Submission Underground’s debut event was everything a grappling fan could ask for. Former UFC star Chael Sonnen’s grappling competition was full of twists and turns — there were numerous slick finishes, upsets and wild escapes. The event took place live from the Roseland Ballroom in Portland, OR on Sunday, July 17 and was streamed live on FloCombat.com.
In the main event of the evening, WSOF light heavyweight contender Vinny Magalhaes tapped out ex-UFC fighter Ronny Markes in regulation. Magalhaes’ submission was quite the finish — Markes appeared to have a toe hold relatively tight, but all of a sudden tapped out to his opponent’s heel hook attempt.
Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Fabiano Scherner defeated former UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez in the co-main event. The contest was evenly matched throughout the eight-minute regulation period, but Scherner snatched up the win early in overtime. He grabbed hold of Rodriguez’s arm in only nine seconds, forcing a tap, but also injuring the California-native’s arm.
Jake Shields and Chris Lytle arguably stole the show, however, with a back-and-forth grappling affair that went all the way past third-overtime. The current WSOF welterweight contender got the better of the retired mixed martial artist in the regulation period, but all three overtime periods were evenly matched. The highlight of the match was arguably Shields’ escape from a very deep armbar attempt from Lytle midway through overtime. But, at the end of the day, Shields had the quicker escape times over the course of all three overtime periods and was rewarded with the victory.
Check out the full Submission Underground results:
Main Card
Vinny Magalhaes def. Ronny Markes via Heel Hook at 4:14
Fabiano Scherner def. Ricco Rodriguez via Armbar at :09 of Overtime
Jake Shields def. Chris Lytle via Quickest Escape in Overtime
Josh Calvo def. Filipe Costa via Armbar at 6:09
Alex Canders def. Stephen Abas via Heel Hook at 3:15
Nate Orchard def. Guilherme Vasconcelos via Rear-Naked Choke at :27 of Overtime
Preliminary Card
Kevin Dadik def. Phil Schwartz via Armbar at 6:45
Amanda Diggins def. Liz Tracy via Toe Hold at 4:08
Howie Mole def. Alex Le via Armbar at 2:42
Hannah Sharp def. Misty Davison via Triangle Choke at :59
Carsten Carlson def. Billy Yi via Knee Bar at 1:49
Adam Shelton def. Chris Martin via Quickest Escape in Overtime