Mario Lopez joins a growing list of celebrities who seem to be taking their pursuit of jiu-jitsu seriously.
Lopez, who is a longtime combat sports fan, most notably in boxing, has been training a bit in grappling recently. As it seems, he has made some great strides. The 49-year-old, best known for his acting gigs on “Saved By The Bell” and hosting roles for programs such as “Dancing With The Stars,” and “Extra,” announced his latest grappling achievement on Instagram.
Mario Lopez Earns BJJ Purple Belt
Lopez announced on his Instagram that he has officially been promoted to Purple Belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He shared some photographs from the promotion ceremony, which can be seen below:
Lopez has been training in BJJ since early 2017 under Professor Robert Hill of Gracie Barra Glendale. Previously, Lopez had been a blue belt since being promoted in February of 2018.
Shortly after his promotion, Lopez received congratulations and praise from the likes of jiu-jitsu aces such as Rener Gracie and Gordon Ryan in Lopez’s comments section. Gracie said, “Less than 1% ever earn their white belt, and of those who do, less than 1% ever reach purple. Congratulations bro!”
Ryan added, “Congrats to my buddy Mario Lopez on his well deserved purple belt today. Things are getting serious now. Excited to see him in purple belt divisions now somehow in the master 14 division even though he looks like he’s 26.”
Lopez has actually been competing as a blue belt in jiu-jitsu for quite some time. He has won a few tournaments and the sport has seemingly become a big part of his life, as he noted to Men’s Health in a recent interview.
“Jiu-Jitsu is like physical chess. You’re constantly learning and expanding your mind. I just love it! I love the community and everything that it’s about and that I get to do it with my kids.
“It instills such a great work ethic and confidence and physical toughness, as well as emotional, psychological toughness, and a lot of confidence. So I love all those things and all those attributes and it’s taught.
“It will compliment my day, especially when I’m rushing from my radio show to Access.”
