Is Rashad Evans black belt level?

[georgejjr]

Please define "hang with them".
Do you mean put on a gi and roll with them and not die, beat them in competition?
I see no way Evans could do well in a gi. Does he train daily in a gi? A gi adds so much more variants than no-gi which I'm sure being a MMA fighter is what he focus on. I'm sorry but I just don't see it.

Okay, put it this way. Of the roughly 5000 BJJ BB in the world, I'd bet that Evans would beat at least 1000 of them in a BJJ competition, wearing the gi and all.

Moreover, ask yourself who gave Evans his BB (it was Rolles Gracie), and why do you think you're better qualified than him to decide whether Evans is worthy of a BB or not? Is your knowledge of BJJ really that much better than Rolles' that without ever having rolled with Evans you can decide that Rolles was wrong?

 

[fourfif**]

Who cares. His base of wrestling is what makes him a great fighter, not his newaza

 

[MMA junkie]

To say Rashad is on the Level of a black belt, one would assume you mean under the stipulations of BJJ submission fighting, since that's what a BJJ black belt would be fighting under.

Do you honestly think Rashad could throw on a gi and hang with top notch BJJ BB fighters? I don't see it.

No.

So every BJJ BB has to be able to hang with top notch BJJ BB fighters?

Black Belt is the belt you will mostly have the longest. The skill disparity between most new black belts and top notch black belts is huge.

 

[PWR1982]

Belts suck and they should get rid of them.

 

[Hellboy31]

In all fairness, I don't think I've ever heard someone on this forum say that Couture and Barnett are not black belt level. Randy has been training forever, and Barnett has subbed black belts in competition. But in all fairness, bjj is an art that emphasizes the guard, so a black belt should ideally have an awesome bottom game as well as top.

This.

Also, a lot of us dedicate a huge portion of our lives to BJJ. Why is it strange that keeping it's integrity matters to us?

 

[fourfif**]

This.

Also, a lot of us dedicate a huge portion of our lives to BJJ. Why is it strange that keeping it's integrity matters to us?

Imagine how judoka must feel then.

 

[lechien]

Imagine how judoka must feel then.

imagine what ?

that they do not award Judo BB to MMA fighters?

 

[FuneralPyre]

Anyone think it's ostentatious that he calls himself Dr. to talk about Rashad's grappling and introduce random people from the gym?

 

[Wrestler160]

Belts suck and they should get rid of them.

"I don't believe in belts; there should be no ranking system for toughness"
-Dale Doback

 

[boboplata***]

i don't care if rashad ain't winning even a local bjj tourney. i expect blackbelts to teach well regardless of martial arts. if he's good in communicating/expressing theories, applications, strategies with the gi be it tournament or self defense then there's no argument coming from me.