MMA observers expected Israel Adesanya’s jiu-jitsu skills to be tested by Paulo Costa after the Brazilian showed up to the final faceoff of UFC 253 wearing his black belt. But “The Last Stylebender” didn’t need his grappling to defend the middleweight title in September.
Months after improving to 20-0 with a second-round TKO of Costa, the Nigerian star was promoted to purple belt in jiu-jitsu by legendary grappler Andre Galvao after spending a few weeks in California.
“I promoted him to blue belt in 2017, and I would have to promote him to purple this year,” Galvao said in an interview with MMA Fighting.