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 Brazilian talent Evandro Nunes
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 this edition with Brazilian phenom, Evandro Nunes.
Evandro Nunes
Lineage: Mitsuyo Maeda > Carlos Gracie Sr > Carlos G. Jr > Ryan Gracie > Márcio Barão > Evandro Nunes
Weight: 220lbs +
Evandro Nunes is a new age Gracie Jiu Jitsu black belt, one that is from a traditional lineage, but has embraced some of the more creative techniques of the new generation of grapplers. Nunes is extremely talented and has taken home numerous accolades in the gi including the Gracie Nationals in 2015. Nunes’ competitive prowess does not stop at the gi, he is equally adept in the no-gi domain and has placed in a number of international tournaments, as well as submitting a number of big names.
Nunes is extremely difficult to submit and has a high finish ration himself, which should translate well to the submission format. As far as physicality goes, very few men in the world of jiu-jitsu can match the athleticism of Nunes. Offensively speaking, Nunes is quite diverse, though he has some great armbars, which brought him great success in the 2015 Gracie Nationals, where he secured two in the opening matches.
First round opponent: Yuri Simoes
The draw wasn’t very kind to Nunes, in fact I don’t think Nunes could have been put against a worst stylistic match-up. Simoes is not only one of the greatest grapplers on the planet, his wrestling has improved by leaps and bounds and I think he will be able to take Nunes down and control him at will.
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.