UFC's Joe Stevenson Awarded Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt

UFC lightweight Joe Stevenson was awarded his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt in a ceremony this past Saturday.

Stevenson, who fights Kenny Florian at Saturday's "UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar" event, received the belt from grappling legend and trainer Robert Drysdale.

Stevenson, 26, first rose to fame as the welterweight winner of "The Ultimate Fighter 2." He actually began his pro career six years earlier in 1999 as a 16-year-old, which required his parents' consent. Stevenson, two weeks shy of his 17th birthday, suffered his first career loss to former UFC champion Jens Pulver at the Bas Rutten Invitational in 1999.

From September 2001 to February 2004, Stevenson won 13 of 14 fights to earn a spot on the "TUF 2" cast. Since winning the show, he's gone 6-2 in the UFC, dropped to lightweight and has become one of the division's top contenders. 14 of his 29 pro victories have come via submission.

Stevenson fought for the title once before -- in January after Sean Sherk was stripped of the belt -- and suffered a second-round submission loss to B.J. Penn.

His fight with Florian on Saturday will likely earn the winner a shot at Penn's title in 2009.

Will this great achievement bring worries to opponent Kenny Florian?  Kenny Florian is an accomplished BJJ black belt himself and this should be an interesting fight to see what each of them will do if the fight hits the ground. One way to find out is to watch UFC 91 live on pay per view on Saturday November 15th live from Las Vegas.

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