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One of my Santa Barbara BJJ teachers, Bill Cooper, received his brown belt from former world champion (and my first instructor) Ricardo "Franjinha" Miller last night. Unfortunately, I was not there to see him get belted (and not there to smack him with my own belt), but this makes him Paragon Brazilian Jiujitsu's third brown belt.
At only the age of 18 Bill has proven to be one of the most dominant grapplers the States have ever seen. His accomplishments include:
11th in all-time American no-gi grappling ratings for competitors 14-17 years old
2nd in all-time American no-gi grappling ratings for advanced adult
18th in all-time American jiujitsu for 14-17 years old
3rd in all-time American purple belt adult jiujitsu
6 First places in Grapplers Quest Tournaments
A first place win in a Japanese pro-grappling tournament
2 first places at the Northwest Regionals of Grappling and BJJ, taking lightweight no-gi and lightweight purple belt. In the no-gi absolute he fought ADCC champion Jeff Monson for 30 minutes before losing on points 2-0, Monson outweighed him by about 100 lbs.
He has a controversial loss to Rickson Gracie's son, Kron, many believe that Bill in fact won the match on points.
He beat King of the Cage veteran Nam Phan in three out of four matches over their history.
I think he's the youngest American brown belt, and I think he'll be one of its finest. Pay attention to this kid, he'll keep surprising everyone.
His teammates include:
Ricardo Miller: Former brown belt world champion and Pan-Am Master's black belt champion
Tyrone Glover: Winner of numerous grappling tournaments and winner of the USA Pride auditions. Is undefeated in MMA with a win over Din Thomas (17-5, with wins over Mishima and Jens Pulver). http://www.sherdog.com/fightfinder/fightfinder.asp?fighterID=8309
Jeff Glover: Highest ranked American grappler and brown belt on RATED and ADCC competitor. Defeated grappling legend Baret Yoshida in a Japanese pro tournament.
Adom BenShea: Brown belt and former world Blue belt Champion as well as Pan-Am champion.
Katie Weilbacher: Women's blue belt world champion in 2005.
At only the age of 18 Bill has proven to be one of the most dominant grapplers the States have ever seen. His accomplishments include:
11th in all-time American no-gi grappling ratings for competitors 14-17 years old
2nd in all-time American no-gi grappling ratings for advanced adult
18th in all-time American jiujitsu for 14-17 years old
3rd in all-time American purple belt adult jiujitsu
6 First places in Grapplers Quest Tournaments
A first place win in a Japanese pro-grappling tournament
2 first places at the Northwest Regionals of Grappling and BJJ, taking lightweight no-gi and lightweight purple belt. In the no-gi absolute he fought ADCC champion Jeff Monson for 30 minutes before losing on points 2-0, Monson outweighed him by about 100 lbs.
He has a controversial loss to Rickson Gracie's son, Kron, many believe that Bill in fact won the match on points.
He beat King of the Cage veteran Nam Phan in three out of four matches over their history.
I think he's the youngest American brown belt, and I think he'll be one of its finest. Pay attention to this kid, he'll keep surprising everyone.
His teammates include:
Ricardo Miller: Former brown belt world champion and Pan-Am Master's black belt champion
Tyrone Glover: Winner of numerous grappling tournaments and winner of the USA Pride auditions. Is undefeated in MMA with a win over Din Thomas (17-5, with wins over Mishima and Jens Pulver). http://www.sherdog.com/fightfinder/fightfinder.asp?fighterID=8309
Jeff Glover: Highest ranked American grappler and brown belt on RATED and ADCC competitor. Defeated grappling legend Baret Yoshida in a Japanese pro tournament.
Adom BenShea: Brown belt and former world Blue belt Champion as well as Pan-Am champion.
Katie Weilbacher: Women's blue belt world champion in 2005.