In the buildup to the Eddie Bravo Invitational 6’s open weight tournament, Bloody Elbow’s grappling editor Roy Billington will be providing athlete profiles for each of the competitors. Here, we look at DJ Jackson.
The illustrious Eddie Bravo Invitational returns on April 24th, but this time it is different. Instead of EBI 6 airing solely on pay-per-view, the promotion has also signed a streaming deal with UFC Fight Pass in and is set to feature one of the greatest openweight submission-only tournaments ever. In the weeks leading up to the event, Bloody Elbow will be giving you the low down on the strengths and background of each competitor. Let’s kick off our latest edition with no gi World Champion, DJ Jackson.
DJ Jackson
Lineage: Mitsuyo Maeda > Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Rickson Gracie > Jorge Pereira > Leo Dalla > Lloyd Irvin > DJ Jackson
Team: Team Lloyd Irvin
Weight: 181lbs
DJ Jackson is a special competitor. When it comes to applying wrestling to submission grappling, Jackson stands out as one of the most effective athletes. DJ has a great power double and when he gets on top of you it is like having a boulder on you – he is almost impossible to sweep. DJ took home gold at the no-gi worlds last year, but in his victorious run he was unable to submit any of his competition. Jackson typically prefers to score points rather than pursue a finish, which in point-based contests makes a lot of sense, but it might become a hindrance at EBI 6.
Offensively speaking, DJ Jackson is a grinder, but a grinder in the most entertaining sense of the word. While Jackson doesn’t have the propensity for brilliance that the like of Cummings, Tonon and Bastos hold, he has a firm grasp of the basics and excels at asserting his will on his opponents. If Jackson is to make it to the latter portions of EBI 6 we will see a performance akin to that of Joe Soto at EBI 5, meaning he will proceed through the tournament field by winning his matches in overtime.
First round opponent: Bruno Bastos
Bastos can be brilliant, but DJ Jackson is hard to submit and in his athletic prime. I expect DJ to control Bastos throughout and get a win in overtime.
The Eddie Bravo Invitational 6 goes down at the Orpheum Theatre, in Los Angeles, CA on April 24 and will be available on pay-per-view on Dish and InDemand, as well as being live on UFC Fight Pass.