Grappling Report: Combat Jiu Jitsu World Championships are back

A rundown of the biggest headlines and news from the world of competitive grappling. Eddie Bravo’s brainchild always produces some exciting matches and he plans to fill up the end of 2020 with two world championship events. First up is the …

grappling report

A rundown of the biggest headlines and news from the world of competitive grappling.

Eddie Bravo’s brainchild always produces some exciting matches and he plans to fill up the end of 2020 with two world championship events. First up is the Lightweight division in November, with the full lineup already revealed. In a surprising turn of events, the young Tye Ruotolo will be among the challengers ready and willing to trade slaps and submission attempts. Joining him is a host of elite grapplers like Ashley Williams, Nathan Orchard, and PJ Barch.

Then, in December, women will finally get their chance at the CJJ World Championships with the first ever female division. While the lineup for the female Flyweights isn’t up just yet, it’s already set to feature three experienced MMA fighters in Pearl Gonzalez, Rachel Cummins and Gabby Romero. Joining them is ATOS black belt Nikki Sullivan and multiple-time IBJJF medalist, Rita Lynne Gribben.

Jon ‘Thor’ Blank Leads a Night of Great Finishes at Fight 2 Win 154

Nearly half of the matches at Fight 2 Win 154 ended in submission and the variety of finishes was huge. There was both a bulldog choke and a teepee choke in the brown belt matches, two submissions that are very rare at any level, but especially this high on the competitive scene. The top three headlining title matches all ended with a finish as well, including Jon ‘Thor’ Blank’s beautiful heel hook finish against Manuel Ribamar.

Just before that, Edwin ‘Junny’ Ocasio showed that he had more to his game than just leglocks when he was unable to get underneath Jose Carlos Lima. He initiated a scramble that gave him the opportunity to take his opponent’s back and make a picture-perfect transition to the armbar. In the headlining women’s match, Maria Malyjasik pulled off the upset against Nathiely De Jesus by securing a kneebar to take the Welterweight title from her.

First Trailer For Nicolas Cage’s ‘Jiu Jitsu’ Garners Plenty of Criticism

Nobody in the combat sports community had particularly high expectations for the latest Nicolas Cage film, Jiu Jitsu, but it seems like they were still let down. If the first trailer is any indication, the film is not the most accurately titled as it showed very little of it’s namesake martial art. The film will feature Jiu Jitsu black belt Alain Moussi in one of the leading roles and apparently Rigan Machado will be making an appearance as well.

Regardless, some critics have pointed out that other recent films appear to have more Jiu Jitsu involved than the film that’s literally named after it. Not to mention, there are of course plenty of films that actually feature Jiu Jitsu as a focal point of the movie. BJJ black belt Alan ‘Gumby’ Marques also points out that the trailer looks similar to films like Mortal Kombat or Predator, making it seem like more of a standard action film than specifically a Jiu Jitsu one.

Gordon Ryan and Felipe Pena Argue Ahead of Potential Trilogy Fight

Gordon Ryan is certainly no stranger to controversy and he drew a lot of attention to an old rivalry this week, with Felipe Pena. Pena is one of only four men to defeat Ryan and remains the only one able to do so twice, with the others being Aaron ‘Tex’ Johnson, Leandro Lo, and most recently Vinny Magalhaes. Not just this, but Pena is also the only man to have ever submitted the ADCC 2019 double champion.

It’s worth mentioning of course that the submission loss was in 2016 and the second was in 2017, with Ryan’s game having evolved dramatically in the last few years. A third match with Pena is something fans have been wanting for a long time and this might be a sign that it’s finally in the works. Given that Pena featured in the ADCC 2019 superfight and Andre Galvao may not be returning in 2021, that might be the perfect opportunity to settle this grudge.

Quick Hits

Technique Corner

Double-Under Pass to Armbar

Outside Heel Hook Counter to De La Riva Guard

Arm-Drag from Butterfly Half-Guard to Ashi Garami