Grappling Report: SUG 19 Crowns Inaugural Women’s Champion as Mason Fowler Retains his Title

A rundown of the biggest headlines and news from the world of competitive grappling. Submission Underground 19 saw a huge step forward for Chael Sonnen’s promotion as they crowned their very first female champion. Amanda Loewen …


grappling report

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

Submission Underground 19 saw a huge step forward for Chael Sonnen’s promotion as they crowned their very first female champion. Amanda Loewen overcame a stiff challenge from UFC Featherweight title contender Felicia Spencer by locking up an armbar inside the four minute-mark to be awarded the title. The rest of the card was stacked with plenty of elite MMA fighters in one of SUG’s biggest events to date.

The main event saw Mason Fowle retain his SUG absolute title against Japanese MMA legend Satoshi Ishii in EBI overtime. Perhaps the biggest moment of the night came just before that when Donald Cerrone defeated Rafael Dos Anjos in EBI overtime, only for the decision to be contested due to a controversial tap. The pair then replayed their overtime rounds, resulting in the same outcome but without controversy.

Full results for the event can be found here.

SUG and F2W Both Reveal Next Events Coming Soon

Submission Underground followed their last event with a quick announcement of another just before 2020 is over. SUG 20 will take place on December 30th, headlined by Mason Fowler defending his title for the second time in 10 days against Ryan Bader. The card will also feature Craig Jones against Satoshi Ishii,and 10th Planet’s Richie ‘Boogieman’ Martinez taking on UFC veteran C.B. Dolloway.

Fight 2 Win however, will be taking a little time off for the Christmas period before returning with force on January 16th with F2W 160, headlined by Vagner Rocha and William Tackett. The promotion will also put on two more events throughout January, with F2W 162 marking the first time that they have ever staged an all-female event. The headline match has been revealed as a blockbuster match between Rafaela Guedes and Ana Vieira.

Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida Set For MMA Debut Against 265lb Wrestler

It’s been quite some time since ‘Buchecha’ first announced his intention to compete in professional MMA and a good few months since he signed a contract for ONE FC. His initial plans were scuppered however when he suffered a knee injury in training that required some recovery time before he could begin competing.

Now he has finally had his first fight announced, and it seems like he’s taken on one hell of a challenge for his debut. He will be taking on Oumar ‘Reug Reug’ Kane, a 6”5’ and 265lbs undefeated Senegalese wrestling champion who cuts a terrifying figure in the octagon. Kane went viral last year in his first professional fight when he ragdolled his opponent around en route to a second-round TKO.

Kaynan Duarte Is the Latest ATOS Team Member Announcing MMA Plans

It all started with Lucas ‘Hulk’ Barbosa revealing that he intended to make his MMA debut in 2021, and he was quickly followed by ATOS head coach Andre Galvao announcing a return to the sport in the same year after retiring over a decade ago with a 5-2 record. Now, it seems that another high-achieving member of the ATOS stable will be making a move to MMA too.

Kaynan Duarte sat down for an interview with Flograppling, where he confirmed that he wanted to compete in MMA but explained that it would not be in the next year or so as he wanted to properly develop a striking skillset first. Considering he recently demolished Rodolfo Vieira at Who’s Number One, and Vieira has been dominating the UFC Middleweight division since his arrival, Duarte could be set for huge things in the sport.

Quick Hits

Technique Corner

Escaping the Body Triangle from the Back

Transitioning from Mounted Armbar to Triangle Choke

Triangle Choke from De La Riva Guard