The Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday weekend was filled with a lot of high level, competitive grappling to kick off the 2018 season. Fight to Win Pro and the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam championships brought some of the biggest names out early in 2018. As we head into the start of the IBJJF season with Euros this week, let’s look back on the grappling action that occurred this past weekend.
Fight to Win Pro started their 2018 run in Sacramento, California and featured a main event contest between MMA and grappling standout Vagner Rocha and long-time no-gi competitor, Dustin Akbari.
Both men were aggressive from the very start; tying each other up and looking for takedowns. Much of the first half of the contest saw them attempting a variety of step-ups, but neither man was able to get the definitive movement needed to get the fight to the floor. Rocha was more active in the bout and it was enough to give him a split decision victory in the main event.
Another interesting moment occurred as Tyler Brey became the first para-athlete to compete in Fight to Win Pro. Brey does not have any use of his legs, but still got on the mat to compete in front of the hometown fans. He fought against Ryan JennerJohn, another brown belt who does not suffer from any disabilities of his own. In the end it would be JennerJohn who got his hand raised, but still a compelling moment to see Brey work his game in spite of his physical limits.
On the other side of the world, the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam brought together some of the best names in gi grappling.
Jose Carlos Lima earned his third grand slam title as he defeated Massaki Todoroko in the 55 kilogram division. This was a high scoring affair that saw Lima win 8-6, with much of the action occurring from the 50/50 position.
Joao and Paulo Miyao both continued their successful run as they took home the 62 and 69 kilogram divisions respectively. Joao once again had to go through their teammate, Hiago George to win the title. He did so via toe hold, getting the submission early in the bout. Paulo put up a 6-0 shut out to defeat Tiago Bravo and get the win.
Igor Silva looked great in his heavyweight final bout against Mauricio Lima. Silva almost finished the fight early, but Lima was able to scramble off of the mat, still giving Silva two points.
The women were equally exciting to watch, especially the bout between Amanda Monteiro and Ariadne de Oliveira. Both women were aggressive from the very start. Monteiro looked to pass but was unable to get the full points, instead earning an advantage for her attacks. Oliveira pushed through a double leg at the end to get an advantage of her own, tying the score before the final buzzer. The referee would select Monteiro as the victor, but either woman could have seen her hand raised in the end.
UAEJJF Grand Slam Black Belt Champions:
Men
55kg: Jose Carlos Lima
62kg: Joao Miyao
69kg: Paulo Miyao
77kg: Flavio Vianna
85kg: Charles Negromonte
94kg: Helton Silva
110kg: Igor Silva
Women
55kg: Amanda Monteiro
62kg: Charlotte Baumgarten
90kg: Samantha Cook
Both of these events are available for replay viewing on FloGrappling.com.