A rundown of the biggest headlines and news from the world of competitive grappling.
American promotion, Fight 2 Win (F2W), celebrated an impressive moment this weekend as they put on their 150th event. CEO Seth Daniels had just the recipe to make it a special occasion as he managed to book an increasingly rare appearance by BJJ legend, Romulo Barral. Barral has only taken five matches in the last three years and is slowing down now that he approaches his forties but was still happy to make the journey to Texas to take on Tanner Rice.
He went on to win a close match with the much younger Rice, as the headline event of a card that was stacked from top to bottom with high-level talent. Earlier in the night fans were treated to a slick submission finish courtesy of ADCC veteran John Combs, and two “Fight of the Night” performances by the Brazilian Fight Factory team: Kody Steele and Andrew Tackett. It was only 24 hours later that another member of their team, William Tackett, would walk away with the 185lbs Championship at BJJ Woodstock festival.
Craig Jones Gets His Chance At Revenge
The future looks bright for another American grappling promotion, Chael Sonnen’s brainchild Submission Underground (SUG). The relatively young company has gone from strength to strength in the last four years and have finalized the lineup for their 17th event, headlined by the rubber match between Craig Jones and Mason Fowler. There’s quite the storyline behind the main event that started when the pair first met at ADCC 2019, where Jones submitted Fowler on the way to collecting his silver medal.
At the same time, Jones had built up a phenomenal 10-0 record for Submission Underground that included a brutal victory over Vinny Magalhaes. When Chael Sonnen decided to set up a single-night tournament where the winner would earn the right to challenge Jones and his unbeaten record, Fowler was at the front of the line. After winning that tournament and finally getting his rematch at SUG 16, Fowler was awarded the victory as the result of a controversial referee’s decision. Now, Jones gets the chance to set the record straight and prove that he’s the better grappler on top of a fantastic card.
A Pair Of Jiu-Jitsu Experts Are Back In October
The man who has the most submission victories in the UFC will be back on October 3rd and looking to add to his incredible tally. News broke this week that Charles Oliveira will be fighting Beneil Dariush as the 6th ranked Lightweight is aiming to build on a 7-fight winning streak where he’s finished ever opponent. Dariush is in fine form in his own right after racking up 6 wins in a row and is knocking on the door of the division’s top 10.
Only two weeks later and one weight-class down, Brian Ortega makes his return after nearly two years away from competition. He was last seen challenging Max Holloway for the UFC Featherweight title back at UFC 231 and is hungry to get another chance. Standing opposite him will be ‘The Korean Zombie’ Chan Sung Jung in a fight that was originally booked for 8 months ago, until Ortega had to withdraw due to a knee injury.
Fans Of Elite Grappling In MMA Don’t Get Everything They Wish For Though
As we all know by now, when the MMA gods give with one hand, they take away with the other. That’s what happened this week when we got the news of some high-level BJJ action coming in October and only a handful of days later it appeared that TUF 22 winner and ADCC bronze medalist Ryan Hall was not competing any time soon. The best leglocker in the UFC was forced to withdraw from his upcoming fight against Ricardo Lamas at the last minute due to an injury.
This comes as a huge blow to BJJ fans as Hall is notorious for being inactive during long stretches of time, whether that’s due to high-ranked fighters ducking him or him getting injured, it hurts either way. After only four fights in his five-year UFC career, Hall looked to be getting his first big opponent in Lamas when the fight was originally scheduled for May, only to be postponed due to Coronavirus. Now Lamas is left looking for a new opponent altogether and nobody knows when we’ll finally see Hall back in action.
Quick Hits
- Polaris have announced the ruleset and first competitor for their latest event, Polaris Squads. The event will feature Ashley Williams representing Team UK as they face off against Team Europe.
- Ex-UFC Lightweight World Champion Rafael Dos Anjos was awarded with the 4th degree on his black belt courtesy of Philipe Furao, chief coach at Gracie Barra Headquarters. Congratulations RDA!
- The first major tournament since the start of the coronavirus pandemic has been given a date as the IBJJF Pan-Ams are scheduled for October, Brazilian competitors aren’t happy though as current travel restrictions would make it impossible for them to compete.
- A 62-year old Army veteran and BJJ practitioner was attacked in a parking lot in Texas but thanks to his training, he was able to put the much younger attacker to sleep relatively quickly and leave safely!
Technique Corner
Rubber Guard to K-Guard to Backside 50/50 and Heelhook Finish
Getting From De La Riva to 50/50 Using the Lapel
Spider Guard to Deep De La X Guard Sweep