A rundown of the biggest headlines and news from the world of competitive grappling.
Josh Hinger has been dominating the Masters circuit for quite some time and never ceases to impress every time he steps on the mats. Fight 2 Win 170 was no exception as he demonstrated his crushing top game against Rafael ‘Formiga’ Barbosa to win the promotion’s Middleweight title. He spent almost the entire match working for chokes from the top and never really allowed Barbosa a chance to get his game going at all.
Earlier on in the night, Jonnatas Gracie managed to earn the unanimous decision win over Matheus Luna in an exciting matchup that earned ‘fight of the night’ honors from the promotion. Jorge Escudero Barba really stole the show however with an incredible submission finish in one of the first black belt matchups, where he landed a beautiful flying triangle choke to secure the tap.
Full results for the event can be found here.
The lineup starts filling out for Polaris Squads 3
Things are really heating up for July 17th as the first few members of both team UK & Ireland and team USA have been announced for Polaris Squads 3. The team captains were already announced as Darragh O’Connaill and JT Torres respectively, but they’ve now had more of the lineup revealed. Joining Torres will be Romulo Barral black belt Edwin Najmi and one of 10th Planet’s most popular competitors, Richie ‘Boogieman’ Martinez.
As for team UK & Ireland, they will be represented by ADCC 2019 competitor and English standout Ross Nicholls, alongside the captain of the winning Polaris team from Quintet 1, Daniel Strauss. Not just that, but the man who earned his third Polaris title back at their second Squads event will be joining the team too, as Welsh star Ashley Williams attempts to extend his unbeaten run on the Polaris mats even further.
Ralph Gracie released from prison early after serving 3 months
It was just a little over three months ago that Ralph Gracie was finally sentenced to prison for the vicious assault on Flavio Almeida that took place during the 2018 IBJJF no gi World Championships. Now it appears that he has actually been released from prison after serving roughly half his sentence, something that is common for inmates that exhibit good behavior throughout the time they’re incarcerated.
This news may not be welcomed by the victim Almeida and the rest of the Gracie Barra team as they spent over two years fighting for justice after the assault originally took place. According to information given by his brother Renzo Gracie however, not only was Ralph considered a model inmate during his time in prison but he also spent some of that time teaching the guards Jiu-Jitsu as well.
ADCC champion Dean Lister the victim of hit-and-run incident
Dean Lister is not only a three-time ADCC World Champion and a veteran MMA fighter, but he’s also well-known as one of the forefathers of the modern leglock game. Sadly he has been struck by a serious bout of misfortune after being on the receiving end of a hit-and-run incident. He’s already on the path to recovery, but Lister suffered a ruptured spleen and it will be quite some time before he can resume training again.
He reported that he actually got up and finished walking home after being struck by the vehicle, even deciding to go to sleep that night as he had an early flight to catch. He described having pain in his left side that led to difficulty sleeping and only worsened as the morning came. This is when he decided to visit the hospital to find out the news, and after receiving an astronomical medical bill has now had a GoFundMe set up to help pay for it.
Quick Hits
- Grappling and UFC legend BJ Penn has decided to add his name to the list of fighters attempting to land a big payday by taking on a boxing match against Jake Paul.
- Charles Oliveira was awarded with the 3rd degree on his BJJ black belt just a matter of weeks before he finally gets a shot at the UFC Lightweight Championship.
- ADCC Asia Trials winner for 2019, Jacob Malkoun, employed his impressive grappling ability to earn a unanimous decision win in his second UFC fight at UFC Vegas 24.
- Third Coast Grappling announced a plan to offer $23,000 in total prize money, split among the four semi-finalists, for every single grand prix event that they host in 2021.