A rundown of the biggest headlines and news from the world of competitive grappling.
It’s been one of a select few projects that Rener Gracie has been pouring his heart and soul into for quite some time, but the idea of using BJJ for national police reform is finally getting some mainstream attention. ‘Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel’ is one of the most-watched sports programs on HBO and for them to feature Jiu-Jitsu at all was a huge boost for the BJJ community as a whole.
The segment itself actually focused not just on Rener and his proposal for BJJ police reform, but also on a recent study conducted by the Marietta police department. The department conducted it over a two-year period using over a hundred officers and found a measurable improvement to both officer and suspect outcomes when BJJ was involved. These results lent credence to Rener’s idea that BJJ was exactly what the police force needed.
Craig Jones set to defend Middleweight title at Polaris 17
Fans of the traditional superfight format will no doubt be excited now that Polaris has announced a return to that from their team-grappling events. Of course, Polaris squads has been a resounding success so it seems likely that they’ll return to that style of competition again at some point in the future. With Polaris 17 just a little under 6 weeks weeks away, there haven’t been any full matches announced just yet.
The promotion has announced one half of it’s main event matchup however, as Craig Jones will be returning to the UK to defend the Middleweight title that he won all the way back at Polaris 6 against Jake Shields. Jones also holds the promotion’s Light-Heavyweight title as well and no matter who his opponent will be at the upcoming event, they’ll be facing an uphill battle if they want to leave the Polaris mats with the belt.
Two female title fights set to headline upcoming Who’s Number One event
The last year or so has been the best time to be a woman in grappling as several promotions have decided to create all-female lineups, or at least create phenomenal headline matches. Now one of the biggest grappling promotions in the world is following suit as FloGrappling’s flagship event, Who’s Number One, has announced two female title fights at the top of their next fight card.
The co-main event will see Welsh superstar Ffion Davies take on Checkmat’s Nathalie Ribeiro for the promotion’s 135lbs title. Shortly after this, ADCC world champion Beatriz ‘Bia’ Mesquita will cross paths with two-time IBJJF world champion Luiza Monteiro for the 125lbs title in the main event. The rest of the card has yet to be announced but with the regular standard of WNO events, it’s guaranteed to be a thrilling night of fights.
Lineup announced for Heavyweight division of WNO Championships
The final division for the Who’s Number One championships has just been revealed, and the Heavyweight bracket is just as stacked as the other four. While the division features AADCC and IBJJF world champions like Orlando Sanchez, Tim Spriggs, and Luiz Panza; the favorite to take home the grand prize is undoubtedly reigning ADCC world champion Kaynan Duarte.
He recently defeated two of his potential opponents, SUG absolute champion Mason Fowler and Aaron ‘Tex’ Johnson, at Third Coast Grappling 6 and has only gotten better since then. 10th Planet’s Kyle Boehm will represent a unique challenge to Duarte however, and Haisam Rida will be the division’s dark horse as the competitor with the least high-level experience but more than enough talent to provide an upset.
Quick Hits
- UFC Middleweight veteran and one-time title challenger Matt Lindland was just promoted to BJJ black belt courtesy of Renzo Gracie.
- Demian Maia is not done yet and he wants one final fight in the UFC before retiring from MMA and returning to Jiu-Jitsu competition instead.
- 56 year-old grappler Victor Morton recently won his second Ccombat Catch Wrestling matchup against a competitor around half his age.
- IBJJF world champion Jackson Sousa has been suspended by Checkmat and dropped by gi sponsor Shoyoroll amid sexual harassment allegations.
Technique Corner
Fundamental Heelhook defense
Reverse De La Riva to False Reap, to Backside 50/50
Ezekiel Choke from the Crucifix