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Main event announced for UFC Fight Pass Invitational 6
UFC Fight Pass Invitational 6 is less than a month away and the promotion has just announced both the main and co-main events. Both matches will be featuring top contenders from B-Team Jiu-Jitsu, but they will be facing very different challenges. The co-main event will see Nicky Rodriguez taking on the young Roberto Jimenez, an exciting and fast-paced grappler who might be smaller but recently won the absolute division at the IBJJF No Gi World Championship.
The main event involves the biggest name on the B-Team roster, Craig Jones. He will be facing off with BJJ legend and former Bellator middleweight world champion Rafael Lovato Jr. Although Lovato Jr. is the older competitor, he has recently seen a resurgence in his grappling career since retiring from MMA. They both actually competed on opposite sides of the under 99kg bracket at ADCC, where Jones won a silver medal and Lovato Jr. finished in fourth place.
Full lineup for IBJJF No Gi Absolute Grand Prix 2024 Confirmed
On February 29, the IBJJF is bringing back their no gi absolute grand prix for the first time in five years and they’ve announced a fantastic lineup of 8 elite grapplers who will be competing for the title. The reigning ADCC world champions at under 88kg and under 99kg, Giancarlo Bodoni and Kaynan Duarte, will both be competing. There are also two reigning IBJJF no gi world champions in the bracket too, as Elder Cruz and Roosevelt Souza won gold at heavyweight and ultra-heavyweight respectively.
Although these four might be the early favorites at the moment, there are two reigning IBJJF no gi Pan champions competing too. Dante Leon won gold at that event at super-heavyweight, while Pedro Rocha emerged victorious in the absolute division. Rounding out the tournament lineup is Patrick Gaudio and Haisam Rida, two top BJJ competitors who are going to be very tough matchups for even the most accomplished of the rest of the field.
Mica Galvao, Wardzinski crowned 2024 IBJJF European Champions
The first major IBJJF tournament of the year has taken place and 17 different European champions stood on top of the podium. As always, there were plenty of top contenders putting on classic performances and a handful of upsets along the way. Gutemberg Pereira and Gabrieli Pessanha ended up with the biggest achievements of the weekend, as they both won their absolute divisions along with the ultra-heavyweight and super-heavyweight divisions respectively.
A lot of attention was on Mica Galvao moving up to middleweight but he proved to be just as dominant as ever, submitting all four of his opponents in order to win the title there. One of the biggest storylines came in the heavyweight division though, as Adam Wardzinski stormed to victory in an incredibly tough division. He beat the early favorite Fellipe Andrew in the final, marking the second time he’s beaten one of the best BJJ grapplers in his weight class and he did it with the biggest points-margin yet.
Full results for the event can be found here.
Kade Ruotolo retains ONE Championship title
ONE 165 was a fantastic event for professional grapplers, despite the fact that there was only one grappling match. That one match was a big one though, as Kade Ruotolo was putting his lightweight title on the line against Tommy Langaker for the second time. The rematch was definitely worth making, as Langaker pushed Ruotolo to the limit the first time around and gave him one of the toughest matches that he’s ever had.
Ruotolo brought a whole new level this time around though and he was phenomenal from start to finish, winning another unanimous decision to retain the title. Elsewhere on the card Garry Tonon locked up an incredibly quick finish against Thanh Le to put himself right back in the mix for a title-shot, and a bizarre turn of events led to John Lineker stepping in to face Shinya Aoki on less than one day’s notice. Aoki also got the finish in the first round, submitting Lineker right on the three minute-mark.
Full results for the event can be found here.
Quick Hits
- Helio ‘Soneca’ Moreira and Roberto ‘Gordo’ Correa were awarded their coral belt together in the same promotion ceremony.
- Josh Barnett has been booked to take on fellow UFC veteran Philip De Fries in a grappling match at XTB KSW: Epic.
- Kron Gracie recently opened up about the pressure of having his surname and the ways in which his family might not understand modern MMA.
- Two huge tournaments were announced for 2024 as Sapateiro put up a $100,000 prize for their first World Championship and PGF offered the same for their latest season.
Technique Corner
Triangle choke from Back control
Arm-drag to standing D’arce choke
Gi choke from Closed guard
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