Brazilian Jiu Jitsu instructor Yuri Carlton met Junior dos Santos in 2004 and so began to a victorious training partnership that peaked with the UFC heavyweight belt in 2011.
Initially Dos Santos had nothing on the ground but he impressed his training partners with his dedication and his toughness. And because he is so heavy handed, a question mark has remained over his jiu jitsu for the entirety of his career. Dos Santos keeps knocking people out and doesn’t get taken down.
Now the master who discovered him eight years ago says that ‘Cigano’ is probably going to at last demonstrate the quality of his game on the ground when he faces Cain Velasquez to defend the heavyweight title.
Carlton says the champion “is a finisher” and this past weekend he rewarded the champion’s long efforts by awarding him his black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in a presentation at Gym Bahia, headquarters of Nordeste Jiu-Jitsu team.
Junior Cigano’s chance to prove how legit his black belt is on December 29th in the main fight of UFC 155, when he faces off with Cain Velasquez for the second time. At their first meet, Dos Santos knocked the former champion out in sixty-four seconds of round one to become the number one heavyweight in the world.
