This weekend, the third installation of the highly-praised Polaris Professional Jiu-Jitsu Invitational goes down in Poole, England. It features a who’s who from the world of submission grappling, boasting a wealth of world champions and ADCC medalists. The event is streaming live on pay-per-view on Saturday, April 2.
Submission grappling’s popularity and this card features a number of fighters who could become standalone stars. While events like Metamoris and ADCC have brought a lot of eyes to the sport, it is promotions like Polaris and the Eddie Bravo Invitational that are now carrying the baton as far as quality content goes. MMA fans around the world are starting to fall in love with the sport, but at times it can be a bit daunting and hard to know who to look out for. Victor Rodriguez and I will give you the lowdown on what you need to know about Polaris 3.
From WSOF to Polaris
Roy Billington: This event provides a number of interesting matches, but one of the most interesting tidbits is that Jake Shields will be sharing a spot on the same card as Rousimar Palhares, who beat him in extremely controversial fashion last year, Rousimar Palhares is facing Garry Tonon (a man we will talk about in detail later) in the main event of the show and Shields is going up against AJ Agazarm. Jake Shields is a special grappler and even though Agazarm is a beast, all eyes need to be on Jake, who has some of the slickest chokes in the world.
Vic Rodriguez: It’s outstanding, really. Not just the names, but the caliber of the matchups themselves. Polaris came onto the scene and made major waves immediately with their first event, and the followup had some serious jaw-droppers. Polaris is in a rather enviable position right now since they have established a sterling reputation instantaneously. Seriously, any fan that hasn’t seen competitive BJJ much or competitive grappling in general, you owe it to yourself to check this out. There are big reasons why EBI and Polaris have overtaken the major scene over Metamoris, and more people should know about it.
The best thing is that among the things they’re doing better than anyone else in the grappling circuit, it has to be the MMA crossover matchups. They’re very smart about who they invite and who they match up against, and it’s truly compelling in every single matchup.
Hide your heels:
RB: If you love heel hooks there is a good chance that you will love this show. On the main card, John Danaher protege, Eddie Cummings will be looking to collect a huge scalp over Augusto Tanquinho. If you have never seen Cummings before just click the video above. As far as grappling goes, Cummings is one of the most calm and collected competitors and on his day he can submit any man on the planet.
VR: Cummings is another modern pioneer, (if that’s even a thing) that’s been leading the charge in this leglock renaissance we’ve seen over the last two years. The amazing thing isn’t even his leglock game, it’s everything else and the way he transitions from one position to the next and how relentless he is overall. Augusto Mendes is an intense competitor, though. He’s got a very sturdy base and his grip game is sneaky. He’s a sturdy guy with crazy balance and takes his time to build step by step to get that work done. His defense is impressive as well, which makes this even more intriguing. What seems most striking to me is just how different they are as athletes, with Cummings being more of a lanky, scrappy guy and Mendes being suited to his nickname, a sturdy tank-like guy with a Terminator approach of always moving forward and with a penchant for getting out of really tough positions. His top control can suffocate a guy and he can really work to make his opponent stay at his pace. This should be tactical yet fun.
Main Event Madness:
RB: Damn, I am so excited for this match-up. I have been calling for this match relentlessly for months and now that it is happening I am so pumped and to make matters even better, I will be there in person to watch it. As far as I am concerned Garry Tonon is the biggest star in the sport and he is exactly what the sport needs to move on to the next level, but guess what? Rousimar Palhares is a savage. Palhares will be entering this match with a 50lb weight advantage and a tremendous strength advantage. I am not sure on Vic’s thoughts on this match, but I see it ending one of two ways: either Palhares gets the early submission, or Tonon drags it into the latter portions and submits Palhares. I actually think Tonon’s overall games is better than Palhares’ and while I wouldn’t be surprised if Palhares locked in a kneebar or a kimura, I expect Tonon to weather an early storm and choke Palhares out.
VR: When you informed me of this initially, I had the dumbest smile on my face for two reasons. First, you kind of called it on your podcast months ago and talked about how amazing it would be to have MMA’s most feared leglock guy taking on the competitive grappling circuit’s new leglock monster. Second, Tonon’s mentor Tom DeBlass candidly revealed how hungry for this match Tonon was.
Think about that for a second. The most feared grappler on earth, and this dude is running towards him? There’s grit, then there’s this. Tonon’s fearless and confident, and I absolutely love his desire to test himself as well as our shared love for Five Guys burgers. Tonon’s back takes are slick, his setups from the front headlock position are very technical and show some of his wrestling background as well. Then again, Toquinho gets slack from the less-enlightened for being a one-trick pony, but not only is it an amazing trick – his entries to the leglock sequences are just amazing. The match against Jon Fitch was a great reminder of how versatile he can be. Fitch had a momentary defensive lapse, but Palhares still capitalized by transitioning to a great kneebar. Tonon knows what he’s getting into, and his defense should not be overlooked here. He’s slick and technical enough to avoid being overpowered at least half the time if not more. High expectations here, and it’s truly a can’t-miss match.
Polaris 3: Tonon vs. Palhares airs live from Poole, England this Saturday, April 2. The main card airs on PPV with a fight time of 6:30 p.m. GMT / 1:30 ET.