A rundown of the biggest headlines and news from the world of competitive grappling.
Felipe Pena remains one of Gordon Ryan’s biggest rivals, potentially even the biggest outside of Andre Galvao. A lot of the animosity between the two stems from the fact the Pena is the only person to ever defeat Ryan twice, and the only person to ever submit him at black belt. It’s been over four years since the last time they met on the mats however, so there’s no telling how a match between the two goes down today.
Ryan has been campaigning for a rematch with Pena for quite some time and has now decided to put his money where his mouth is, betting $200,000 of his own money against just $20,000 of Pena’s on the outcome of two matches. The first will come on July 3rd when they meet with no time-limit and submission-only rules and the second will come at the 2022 ADCC world championships, provided they don’t lose to anyone else at the event.
Charles Oliveira wins fight but loses title at UFC 274
The results of UFC 274 were pretty bitter sweet for the reigning Lightweight world champion Charles Oliveira. He was the favourite heading into the fight and seeing as Justin Gaethje had shown that his submission defence was not on par with elite grapplers, it seemed a foregone conclusion that the third degree BJJ black belt with the most submissions in UFC history would dominate on the ground.
Things went exactly as expected and Oliveira finished Gaethje with a rear-naked choke in the very first round, but unfortunately he missed weight by just half a pound for the fight. As a result, he was stripped of the Lightweight title the moment he stepped into the octagon and he no longer reigns as champion despite stopping one of the best in the division in emphatic fashion.
Clay Guida and Urijah Faber compete at US Wrestling Open
It must have been a shocking sight, but competitors in two different divisions of the US wrestling open ended up facing a UFC legend on the mats. UFC Hall of Famer and Team Alpha Male founder Urijah Faber decided to compete at the event in what was his first experience of competitive wrestling in over twenty years, while UFC veteran and teammate Clay Guida did the same.
In the end, Guida wasn’t able to earn a place on the podium at the event but Faber managed to come away from it with a silver medal in a fantastic showing. Guida still competes in the UFC and had his fifty-ninth professional MMA fight just a week before the event, while Faber retired from professional MMA back in 2019 but continues to stay active by taking the occasional submission grappling match.
Mike Tyson and Wiz Khalifa among celebrity sponsors for High Rollerz 15
High Rollerz is one of the most popular professional grappling promotions around, owing in part to the tongue-in-cheek nature of the promotion. They frequently include interesting gimmicks in their events and the theme of marijuana advocacy is ever-present, with High Rollerz 15 being no exception on both fronts. HR15 will feature a celebrity open, with each one of eight competitors in the tournament being sponsored by a celebrity.
They’ve really managed to bring some of the biggest names involved in the marijuana industry to the event, including famous rappers Wiz Khalifa and B-Real. The event will also feature grapplers sponsored by legends in their respective athletic fields like UFC veteran Nate Diaz, WWE Hall of Famer Rob Van Dam, and one of the greatest heavyweight boxers in the history of the sport; Mike Tyson.
Quick Hits
- Royler Gracie joined an elite group as he was promoted to 8th degree black belt in a ceremony led by his brother, Rorion Gracie.
- Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida has gotten a new opponent for his third professional MMA fight, Hugo ‘Silverback’ Cunha, and the fight has now been moved to May 20th.
- Footage emerged of BJJ legend Rigan Machado competing in a Judo competition in the early 90s and submitting four Judo black belts.
- ONE Championship has just joined the Joe Rogan Experience to become the latest major sponsor of the 2022 ADCC world championships.