Ethan Crelinsten won the welterweight tournament at Show the ART Finishers 5.
Show the ART is a popular competitive grappling promotion that showcases not only the sport, but some of the top talent across the East Coast. Their fifth event, Finishers 5, brought out some of the top 170 pound competitors for tournament action along with other superfights.
In the welterweight tournament it would be Ethan Crelinsten who would walk out of the event as the champion. Crelinsten may not be a name that immediately jumps off of the page, but he has a wealth of experience that includes a victory at the ADCC West Coast Trials and competing in the major tournament last year. The astounding point is that Crelinsten was a last minute addition to the Finishers tournament and a regular competitor at 66 kilograms (145 pounds) which would mean he would give up a lot of weight to his opponents.
That didn’t stop him from having a strong showing, as Crelinsten won all four of his matches via submission in regulation time. In the finals he faced off against Michael Carpenter who was aggressive from the very start. He would push Crelinsten to some dangerous positions, but would never find a way to fully capitalize. They would exchange multiple scrambles and both men found themselves in advantageous positions. But in the end Crelinsten found his way to Carpenter’s back and finished with a rear naked choke; earning $2,000 for his tournament victory.
The co-main event to the tournament final features a superfight between Marcel Goncalves and Jason Rau.
Goncalves would start on his feet, attacking Rau’s open guard. He would eventually pass Rau’s guard and flatten him into side, but Rau’s stellar use of his legs allowed him to find a way back to open guard. They would continue to engage here but the contest would go to overtime.
Goncalves and Rau went back and forth in the overtime round, matching each other’s escape time to the point where they were tied after three rounds, forcing a fourth. Goncalves, who came into the event with experience in EBI events, was able to ride Rau out in the fourth overtime round in order to get the victory and walk out with $1,600 in winnings.
Show the ART Finishers 5 is available for viewing via the promotion’s YouTube page.