Cole Abate has just been promoted to purple belt in BJJ by his coaches, the legendary Mendes brothers, Guilherme and Rafael. The promotion is incredibly well deserved and it comes just a little under a month after Abate managed to defeat several elite grapplers over the course of a weekend at the ADCC North American East Coast trials in order to earn a place at the 2022 world championships. The kind of performance he pulled off is phenomenal at any age, but at 16 it’s downright unbelievable and certainly not something you see every day.
His win at the ADCC trials was not his first appearance at a major event however, as he made an attempt to win the Who’s Number One Championships shortly before that. He shocked the world in the opening round of that tournament by defeating 10th Planet posterboy Geo Martinez, but he wasn’t able to overcome Gabriel Sousa in the second round. Many people were stunned by his performance at the WNO Championships, so it was truly shocking when he managed to do even better again at the ADCC trials.
Not only did Abate show incredible talent on his way to winning the North American East Coast trials but he also showed a level of insight way beyond his years when he broke down his performance after the event. The news of his promotion to purple belt was announced in a post to the official Instagram account of the Mendes Brothers, but Cole Abate also issued a statement of gratitude himself as well:
“PURPLE BELT – today i was promoted by my professor @mendesbros to purple belt. excited to take on the new challenges this next stage of my career will bring. special thanks to my family, professors, teammates, and supporters. one week until worlds, can’t wait.”
