A rundown of the biggest headlines and news from the world of competitive grappling.
Mason Fowler secured his seventh title defense and eleventh win in a row in the Submission Underground cage at SUG 23, extending his record-setting run for the promotion. He also managed to answer some of his critics by pushing the pace against 10th Planet’s Kyle Chambers and making sure that he could finish the fight within the regulation period instead of beating his opponent in EBI overtime.
Elsewhere, the promotion’s tag-team title changed hands yet again as Anthony Birchak and Deon Clash managed to defeat Chris Lencioni and Owen Papworth. Two MMA veterans with a history met further down the card as Carlos Condit took on Jake Ellenberger in a rematch of their 2009 fight. While Condit emerged victorious once more, he didn’t take long at all this time around as he locked up a heel hook early on in the match.
Full results for the event can be found here.
SUG announces eight-man tournament to find Fowler’s next challenger
In light of Fowler’s epic run, Submission Underground have made the decision to host a tournament to find a worthy opponent at their next event, SUG 24. Alongside the reward of a title shot, the victor will also receive a $10,000 prize with second and third place receiving $5,000 and $2,500 respectively. The event will have no weight limit in place and will likely attract eight of the best grapplers around.
This isn’t exactly new ground that SUG are breaking either, as the promotion has done this exact same thing once before when Craig Jones was the reigning champion. Coincidentally, that’s actually how Fowler earned his shot against Craig Jones, by beating out elite grapplers like Roberto Jimenez and Kody Steele back at SUG 15. It’ll not only be interesting to see who earns the shot at Fowler, but also if history can repeat itself when they meet.
Danaher Death Squad go undefeated at Who’s Number One
John Danaher took four competitors to Austin for the latest edition of WNO and once again came back with no losses on the mats. Damien Anderson was first up and although Luis Quinones was a game opponent, he executed a beautiful back take which resulted in him sinking in the choke to win. Oliver Taza then took to the mats for a match with Johnatha Alves that saw him inches from finishing a heel hook, only to win by decision in the end.
Nicky Ryan took on Gabriel Almeida and worked an incredibly sophisticated passing game to perfection on the way to another decision victory. Before the main event, Mikey Musumeci featured in only his second no gi match in two years to test his newly-developed leglock game and came out with a lightning-quick heelhook victory. The final match then saw Craig Jones secure a heel hook even quicker than Musumeci did against Luiz Panza.
Full results for the event can be found here.
Craig Jones goes on a media tour
During the lead-up to his main event match at WNO, Craig Jones has been hard at work making appearances that have no doubt helped promote the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter, on which he serves as a grappling coach for Team Volkanovski. Both Jones and Alexander Volkanovski appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience together and revealed the prank that almost saw Jones get fired from his coaching duties.
Before that though, Jones made a pretty unusual appearance on the Alex Jones show, where the pair discussed a myriad of different topics. They did spend some time talking about his grappling career and the matchup against Gabi Garcia that has been brewing for quite some time, but somewhat typically for Alex Jones, the main focus was on the pair’s experiences and beliefs surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine.
Quick Hits
- Bernardo Faria and Rayra Gracie have just welcomed their first child to the world, and the latest addition to the ever-expanding Gracie Family.
- Rener Gracie reached out to a young teen in Illinois after a bullying incident went viral and arranged to sponsor her training in a local Gracie Bullyproof program.
- The state of Michigan has put forward several proposal for police reform, most notably one that includes the requirement for all officers to be attain the rank of blue belt in BJJ.
- ADCC and IBJJF world champion Robert Drysdale recently gave an inspiring TED talk entitled ‘What is the point of winning?’ at TEDx Tenaya Paseo.
Technique Corner
Breaking Armbar defense with Bicep Slicer, to Armbar
Three options from Reverse Worm Guard
Peruvian Necktie with the Lapel