A rundown of the biggest headlines and news from the world of competitive grappling.
The result wasn’t in much doubt, but Gordon Ryan once again proved why he’s considered the pound-for-pound best no gi grappler on the planet. He faced Pedro Marinho at the latest Who’s Number One event for the Heavyweight title, shortly after Tim Spriggs was stripped of the title. Ryan spent around twenty-five minutes attempting to submit Marinho by smothering him and generally making his time on the mats miserable.
In the end, he decided to switch things up and submit him with a rear-naked choke instead before the time ran out. Elsewhere on the card was the conclusion of the Who’s Next reality show tournament, where Izaak Michell took on Kyle Chambers in a submission-only match with no time limit. It was a gruelling two-hour match that Michell was in control of for the majority of the time, before he eventually submitted Chambers with an armbar.
Full results for the event can be found here.
Paulo Miyao becomes new head coach for Dream Art
Dream Art has been making waves in recent years with a number of successful competitors making their mark on the BJJ world like Diego ‘Pato’ Oliveira, Anna Rodrigues, and the Munis brothers. The organization is the brainchild of IBJJF world champion Isaque Bahiense, who wanted to create the next generation of Brazilian champions and has so far been doing just that in Sao Paulo.
The team’s development has no doubt benefitted from the addition of veteran champions like Bia Mesquita and Nicholas Meregali to their ranks. Now they’ve been given an amazing opportunity to learn from one of the greatest competitors ever as Paulo Miyao is bringing his expertise to the team as their head coach. With over 200 wins against elite black belts, Miyao will likely be able to do great things with the talent at Dream Art.
Athletes announced for first ever female IBJJF Grand Prix
The IBJJF grand prix is a fantastic tournament that comes around once a year and sees four athletes from two different divisions competing in a straight knockout tournament for a $20,000 grand prize. Historically these have all been contested in male divisions but the 2022 edition will feature the very first female IBJJF grand prix and the lineup that’s been announced is phenomenal.
Ffion Davies, Beatriz Mesquita, Anna Rodrigues, and Nathalie Ribeiro will battle it out on August 12th to become the inaugural female IBJJF grand prix champion, while the other tournament will be contested in the men’s Medium-Heavyweight division. This will see Leandro Lo, Mathius Luna, Gabriel Arges, and Ronaldo Junior competing in another example of fantastic matchmaking.
The full schedule for the week of ADCC 2022 has just been announced
ADCC 2022 is just around two months away and the full schedule for the long weekend of the 14th to the 18th of September has just been revealed. While the actual tournament itself takes place over two days on Saturday and Sunday the 17th and 18th of September, there are also three days leading up to the world’s most prestigious grappling tournament that fans in attendance can get plenty of use out of.
It all starts on the Wednesday and Thursday when the ADCC Open tournament takes place after a rules meeting and weigh-in, giving fans the chance to compete shortly before the elite athletes take to the mats. The Friday then features an ADCC Judge’s seminar, a massive seminar with all of the legendary Hall of Fame inductees, a bracket reveal for the following day, and a meet and greet with all of the athletes.
Quick Hits
- Tom DeBlass revealed publicly for the first time that he uses Testosterone Replacement Therapy and opened up about the benefits of it.
- Nate Diaz had some choice words for the latest inductee of the UFC Hall of Fame, elite grappler and undefeated MMA star Khabib Nurmagomedov.
- World-record holding powerlifter Mark Bell has taken the time to explain why he believes that the vast majority of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu athletes do not need PEDs.
- BJJ legend and MMA manager Wallid Ismail has declared UFC champion Deiveson Figueiredo a ‘shameless bastard’ after the pair ended their working relationship.