A rundown of the biggest headlines and news from the world of competitive grappling.
Gordon Ryan and Felipe Pena have now managed to set a date for the fourth instalment of a rivalry that has spanned over half a decade at this point. Pena won their first meeting in a no time-limit match back in 2016 before going 2-0 up in with a win in the final of the ADCC 2017 absolute division. The rivalry was put on hold for almost five years at that point, up until they met in another no time-limit match earlier this year.
Ryan took the win this time around to take the series to 2-1 and now he will get the chance to pull level in the headline match of an upcoming Who’s Number One event slated for 25th February. The co-main event will also feature another rematch as one of Ryan’s newest teammates, Nicholas Meregali, will face B-Team co-founder Craig Jones after he lost their first meeting in the semi-finals of the 99kg division at ADCC 2022.
Kade Ruotolo set for first ONE Championship title defence
The ONE Championship submission grappling divisions are picking up some speed now, and not just because the promotion is regularly featuring matches in different weightclasses. ONE Championship has already crowned its first two champions in the Flyweight and Lightweight divisions, with Mikey Musumeci and Kade Ruotolo taking the respective belts home.
Now the young star Ruotolo will be the first champion to put his title on the line when he faces two-time IBJJF world champion Matheus Gabriel on December 2nd. They will meet at the fifth event that ONE Championship has put on Amazon Prime Video and will fight for one of four titles that will be available at the event across the different disciplines of MMA, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, and Submission Grappling.
Brianna Ste-Marie wins first WNO women’s main event
Brianna Ste-Marie and Mayssa Bastos made history this past weekend when they became the first women to headline a Who’s Number One event. In the end, Ste-Marie put on a fantastic show and outworked Bastos from start to finish to earn a unanimous decision win. Shortly beforehand, Jacob ‘The Hillbilly Hammer’ Couch added a big name to his resume when he finished Bruno Matias with a guillotine in the co-main event.
B-Team started out strong on the night, as Ethan Crelinsten and Jozef Chen both registered impressive submission wins against Fabricio Andrey and Derek Rayfield respectively. Following that, Damien Anderson dropped a decision to the AOJ prodigy Cole Abate. The only other match of the main card saw New Wave’s Luke Griffith land the second-fastest submission in WNO history when he heelhooked Haisam Rida in just 24 seconds.
Full results for the event can be found here.
Dillon Danis spotted in brawl with Anthony Taylor
ADCC veteran Dillon Danis has been involved in chaos again, this time at the weigh-ins for the MF x DAZN: X Series 3 boxing event. He started out by confronting KSI, the YouTube star who actually runs the co-promoter Misfit Boxing; and getting into a physical altercation with him in front of a crowd watching the weigh-ins. Although he left the venue almost immediately afterwards, the fighting didn’t actually stop there.
Danis was chased into the parking lot by one of Jake Paul’s training partners, Anthony Taylor, and found himself caught up in another brawl. Both altercations were caught on camera, with one of them being recorded by IFL TV. The event itself will see Hasim Rahman Jr taking on former NFL star and UFC competitor Greg Hardy, after fellow UFC veteran Vitor Belfort withdrew from the fight due to undisclosed reasons.
Quick Hits
- Zion Clark, a veteran wrestler who was born without legs, is getting prepared to make his professional MMA debut.
- ‘Saved by the Bell’ star and one of the biggest celebrity BJJ advocates, Mario Lopez, was promoted to purple belt by Robert Hill at Gracie Barra Glendale.
- Newly crowned UFC Middleweight world champion Alex Pereira was promoted to brown belt in BJJ by his coach, Plinio Cruz.
- The judge presiding over the sexual misconduct lawsuit against Fight Sports and Roberto ‘Cyborg’ Abreu has agreed an extension and the trial is now targeted for February 2023.