Andre Pederneiras and BJ Penn
BJ Penn is In Rio de Janeiro at the moment to help Jose Aldo and Renan Barao in the final stages of their preparation for UFC 169, where the athletes of Nova Uniao will face Ricardo Lamas and Urijah Faber , respectively. BJ is using his time there to sharpen Jiu-Jitsu .
This Friday (17th), The Prodigy posted a photo on a social network where he appears with André Pederneiras, leader of Nova Uniao, and told the story about the day that he received his black belt in Jiu-Jitsu:
“When I was a brown belt, many members of Nova Uniao in the United States wanted me to compete as a black belt in the 2000 Mundials in Rio, and I asked Dede Pederneiras if it was possible, as he was the leader of the Team. In the week before the Mundials, they were doing the selection to see who would be in Team A and Team B. Dede came to me and said:
‘BJ, I believe you are a black belt, but it’s not for me you have to prove it. It is for them, ‘and pointed to the black belts sitting next to the wall and Wendell Alexander. Dede said to me: ‘Beat two black belts of your weight, and I’ll give you a black belt and you’ll be on Team A. If you lose, try another year at brown belt! ‘. That day I got my black belt, and the rest is history, “wrote the member of the UFC Hall of Fame.
Watch BJ Penn Win the 2000 Mundials at black belts after just 3,5 years of training BJJ:
