WEC Bantamweight Champion Miguel Torres earned his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt over the weekend from Carlson Gracie Jr. — son of the late Carlson Gracie Sr. who was “Angel’s” mentor before he died in 2006.
The ceremony was “low-key,” according to MMAFighting.com, which had an insider, Jay Valko, present at Torres Martial Arts Academy in Hammond, Ind., where the festivities took place.
Here is his assessment:
“It wasn’t too fancy, just a promotion and a small speech from Jr. about how he was just doing what his dad would be doing if he were still around…. A few years ago Carlson Sr. was going around saying he has a 135-pounder that would beat on everyone. No one believed him at the time but now Miguel is proving the old man correct.”
Indeed, when he was alive Gracie Sr. went on Brazilian television and dared anyone to come down to the gym put their skills to the test against Torres — he had that much faith in him.
No one pounced on the offer, which more than likely indicates how much respect people in the know had for the elder Gracie. His word carried a ton of weight.
Torres has enjoyed what many would consider a breakout year in terms of popularity and exposure due in large part to winning the 135-pound title from Chase Beebe back in February and then defending it several months later against Yoshiro Maeda in a “Fight of the Year” candidate.
However, he has been a major regional star for sometime now, headlining shows throughout the Midwest and selling out venues wherever he competed prior to his WEC debut.
Now he gets to do the same for a major mixed martial arts promotion. And he gets to do it with a gold strap and black belt wrapped around his waist.
It’s been a banner year for Torres without a doubt. And he is still not finished – he will compete one more time against Manny Tapia at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, on December 3.
Hopefully for him all the hard work he puts in continues to pay big dividends.
Thanks to CombatLifestyle.com for the image.
18 Comments »
After displaying some sick ju jitsu throughout this past year, Torres clearly has earned his black belt. Congrats to Miguel and look forward to seeing him fight in december since he is one of the most exciting fighters in the sport!
When I first saw him.. they said he was a BJJ purple belt… Torres is the truth.. the late great Carlson new it.. and passed along to him..bjj.. To be honered with a BJJ belt.. is a great honor for a martial artist.. Congrats Miguel.. keep hemming up the competition.. in a high level bjj style.
OMG WHY!?!?!? hasnt he done enough damage as a brown belt? its a nightmare for the rest of 135lb for sure.
torres is one of the prime examples of MMA. he goes in there and fights, and always puts on a clinic!
and you know it being a gracie black-belt that its for real, not like an andy wang online blackbelt.
You can get them online too? I got my Andy Wang belt from a crackerjack box!
Haha. My instuctor was a student of Carlson Sr., and eventually recieved his 3rd degree blackbelt from another student of Carlson Sr., Carlos Henrique. They certainly don’t give out belts easily.
congrats from stinky~!
The fight in December is going to be great. It will be Faber/Pulver-esque if not better.
Congrats to Miguel. The kid is sick and his fights are always wars.
GOd I have yet to see this guy fight!! Been on my to do list forever. Anybody got any good links?
mmascraps.com has his madea fight and chase beebe fight. well worth watching.
Nice.
Congrats Miguel. Much deserved
hes earned it. his transitions at the end of the beebe fight were amazing! glad to see hes one of the few with a real blackbelt, anything but a gracie belt just doesnt do this kid justice.
Miguel Angel has high level BJJ. Blackbelt or not, he is certently blackbelt level.
no doubt. hes had some of the slickest jits around for years. like you said, blackbelt or not hes got the skills
Agreed. His jitz is just insane. He’s done an amazing job at transitioning that jitz into MMA. A lot of BJJ fighters have a hard time morphing their jitz game into their MMA game, but Torres makes it look easy.
That was a clinic that he put on Beebe…he was just toying with him. It reminded me of a cat playing with a mouse that it just caught but hadn’t killed yet…letting it partially escape and think it’s getting away, just to pounce on it again for the fun of it.