It has been a memorable two weeks for Tony Ferguson, so far. After winning the interim lightweight title early this month at UFC 216 with a third-round submission win over Kevin Lee, “El Cucuy” was recently awarded a black belt by Eddie Bravo at 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu.
Ferguson won the fight via triangle choke, which he transitioned to from a failed armbar attempt. As Bravo stated during the awarding ceremony, what made Ferguson’s finish most notable was that he was able to execute it from guard, something that is rarely seen in the UFC.
“Since day one, the 10th Planet mission, for me personally, was to improve the bottom game in the UFC,” Bravo said. “That was the mission, I focused on that. In 2003, I just imagined, I would just dream (that someone) would win a belt from the guard in the UFC.”
“F—k yeah, that felt extra special.”
Bravo went on to give Ferguson the same black belt that was awarded to him by Jean Jacques Machado for his win over Royler Gracie at ADCC 2003.
The day I got back to Jean Jacques Academy after 2003 ADCC, he gave me the black belt off his waist. Tonight I gave it to @tonyfergusonxt
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