A rundown of the biggest headlines and news from the world of competitive grappling.
Subversiv 4 marked a big occasion as the promotion put on two events in one year for the very first time. In a knockout tournament with sixteen teams of three athletes, Lucas ‘Hulk’ Barbosa shone the brightest by winning all four of his matches to propel ATOS to victory in the final. His teammates, Rafaela Guedes and Andy Murasaki, were near-flawless too with both competitors only losing one match each.
Their fellow finalists, Team Level Black, were represented by a group of young prodigies in Kody Steele, William Tackett, and Elisabeth Clay. Clay had a stellar performance with three straight submission victories, but didn’t get the chance to beat Barbosa’s performance when both Steele and Tackett lost their matches to their ATOS counterparts in the final. Elsewere at the event, Nick Ronan, Oliver Taza, and John Combs all had great nights too.
Quintet Fight Night 5 Showcases Asian Talent
The original team grappling format also took place this week with an event in Tokyo that featured almost entirely Asian competitors. There was incredibly high number of draws at the event, although just like the first Polaris Squads, that didn’t mean the action was lacking at all. Hideo Tokoro captained his team of Japanese MMA legends like Masakazu Imanari and Daisuke Nakamura to victory in the end.
The card also featured an ironman match, a new format devised by Kazushi Sakuraba that debuted at the last Quintet event. The rules dictate a time limit and each submission counting for a single point, and this time Sakuraba took on Takashi Sugiura and beat him 1-0. The other superfight saw rising star Igor Tanabe defeat another hot prospect in Haisam Rida with a Footlock in under a minute.
Submission Hunter Pro 60 Puts on a Fantastic All-Female Event
One of the only all-female grappling events that we’ve ever seen was organized to raise money for Breast Cancer treatment and diagnosis. It featured a number of high-level competitors like Laurah Hallock, Erin Johnson and Yani Reyes on the way to a pair of title-fights at the top of the card. The first saw Alana Holy defeat late-replacement Andreza Morais in overtime to earn the brown belt 125 lbs title.
The main event then saw UFC veteran Roxanne Modafferi make a change of pace ahead of her upcoming fight with Viviane Araujo. She took on recent Silver Fox black belt Danielle Kelly for the promotion’s 130lbs title and fared extremely well against a woman who trains exclusively in grappling. After a tough exchange where Modafferi showed excellent leglock defense, she eventually succumbed to a Toehold and Kelly was declared the new champion.
ONE FC Double Champ Aung La Nsang Loses Title In 1st Round Submission
‘The Burmese Python’ has been ONE FC’s golden boy for years now after first winning their Middleweight title back in 2017. His first title victory came after a solid 4-1 run for the promotion and saw the beginning of a seven-fight winning streak where he added the Light-Heavyweight title to his collection and defended both alternately. That is, until he came up against Dutch prospect Reinier de Ridder this weekend.
La Nsang put his Middleweight title on the line at ONE Championship: Inside the Matrix and de Ridder was seen as an underdog despite his perfect 12-0 record. De Ridder is actually a BJJ black belt and has beaten a number of high-level grapplers in competition over the past few years like Freddie Vosgrone, Wim Deputter, and Alexander Neufang. He used his superior grappling to lock up a fight-ending rear-naked choke inside the first four minutes.
Quick Hits
- After announcing the lineups for Polaris Squads 2 last week, it’s now been revealed that the half-time superfight will see Ashley Williams fighting for his third title against Tom Halpin.
- It’s been rumored for a few weeks since several trials events were postponed, but it’s now official that the 2021 ADCC World Championships will now be delayed until 2022.
- IBJJF World Champion Ary Farias just won his first MMA title for Taura MMA after his opponent’s ear was almost entirely detached [GRAPHIC CONTENT].
- A trial date has now been set for Ralph Gracie in his assault case, the alleged incident occurred at the 2018 IBJJF no gi World Championships and the victim was Flavio Almeida.
Technique Corner
Counter to Deep Inside Heelhook
Wristlock from Top Mount
Mount to Americana Attempt to Lapel Choke