A rundown of the biggest headlines and news from the world of competitive grappling.
Grapplefest 14 took place this past weekend and in total, there were three belts on the line at the end of the night. First up was the women’s under 65kgs division, where Julia Maele and Nadine Tavares competed for the inaugural title. Maele was calm under pressure throughout and ended up securing a kneebar to force the tap and claim the belt, shortly before Rosa Walsh and Gabi Schuck battled for the inaugural under 70kgs title.
Walsh was aggressive from the start and was clearly hunting for the armbar, wasting no time at all in finishing it once she had it. The final match of the night saw Eoghan O’Flanagan defending his under 90kgs title against Jacob Couch and although Couch put up a great fight, he was constantly put on the defensive by the ADCC veteran’s relentless leg attacks.
Full results for the event can be found here.
Tenth Planet competitors impress at Subversiv 8
Subversiv 8 represented a slight change of pace for the team grappling promotion, with each of the eight teams representing either BJJ or MMA and competing under Combat Jiu-Jitsu rules. In the end it was two of the best Tenth Planet competitors who put in the most impressive displays, with Kyle Boehm and Ryan Aitken both going undefeated at the event and guiding Team Sugar to victory.
Both men won three matches, with Boehm submitting two of his opponents and Aitken one. Their teammate Juliana Fontoura only competed in the opening round of the event, submitting Brittany Cowan and bringing the team’s record to a perfect 7-0. Subversiv 8 also featured a number of superfights, with the headline match between Vagner Rocha and Ty Freeman ending up as a gritty battle before Rocha secured a rear-naked choke.
Full results for the event can be found here.
Pat Downey loses second MMA fight by KO
As an NCAA Division I All-American and former member of the US World team, Pat Downey was always going to have high expectations placed on him for his MMA career. That was only amplified by the fact that he has often been the centre of controversy during his wrestling career, and that he had already competed in several submission grappling events with reasonable success.
When he finally stepped into the cage at Bellator 284, he made good on that promise and finished his debut opponent in well under a minute. Unfortunately for fans of the brash grappler, his second fight didn’t go so well. Downey faced Christian Echols at Bellator 289 and although he was able to score a huge takedown early on, he couldn’t find the finish on the ground and was swiftly knocked out when the fight returned to standing.
Full results for the event can be found here.
UFC FightPass Invitational 3 absolute tournament lineup confirmed
The third UFC FightPass Invitational is just a matter of days away and the promotion has now announced the full lineup for the absolute tournament. The UFC had already confirmed that the main event would be a stellar rematch between Gordon Ryan and Vinny Magalhaes, with Miesha Tate v Bia Mesquita serving as the co-main event. Now it seems that they’ve put just as much effort into the $25,000 absolute tournament.
The opening round will see a rematch from the ADCC 2022 absolute division as Nicky Rodriguez takes on Andy Varela, while two other competitors from that tournament meet on the opposite side of the bracket, Haisam Rida and Patrick Gaudio. They’re not the only ADCC 2022 veterans either, as Oliver Taza and Mason Fowler will be coming up against Tenth Planet stars Richie Martinez and the young Pat Shahgholi respectively.
Quick Hits
- Former New Zealand Rugby captain Tana Umaga was promoted to BJJ black belt after thirteen years training in the sport.
- Jacob ‘The Hillbilly Hammer’ Couch received his BJJ black belt on the podium of the IBJJF no gi worlds after winning gold at brown belt.
- Kade Ruotolo laid out his intentions to eventually transition to MMA at ONE Championship, indicating he would like to fight at either 170lbs or 155lbs.
- Nate Diaz was given a huge honour at a Stockton Kings NBA G League game when he was given the key to the city by Stockton’s mayor.