The banner year for Phillipe Nover continues, earning his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt from Alexandre “Soca” Freitas just days before his Octagon debut against Efrain Escudero at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, on December 13, 2008.
Nover and Escudero both advanced to the lightweight final of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 8, finishing all of their respective opponents with submissions.
In fact, Nover was paid a serious compliment by his coach on this season, Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira, comparing the Filipino to his good friend and training/business partner, UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva.
Talk about high praise. But that’s likely because he ran through Joe Duarte, David Kaplan and George Roop to earn his spot in the finals.
Here are some thoughts from Nover on his latest accomplishment:
“My teacher Soca gave me my black belt today. It has been a long journey and I have finally arrived. I’ve been training Brazilian Jiu-jitsu for over 8 years. To me, obtaining a black belt brings the art to full circle. I will continue to train just as hard as I have been and will strive to the top. Thank you to all my training partners and teachers, especially Soca for believing in me! I only hope to make you all proud next week and bring home victory! I will keep this fire in me burning. My time is now!”
That’s a scary thought.
Anyway, “Soca” is an Abu Dhabi, Pan American and Brazilian national champion grappler who trained under Carlos Gracie Jr. He owns and operates the Soca Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Academy on Long Island, New York.
It’s safe to say he is quite gifted. And, in turn, so to is Nover.
TUF 8 Finale will also feature the light heavyweight final between Ryan Bader and Vinicius Magalhães, as well as a middleweight showdown between Jason MaDonald and Wilson Gouveia and a welterweight rematch between Kevin Burns and Anthony Johnson, on the televised main card.
The action will begin to air at 9 p.m. ET on Spike TV on fight night. Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE results, updates and coverage on Saturday evening of all the action.
In the meantime, check out the latest fight card here and complete event archive right here. There is also a video of Nover’s black belt ceremony after the jump.
17 Comments »
Congrats to Phillipe. Look forward to seeing him fight for years to come. A STAR has been born!
I think this kid we be around for a long time….. and he is a very likeable guy. So him adopting fans even outside of the realm of tough is not going to be hard…. I think his fights will speak for themselves.
we = will
Wow….tough=tuf….wtf is wrong with me today?
is it too early to say…Nover/BJ…LOL
Yes… I am not even convinced he will be the TUF winner.
really…surprised to hear you say that…it will be a 1st rnd whatever for Nover IMO
wow BNF, I for one thought you would be all over this kid….. I guess we will have to wait until the finale to see what happens…
Nover 1st rd ko/tko.
I like Phillpe a lot, but you guys are under rateing Ephrain, or whatever his opponents name is. Nover will have to go to WAR against a very tough opponent. If I had t pick a winner, of course I would go with Phillipe, but he wont steamroll his way to a win, like he has for the entire season.
Should be a great fight!
I am not taking anything away from Efrain…. he is good but I really think Nover will make a statement and end it with an exclamation point. I see a very bright future with Phillipe.
Psyco, I think John is right on this one. I recognize his talent, but Ephrain is not going to go down that easy and I won’t be surprised if he can go the distance and win a decision. Also, I don’t really care for Phillpe for some reason, so I may be hating a little.
Just on this one? Just teasing BNF!
At least he didn’t faint
Serious thiugh, congrads
War Phillipe!
This guy truly has a very bright future in front of him! War Philipe!!
Everybody is counting Efrain out but he beat 3 guys that were suppost to beat him. To get in the house he beat a tough guy Shane Nelson is BJ’s kid and Efrain submitted him and then we all saw what he did to Junie. Plus he is undefeated 10-0 not saying he will win but it will be closer than most people think. Either of these guys have a bright future people keep saying all he has is wrestling but Efrain beats his guys all around wrestling is just an added bonus for him.
Phillipe by decsion or sub. But efrain has a good record at 13-0 with show. Phillipes 9-0 with show To great up and comers. Who said bj vs nover????? Bj wont get passed gsp or Florian.lol