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ADCC champs announced in lineups for the AIGA Champions League Final
The AIGA Champions League Final is getting closer and the full lineups for all four teams competing at the event have now been announced. Battle Force and Acai Republic qualified from the first quarter-final, while Team Modolfo and Universal Fighters qualified from the second quarter-final. It’s set to be a fantastic team grappling event as there are multiple ADCC world champions and other incredible talents competing.
Team Modolfo are the obvious favorites as ADCC head organizer Mo Jassim has put together a team that includes the likes of Giancarlo Bodoni, Diogo Reis, and Dan Manasoiu. They aren’t invincible though, and they actually lost a round to Universal Fighters during the quarter-final group stage. Acai Republic also have top competitors like Devhonte Johnson, Kennedy Maciel, and Johnatha Alves; while Battle Force also impressed in their quarter-final matches.
The full list of competitors for all four teams can be found here.
Aljamain Sterling stars in Fury Pro Grappling 8 main event
There’s another great event on the horizon, as Fury Pro Grappling have announced that they’ll be keeping up tradition with another end-of-year event. On December 30th, they will be staging their 8th event and it will feature several UFC veterans testing their grappling skills. The main event is attracting the most attention, as former bantamweight world champion Aljamain Sterling will be taking on Kevin Dantzler in a very tough matchup.
Both Chris and Kyle Daukaus are also matched up at Fury Pro Grappling 8, and they’re both facing current UFC fighters. Chris is going to have a real handful in the co-main event, as he’ll be facing off against top-fifteen heavyweight fighter Alexandr Romanov. Kyle is actually booked for a rematch of a fight he won a little over a year ago, as he’ll be facing middleweight veteran Eryk Anders. The rest of the card will see Pat Sabatini facing Niko Price and Fatima Kline taking on Cindy Ung, among other fun matches.
Australia’s top competitors gather for Subversion 4: Ascension
Subversion might have only staged a handful of events but they’re having a big impact on the professional grappling circuit in Australia already. Their fourth event, Ascension, took place just recently and they crowned their first champion in the main event. Josh Saunders became the promotion’s first heavyweight champion by winning a decision in a tough and grueling match against fellow ADCC Trials winner Roberto Frias.
The co-main event featured one of the top proponents of catch wrestling, Harry Grech, and he lost a decision to Tito Carle. Caio Tamura and Ryan Walsh had an incredibly exciting match together, although it was Tamura who managed to get the submission win by locking up a rear-naked choke. One of the other matches on the card featured two of the top female grapplers in Australia, Nikki Lloyd-Griffiths and Fran Bavaro. Lloyd-Griffiths got the nod from the judges in the end after another entertaining match.
Full results for the event can be found here.
WNO 21 delivers as much action as promised
Who’s Number One 21 came and went, producing plenty of memorable moments along the way. Mica Galvao defended his welterweight title with another classic performance against Kody Steele, submitting him with a rear-naked choke. Galvao’s teammate Diogo Reis also put his title on the line but he wasn’t able to leave with the belt wrapped around his waist. He was right in the middle of an exciting match with Diego ‘Pato’ Oliveira when he suffered a knee injury and was forced to submit.
Some of the most interesting moments came earlier on in the card, starting with teenage prodigy Helena Crevar getting her biggest win yet over ADCC veteran Julia Maele. Another talented young prospect made a great impression too, as Owen Jones won a decision in an exciting match with Dominic Mejia. Gi specialist Tainan Dalpra made his no gi debut at the event too, submitting WNO veteran Troy Russell with an armbar after a flawless performance.
Full results for the event can be found here.
Quick Hits
- Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen was promoted to purple belt in Jiu-Jitsu by the Valente brothers after training for just two years.
- Top-selling UK Rapper and Brit Award winner Tinie Tempah won a gold medal in a blue belt division at the English BJJ Open.
- BJJ legend Marcelo Garcia announced that he has now returned to training after recovering from his battle with Cancer.
- Wagner Moura, best known for playing Pablo Escobar on ‘Narcos’, was promoted to BJJ brown belt by Rigan Machado.
Technique Corner
Closed guard to Rubber guard, to Armbar
Standing Guillotine counter-throw to Von Flue choke
Omoplata sweep to mount, to Armbar
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