Nicky Rodriguez has just received his final coloured belt promotion as he became the first person to receive their brown belt in BJJ at B-Team Jiu-Jitsu. The team was founded by Rodriguez and his partners, Craig Jones, Nicky Ryan, and Ethan Crelinsten just a little under a year ago and has quickly established itself as a successful gym. B-Team not only have several competitors attending the 2022 ADCC world championships but they have also managed to attract some of the best grapplers around to join their gym as well. B-Team will no doubt continue picking up steam all the way into ADCC 2022 where three out of their four founders will be attempting to bring gold back to Austin, Texas.
Judging from past performance alone, Jones and Rodriguez actually stand as the team’s most likely chances to take home at least one gold medal. Back at ADCC 2019, both men were able to come away with silver medals from the world’s most prestigious no gi grappling tournament and both will no doubt be eager to do one better this time around. Newly-minted BJJ brown belt Nicky Rodriguez has actually set his sights even higher than that as he has made it known that he wants to win gold in both the over 99kg weightclass and the absolute division.
Not only does Rodriguez have size on his side when he enters the absolute division, but he’s known for his excellent wrestling ability which suits the ADCC ruleset perfectly. There will of course be a number of obstacles standing in Rodriguez’s way, as he will have to win eight consecutive matches against elite grapplers over the course of one weekend. Several competitors like Felipe Pena and Kyle Boehm would present tough challenges and of course, Gordon Ryan will be competing at over 99kg as well. This represents the first time that a reigning double champion has competed in a weight division at the ADCC world championships but Rodriguez is actually eagerly awaiting the opportunity to compete against his former teammate.
Nicky Rodriguez announced the news of his promotion to brown belt in BJJ in a recent post to his official Instagram account:
