A rundown of the biggest headlines and news from the world of competitive grappling.
It’s been in the works for a very long time, but the fourth match between Gordon Ryan and Felipe Pena is almost here. With the bout just a few weeks away, the Who’s Number One grappling promotion have released the full supporting card for the event. Alongside the main event, the organization has booked one of the most interesting matches in recent memory—with the ever-exciting Magid Hage takes on the legendary two-time ADCC world champion JT Torres.
The only women’s match confirmed is a fun fight between Jasmine Rocha and Amanda Bruse. The co-main event was confirmed a while ago, and it will see Ryan’s teammate Giancarlo Bodoni challenging Pedro Marinho for the Who’s Number One Light-Heavyweight title. The card is rounded out by another of Ryan’s teammates, Oliver Taza, facing Jonnatas Gracie and Kieran Kichuk against Rene Sousa.
Tye Ruotolo to face Reinier de Ridder at ONE Fight Night 10
Tye Ruotolo is one of the best BJJ competitors on the planet and he’s clearly eager to follow in his brother’s footsteps by claiming a ONE Championship submission grappling title. He’s just been booked to take on another challenge in the promotion’s cage, this time against a two-weight MMA world champion. Ruotolo will be facing off against Reinier de Ridder at ONE Fight Night 10 on May 5th, 2023.
De Ridder won both the ONE Championship Middleweight and Light-Heavyweight titles by defeating Aung La Nsang twice, although he has since lost the heavier belt. He’s no stranger to grappling though, as he already fought Ruotolo’s coach Andre Galvao in one of the first grappling matches that ONE Championship staged. The pair fought to a draw but de Ridder was impressive and could be pose a challenge for Ruotolo.
Demian Maia dominates at Spyder BJJ ‘Road to Black’
Demian Maia returned to BJJ competition at the Spyder BJJ ‘Road to Black’ event in a superfight against Sangwook Kim, racking up sixteen points quickly and submitting him with an arm-triangle choke. Earlier on in the night, two groups of eight grapplers were battling it out in the gi to determine the promotion’s latest champions in the under 65kg and under 75kg divisions.
Meyram Maquine emerged victorious at 65kg despite stiff competition from top competitors like Fabricio Andrey and Samuel Nagai. In the 75kg division, Andy Murasaki put in one impressive performance after another on his way to a gold medal. He submitted his opening round opponent Seungmoon Baek before edging past the tough Marcio Andre, and racking up a phenomenal nineteen points against Natan Chueng in the final.
Full results for the event can be found here.
Gabi Garcia announces intention to return to MMA
Gabi Garcia is without a doubt one of the most intimidating women in BJJ history, and she was no less fearsome when she decided to transition to MMA. Garcia announced her decision to retire from IBJJF competition last year, and that made it seem as though her career was winding down. That doesn’t appear to be the case though, as she’s recently expressed an interest in returning to MMA.
Garcia made her professional MMA debut at the RIZIN new year’s eve event in 2015 and quickly amassed an undefeated 6-0 (1) record over the next three years. She hasn’t taken an MMA fight since then and it was always difficult for her to find suitable matches at a similar weight. Although fans may have thought that stage of her career was over, Garcia is interested in re-opening that chapter and will apparently fight at 195lbs.
Quick Hits
- Famous popstar Demi Lovato was just promoted to purple belt in BJJ by her coach, Chris Light after starting the sport back in 2017.
- Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida has announced that he’s interested in returning to submission grappling competition in the ONE Championship cage.
- A class action lawsuit has been filed against FloSports, the parent company of FloGrappling, as a result of their alleged billing practices.
- Conor McGregor has signed up to compete in a local Grappling Industries BJJ tournament in London on March 18th.