Roberto Jimenez Reveals Dream Black Belt Matches: Leandro, Kaynan and...?
Roberto Jimenez Reveals Dream Black Belt Matches: Leandro, Kaynan and...?
Roberto Jimenez is coming off two big wins: Keenan Cornelius and Fellipe Andrew. He had a respectful and interesting answer for his dream match-ups.
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Robert Jimenez is on a hot streak right now. He's fresh off submitting the 2020 IBJJF European absolute champion Fellipe Andrew, and just a few weeks ago he out-pointed Keenan Cornelius at Who's Number One.
We brought Roberto onto the WNO podcast today and the topic of dream matches came up.
Asked if he could take on any black belt in the world Jimenez was hesitant to answer in case he came off as arrogant, but shared the two names that excite him the most– and they're all high-profile black belt champions.
"I don't want to call anybody out and be disrespectful," he said. When pressed, he finally answered: "I'd like to fight Leandro Lo or Kaynan [Duarte] in the next year or so."
When discussing the prospect of competing against a big name like Buchecha at Worlds, Jimenez lit up with excitement and admiration.
"If I have to, I have to, but that's my hero! If it wasn't for his interviews and highlights when I was 12, 13 years old, I wouldn't be here right now," he said. "I'm sure we could make that the best fight ever."
WATCH: WNO Podcast 17: With Roberto Jimenez
As a teen, Jimenez was given the nickname "Blue-checha" for his take-no-prisoners, submission-focused style. While still a 15-year-old juvenile blue belt, he earned wins over black belts and opponents much older than him, leading to analysts and observers claiming he could become the next big thing.
Roberto Jimenez recently tore through the IBJJF Kansas City Open, submitting six out of six opponents in the black belt heavyweight and absolute divisions.
Jimenez has a busy couple of weeks ahead of him, and faces a series of challenges:
- He faces off with IBJJF World champion Lucas "Hulk" Barbosa in a submission-only match at Fight to Win 137 on March 6.
- Jimenez will compete in the loaded heavyweight division at the 2020 IBJJF Pan Championships, alongside names such as Vinicius "Trator" Ferreira, Patrick Gaudio, Jackson Sousa, Adam Wardzinski, Aaron "Tex" Johnson and Tim Spriggs.
- On March 28, Jimenez will appear on Who's Number One: Mikey vs Erberth in a superfight against Jake Watson.
You can watch all of the above events live or on demand only on FloGrappling.com
