Actor Ashton Kutcher is now a Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belt.<\/p>\n
The Hollywood star earned his rank at 47-years-old, and was promoted this past week by renowned BJJ coach and 8th degree coral belt Rigan Machado.<\/p>\n
\u201cCongratulations my brother,\u201d Machado wrote on social media. \u201c15 years jiu-jitsu.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kutcher, known for roles in That 70\u2019s Show, Punk\u2019d, and The Butterfly Effect, was also pictured wearing a customized black belt with his name and Japanese Kanji embroidery.<\/p>\n
Is Ashton Kutcher a legitimate BJJ black belt?<\/p>\n
Rigan Machado was so confident in his student, he previously claimed in 2016 that Ashton Kutcher, then a BJJ purple belt, could beat Conor McGregor <\/a>in a grappling match. He noted Kutcher\u2019s size and wrestling background.<\/p>\n \u201cI put all my money (on) Ashton Kutcher. I think he could do really, really good. He\u2019s 200 pounds, 6\u20192, 6\u20193, he\u2019s the best,\u201d Machado said. \u201cAshton Kutcher, for me, is my No. 1 student. He\u2019s a purple belt but he has a really good background in wrestling. I think he has a chance to be one of the top guys in jiu-jitsu.\u201d<\/p>\n While Machado sang praises and made pretty outrageous claims about his student, there was a time that people really questioned Kutcher\u2019s jiu-jitsu ability.<\/p>\n A video went viral back in 2020, showing Kutcher as a newly promoted brown belt, rolling with BJJ star Craig Jones. He didn\u2019t exactly look very good, which led to people questioning the validity of his brown belt. Years later, Jones revealed that Kutcher was dealing with a \u201cserious medical condition\u201d at the time<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cHalf his body stopped working, so he couldn\u2019t move too well. So then Rigan\u2019s like \u2018roll with him, I\u2019ll film it.\u2019 He films it, sends it to me, and he\u2019s like \u2018post it.\u2019 Obviously, Ashton was like \u2014 we couldn\u2019t say anything about it,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n \u201cSo we posted it online, and thousands of comments (questioning his belt), and then Ashton comments on that \u2018oh, thanks for the roll.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Kutcher eventually revealed two years later that he was dealing with a rare case of \u201cvasculitis\u201d in 2020<\/a>, and had his hearing, vision and mobility compromised for a year.<\/p>\n Kutcher has been training in jiu-jitsu for well over a decade. He was already a purple belt in 2014, and was promoted to brown belt five years later, at the end of 2019. He spent around six years as a brown belt, before being promoted to black belt.<\/p>\n Regardless of what you think of his skill from that viral video from five years ago, Kutcher has seemingly put in the time in the sport without really trying to get much attention and recognition from it. That seems completely opposite from some of the newer figures using the jiu-jitsu scene to launder their image, and \u201cearn\u201d black belts in record time<\/a>.<\/p>\n Due to Machado\u2019s gym location in Beverly Hills, he also gets to coach several other celebrities apart from Kutcher. One of his notable higher belt students is Brazilian actor and Narcos star Wagner Moura, who currently holds a brown belt<\/a> in jiu-jitsu.<\/p>\n For the latest Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) and grappling-related news click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n