A rundown of the biggest headlines and news from the world of competitive grappling.
The third Polaris Squads event is right around the corner and this will mark the first time that a team will represent the USA on their mats. The promotion is keeping relatively tight-lipped about the lineups so far but with less than three months until the event, they will start to release them soon no doubt. The event already looks promising however with the announcement of the captains for both Team USA and Team UK & Ireland.
First up, Darragh O’Connail will be returning to captain Team UK & Ireland after leading them to victory in the first event. On the opposite side of the mats, the man in charge of Team USA will be the legendary two-time ADCC and IBJJF no gi World Champion JT Torres. Although he has no experience in team grappling events, Torres has already beaten one of England’s best grapplers in Ross Nicholls, back at ADCC 2019.
Andy Murasaki wins Evolve Ur Game tournament in black belt debut
It’s only been a matter of months since Andy Murasaki was awarded his black belt courtesy of the founder and head coach of ATOS, Andre Galvao. He decided to take his time and plan out his competitive debut at the final belt level and ended up settling on the inaugural Evolve Ur Game tournament, where eight elite grapplers would fight for a grand prize of $10,000 in Las Vegas.
Murasaki had a tough opening match against Kennedy Maciel, but managed to book his place in the second round by earning the decision win. There, he became the first person to submit the phenomenal Gianni Grippo in seven years when he locked up a triangle choke to earn the tap. He then met Mateus Gabriel in the final for another difficult match that required the judges to decide a winner, and Murasaki did enough to take home the prize.
Full results for the event can be found here.
Kaynan Duarte continues ATOS success at Third Coast Grappling 6
Third Coast Grappling 6 was a leap of faith for the relatively young Texas-based promotion as they parted ways with FloGrappling and hosted the event as a PPV on FITE TV instead. The event featured the debut of Jay Rodriguez, younger brother of Nicky, as he outworked Moises Hernandez on route to a decision victory. The main attraction however was a tournament featuring some huge names competing for $20,000 in prize money.
Kaynan Duarte had tough matches all night long, first against Aaron ‘Tex’ Johnson who he defeated by golden score. Next up was the reigning SUG absolute champion Mason Fowler, who was unable to overcome the size advantage that Duarte held. He then met Victor Hugo in the finals and although he wasn’t able to get the finish against any of his opponents, Duarte displayed his elite grappling skills from start to finish.
Full results for the event can be found here.
ADCC teams up with Flograppling for first ever superfight event
Historically, ADCC have never put on any events other than their biannual World Championships and regular trials events that award winners with a place in the finals. The only other way to make it to the world’s most prestigious no gi grappling event is to be the lucky recipient of an invite directly from ADCC themselves. This is usually reserved for past champions or competitors who excel but fall just short of winning at the trials.
Now, there’s another way for athletes to bring their names to the attention of organizers as ADCC have announced that they will be partnering up with FloGrappling in order to stage a superfight event under ADCC rules. There’s no date or fights announced as yet, with the only information being that it will be held in the summer but it should satisfy the cravings of those that are missing out on the World Championships after they were delayed until 2022.
Quick Hits
- BJJ coach and former TUF contestant Rafael ‘Barata’ de Freitas has had his sexual assault charges dropped by the State of New Mexico entirely.
- British comedian, actor, and BJJ blue belt Russell Brand went into depth on the ways that he believed Jiu-Jitsu had changed his life for the better.
- Elite BJJ black belt Mackenzie Dern earned another ‘performance of the night’ bonus by submitting Nina Nunes and likely breaking into the Strawweight top five at UFC Vegas 23.
- Demian Maia recently credited a three-hour private lesson with the legendary Rickson Gracie as one that changed his Jiu-Jitsu completely.
Technique Corner
Calf-Slicer and Kneebar options from passing De La Riva
Armbar from Top Turtle
Three sweep options from Squid Guard