Cole Abate is primed for his ONE Championship debut at ONE Fight Night 26 on Friday, Dec. 6. The Art of Jiu-Jitsu representative will debut against Shinya Aoki in a lightweight submission grappling contest.
Although he is only 20 years old, his signing to ONE has had the young gun reflecting on how he got to the big leagues.
“I remember there was a real turning point for me when, at the end of class, we’d do this sumo game where you’d have to push the person out of the ring. They’d make a little circle with the belts, and you just have to get low and drive the person out. And my professor just kept putting in the higher belts. He kept putting in the better kids, and I just kept driving the kids out,” Abate said to ONE.
“That was kind of the turning point for me because it’s like, even though you play basketball and baseball, you’re the athletic kid. You’re the star on the team.”
“In jiu-jitsu, you don’t need that extra person to make you win or help determine the results of the match or the competition. In jiu-jitsu, it’s all you out there.”
The young star was already seeing success on the mats in Texas when he began to dream bigger. His father then had the opportunity to relocate for work, so a 14-year-old Abate got the chance to find his dream gym as a result.
His father asked Cole where he would like to train at Art of Jiu-Jitsu in California.
Wanting to ensure his son’s growth as a BJJ competitor, they packed their bags and moved closer to Art of Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Costa Mesa, California.
“I saw what they were doing at AoJ, and I’ve always really admired it,” admitted Abate.
“They were investing in the younger generation more than the Black Belt World Champions because they were thinking in the future. They were thinking more about building a system that would run smoothly for years to come.”
The commitment to excellence continued on the west coast.
Lead instructor Gui Mendes took note of the talented teen early on, and Abate got enduring advice from his new teacher.
“He said your goal right now is not to be the best green belt, not to be the best kid, not to be the best 14-year-old. You need to be the best person at your weight regardless of how old, what titles the person has, and what belt they’re wearing. You have, at this point, over 10 years of jiu-jitsu experience,” the 20-year-old recalled.
“There’s no excuse for losing or just accepting defeat against those guys. You can beat them. You just gotta put your mind to it.”
“So, don’t try to be the best green belt here. Don’t try to be the best kid here. We all know you are. Now is the time to get ahead of everybody else and just try to be the best in the world at your weight.”
However, his road to greatness was not all sunshine and rainbows.
Shortly after being awarded his black belt in 2023, the high was met with a low when he broke his tibia in training.
The injury required surgery and recovery, but Abate was surrounded by a support system that kept him on the right path mentally.
“I think I had a really good mindset about it after the first few days post-surgery, and I credit a lot of that to both my parents and my professor,” he said.
“They told me that this should be treated just like any competition. It should be treated with the same mindset. Imagine you’re getting ready for the biggest tournament of your life, and everything you do revolves around that one goal. And your goal is to get back to 100 percent and pretend like nothing ever happened.”
Suffering the injury has given Abate a new perspective on how he can inspire those who may start to look up to him.
He believes he can relate his career to others through more than just wins and wants to start showcasing his message when he debuts in ONE on Dec. 6.
Abate is also confident that his goal-oriented mindset will align well with ONE Championship.
“I think there’s a lot of potential for me to add to my audience and add to my image as being the young guy, the person that has been doing everything right since they were a kid, and be able to show that story to even more people. So, I think that’s what excites me, and I feel like it’s in line with my goals,” he remarked.
“I’ve had my goals since I’ve been a kid about what I want to do once I’m a black belt. My goal is to go down as one of the best Americans this sport has ever seen, and everything that ONE is offering to me is in line with that.”
ONE Fight Night 26 airs live and free on Prime Video at 8 p.m. EST/5 p.m. PST on Friday, Dec. 6, to all Amazon Prime subscribers in the U.S. and Canada.