A rundown of the biggest headlines and news from the world of competitive grappling.
Fight 2 Win 177 saw two impressive victories towards the end of the night as both Maria Malyjasiak and Rafael Lovato Jr won in title-fights. Malyjasiak was first up against Kendall Reusing and although Reusing started strong by attacking with a toehold seconds into the match, she quickly countered with a toehold of her own and forced the tap to earn the title and ‘submission of the night’.
Lovato Jr’s match was much longer as he engaged in a back-and-forth battle with Alexandro Ceconi for the promotion’s Masters Heavyweight gi title. The former Bellator Middleweight world champion started out the match by pulling guard but quickly came on top and spent most of the match attempting to pass Ceconi’s guard. It was a close match but in the end, the judges awarded Lovato Jr the victory by decision.
Full results for the event can be found here.
Anderson Munis wins grand prix in tense night at Big Deal Pro 3
Anderson Munis came up against plenty of tough opposition in Harysson Pereira, Gabriel Henrique, and Erberth Santos on his path to glory at Big Deal Pro 3. He managed to overcome each and every one of them after incredibly close matches that all needed the aid of judges in order to declare a winner. Munis defeated them by points, decision and advantages respectively.
The event also featured several exciting superfights, with the best finish of the night coming when Bianca Basilio secured a choke after a dominant display against Dulce Rosenthal. One of the other Munis brothers, Erich, also made an appearance against Leonardo Lemos and locked up a tight armbar to force the tap. Alongside this, the event also featured a number of elite grapplers scoring victories like Leandro Lo and Mahamed Aly.
Full results for the event can be found here.
First ever Road to ADCC event is a roaring success
Historically, the only event that ADCC has ever put on has been the World Championships and there’s never been more than one in a year, so expectations were high when they announced their first ever superfight event. Despite the fact that the event lost half of it’s headline match when Craig Jones broke his hand, it was still a fantastic event full of IBJJF and ADCC world champions competing.
William Tackett stepped up on short-notice to take on Lucas ‘Hulk’ Barbosa in Jones’ place and he was shut down from start to finish. Barbosa put on a phenomenal performance and although he couldn’t submit his opponent, the 34-0 victory on points says it all. The main event then saw an unusual submission as Kaynan Duarte defeated fellow ADCC 2019 gold medalist Matheus Diniz by trapping both legs and applying breaking pressure.
Full results for the event can be found here.
Three elite grapplers get big wins at UFC Vegas 31
UFC Vegas 31 featured a number of fantastic grapplers and every single one of them put on great performances. First up was Rodolfo Vieira, who was eager to put his first professional loss behind him and prove that his cardio was up to scratch, and he did so excellently. He showed huge improvements on the feet for the first two rounds before still having enough left in the tank to perform an athletic back-take and finish a choke in the third round.
ADCC veteran and KSW double champion Mateusz Gamrot was up next and he took just a little over a minute to show his brilliance by finishing Jeremy Stephens with a Kimura. The main event then saw a much more prolonged display of grappling talent as Islam Makhachev took his record to a phenomenal 20-1 with a fourth-round rear-naked choke finish of Thiago Moises.
Full results for the event can be found here.
Quick Hits
- Third Coast Grappling owner Ryan McGuire has now taken on the role of matchmaker for fellow North American grappling promotion, Fight 2 Win.
- ADCC and IBJJF World Champion Mackenzie Dern is now getting her first ever main-event fight against Marina Rodriguez on UFC on ESPN+ 54 on October 9th.
- The CBJJ Brazilian Nationals are set to take place for the first time since 2019, and will be returning to Rio De Janeiro for the first time in nine years.
- Bellator announced the release of eighteen fighters, including two former champions and the son of MMA and BJJ legend Royce Gracie, Khonry Gracie.