Grappling Report: Gracie, Hinger shine at IBJJF Masters World Championships

A rundown of the biggest headlines and news from the world of competitive grappling. This marks the final major event of the BJJ calendar for 2020, ever since it was announced that both the gi and no gi edition of the IBJJF Worl…


grappling report

A rundown of the biggest headlines and news from the world of competitive grappling.

This marks the final major event of the BJJ calendar for 2020, ever since it was announced that both the gi and no gi edition of the IBJJF World Championships were being cancelled this year. As such, there was a lot more attention on the older generation of grapplers than there would normally be, and there were some big names competing that might not have, had they had a more normal year full of competition beforehand.

Gregor Gracie put a perfect end to a perfect year by winning the absolute division in the Masters 1 category, defeating ex-Bellator Middleweight Champion Rafael Lovato Jr in the final. This was after he already won double gold at the IBJJF Pan-Ams, also in the Masters 1 category. Josh Hinger also had a stunning performance going through seven matches without having a point scored against him to claim double gold in the Masters 2 category.

Full results for the event can be found here.

Fight 2 Win 159 has a night full of decisions

It’s important to note that a judge’s decision doesn’t mean that a fight wasn’t fun and Fight 2 Win 159 was certainly full of action, but hardly any of the black belt matches ended with a tap. Only two out of the twelve main event matchups ended in a submission, although there was plenty of finishes in the colored belt sections of the card leading up to it.

Jessica Flowers took home an impressive scalp as she earned a decision victory against Talita Nogueira, and Johnny Tama looked solid in another hard-fought match against Jackson Nagai. The headline matchup was a battle between American Heavyweight Devhonte Johnson and his slightly more-experienced Brazilian counterpart, Guilherme Augusto. Johnson got the win in the end after a tough, drawn-out war of attrition.

William Tackett Made a Huge Statement at Third Coast Grappling 5

3CG 5 was the promotion’s final event of 2020 and the first time in a while that they returned to their normal format after putting on several ‘Kumite’ tournament events. The event was initially supposed to be headlined by a battle between two elite competitors in the lightest weightclasses, Mikey Musumeci and Thiago Macedo. Unfortunately, Musumeci withdrew and was replaced by Johnny Tama on short notice.

Because of this, William Tackett v Fellipe Andrew was bumped up to main event status and the young star put on an amazing display in submitting the reigning IBJJF Pan-Am and European Absolute Champion. In fact, the whole Brazilian Fight Factory team had a fantastic night as his younger brother Andrew Tackett and fellow coach Kody Steele both emerged with Decision victories earlier on the card.

Mikey Musumeci soon to be an official world record holder

The king of the lighter weights and the man at the forefront of American Jiu-Jitsu, Mikey Musumeci, revealed that he is in the process of being recognized by Guinness World Records as the holder of the fastest submission in the adult black belt World Championship finals. The submission in question was a Straight Ankle-lock that he wrapped up in just 12 seconds in 2019.

He pulled off the unreal feat against Rodnei Barbosa after both men pulled guard and he immediately took a grip on the ankle, pummeled his legs into position and secured the tap. This beat the previous record holder, Rodrigo ‘Comprido’ Medeiros who’s seventeen-second submission stood as the mark to beat for over two decades, since the 1999 edition of the IBJJF World Championships.

Quick Hits

Technique Corner

Tornado Guard to Backside Inside Sankaku, to Heelhook Finish

Building the Torreando Pass From Scratch

Seven Attacks from Closed Guard, Using the Lapel