, a Gentle Art black belt. The title fight is set to take place April 24, in Sacramento, California.
A fixture at the World Championships in California, Faber is a Jiu-Jitsu enthusiast. And he doesn’t think twice about putting his name on the line if it’s to evolve technically. Already an MMA star, at ADCC 2005 he faced one of Jiu-Jitsu’s greatest stalwarts, black belt Marcio Feitosa. Check out the match: