BJJ legend Jean Jacques Machado has just been promoted to 8th degree coral belt by a fellow legendary grappler from the era just before his, Rickson Gracie. The two men are actually distantly related too, as Machado and his equally successful brothers are all an extended branch of the Gracie family. They first received their black belts from different men, with Machado being promoted by Carlos Gracie and Rickson by Helio Gracie. The two men have shared the mats with one another so many times over the years though, and Machado actually received his last degree before this from Rickson as well.
It’s a huge moment for Machado, as this latest degree is another signifier that he has dedicated decades of his life to training and teaching Jiu-Jitsu. Anyone who reaches this rank has spent almost 40 years as a BJJ black belt and has joined the ranks of a tiny handful of people in the sport. It’s been a long journey for Machado to get here, but he’s been at the forefront of Jiu-Jitsu every step of the way. He was an incredible competitor at first and won many titles throughout the 80s and 90s, including an ADCC world title at under 77kgs in 1999.
His early appearances at ADCC earned him a place in the ADCC Hall of Fame and that is just one of many honours he’s received over the years. Machado then moved on to focus on his coaching career and has promoted a number of popular figures like Dan Inosanto. In some ways Machado is also the grandfather of one of the biggest affiliations in the world today, as he trained and promoted Eddie Bravo to black belt before he opened up 10th Planet. His impact on Jiu-Jitsu cannot be understated and even though black belt degrees are awarded based on time, this promotion has been incredibly hard-earned.
Jean Jacques Machado announced the news that he had been promoted to 8th degree BJJ coral belt by Rickson Gracie in a recent post to his official Instagram account:
