NOVEMBER 20, 2019 – One of the most revered grapplers in the world today, Mr. Yuri Simões has revealed through his social media accounts his most recent deal with the Asian mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion – ONE Championship.
A black belt under Ricardo Vieira, currently with Caio Terra, Simões is one of the most accomplished athletes of his generation, particularly in the nogi jiu-jitsu spectrum, owning two ADCC World titles and 4 IBJJF World NoGi titles as a black belt. At 29 years of age, Simões had been hinting a possible shift towards MMA for a while, having focussed particularly on his wrestling in 2019. The news today comes in as confirmation of the Chinese whispers we had heard a few weeks ago.
Yuri is currently recovering from a knee injury sustained at the 2019 ADCC tournament, during his match with Kaynan Duarte, for which he was recently operated. Given the recovery time, Simões believes he will be entering the ONE cage by the 2nd semester of 2020, with the date and opponent yet to be released.
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