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16-Year Old ADCC Trials Winner Cole Abate Promoted to Purple Belt

Ben Coate

Purple belts beware. Fresh off his first-place finish at the ADCC East Coast Trials, 16-year old jiu-jitsu phenom Cole Abate has been promoted to purple belt. Abate was promoted by Art of Jiu-Jitsu instructor by Guilherme Mendes.

Abate has long been touted as one of the sport’s brightest prospects, but he fully arrived on the elite scene earlier this year when he defeated perennial top competitor Geo Martinez at the Who’s Number One Championships. Just a few short weeks later, Abate would win gold at the ADCC East Coast Trials, making him the youngest-ever Trials winnner.

At the Trials, he defeated the likes of black belt world champion Estevan Martinez, EBI champion Jon Calestine, and ADCC veteran and 10th Planet black belt Keith Krikorian. The performance secured Abate a spot at the 2022 ADCC World Championships, where he will aim to be the youngest-ever ADCC champion.

Ben Coate

Ben has been involved with grappling, whether through wrestling or Brazilian jiu-jitsu, essentially his entire life. After wrestling throughout his childhood, Ben found Brazilian jiu-jitsu as a young adult and quickly fell in love. He has been training for over ten years and currently holds the rank of brown belt, and remains involved in both the MMA and BJJ scene. Ben has been writing about combat sports since 2017. He has interviewed and profiled some of MMA's biggest stars, including multiple UFC champions.

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