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Excitement from start to finish at UFC Fight Pass Invitational 5
UFC Fight Pass Invitational 5 was supposed to be one of the biggest grappling events of the year with the return of Georges St-Pierre to combat sports after 6 years away and a main event match between Gordon Ryan and Mason Fowler. Unfortunately for fans, both of these men were unable to compete in the end. St-Pierre withdrew along with his opponent Nick Diaz, while Gordon Ryan was struck by injury and withdrew from all of his matches for the rest of 2023.
The show still went ahead with an updated card featuring some fantastic matches regardless of the last-minute changes to the lineup. Mason Fowler submitted his replacement opponent Haisam Rida and Nicky Rodriguez beat three-time ADCC world champion Yuri Simoes in the co-main event, with both men angling for matches with Gordon Ryan. Victor Hugo scored a huge submission win over Dan Manasoiu, and Nicholas Meregali submitted Felipe Pena after a flawless performance in the main event.
Full results for the event can be found here.
First modern US National Catch Wrestling champions crowned
The American Catch Wrestling Association made a huge step towards bringing the sport back to prominence this past week, as they hosted the first US National Championship in modern history. The promotion managed to attract around 90 entrants across 10 different weight classes and there were some impressive grapplers competing. Although there were only two women’s divisions, there were plenty of matches in each one and both champions had some tough opponents.
Perhaps the most notable name standing on top of the podium was Travis Wiuff, who won gold in the over 214lbs division. Wiuff is an MMA veteran with over a hundred professional fights under his belt and appearances for both the UFC and Bellator during his career. Legion Jiu-Jitsu BJJ black belt Sloan Clymer won the under 214lbs division, but Steven Ramos put on the most impressive performance of the day by dominating the under 174lbs division.
Full results for the event can be found here.
Team Modolfo wins AIGA Champions League 2023
Although 2023 was just the second season of the AIGA Champions League, the promotion reached a whole new level this year. This was mainly down to the fact that ADCC head organizer Mo Jassim decided to put together a star-studded Team Modolfo to compete in the year-long tournament. With several ADCC medalists representing his team they were always going to be the favorite to take home the title, and that’s exactly what they did.
Team Modolfo stormed to victory in the semi-final, winning all 7 of their matches against Battle Force and booking their place in the final against Acai Republic. Although Acai Republic wasn’t quite as packed with elite talent, they still had several top competitors representing them. That showed in the final match as they made things hard for Team Modolfo, but impressive performances from the likes of Dante Leon and Dan Manasoiu meant that they still won the season.
Full results for the semi-final can be found here.
Full results for the final can be found here.
First members of ADCC Hall of Fame 2024 class announced
The ADCC Hall of Fame was introduced in 2022 and the promotion inducted a whole group of legends as part of the inaugural class. With ADCC 2024 a little under 8 months away, they have now started to announce the elite competitors who will make up the next class of inductees. The first inductee to be revealed was Xande Ribeiro, a two-time champion who has more matches and more wins at the ADCC world champions than anyone else.
Interestingly, his brother Saulo Ribeiro was also inducted back in 2022 and the pair are now the first brothers to be members of the ADCC Hall of Fame. The second inductee for 2024 has also been named as Jean Jacques Machado, the three-time medalist at 77kg who held an 11-4 record at ADCC with 9 submission wins. He is also known his work as a coach as well as a competitor, as he was responsible for developing the skills of 10th Planet founder Eddie Bravo.
Quick Hits
- Top UFC flyweight Miranda Maverick was promoted to black belt in BJJ after earning a silver medal at brown belt in the IBJJF No Gi World Championship.
- ONE Championship announce top featherweight fight for ONE 165, as ADCC veteran Garry Tonon faces off with Martin Nguyen.
- Former IBJJF gi and no gi world champion Mahamed Aly has announced that he will be making his professional MMA debut at PCS 4: Bud Light Fight Night on January 20th, 2024.
- Gabrieli Pessanha’s coach, Marcio de Deus, revealed that the 6-time IBJJF world champion is preparing to make the transition to no gi competition in 2024.
Technique Corner
Helicopter choke from Turtle
Two counters to the Over-under pass
Closed guard with overhook to Armbar, or Sweep
Meme of the Week
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