Polaris Squads was the very first event of it’s kind, taking a leaf out of the Quintet book to create a team grappling format, but making a host of changes to the established ruleset. The event featured two teams of eight elite grapplers representing Europe, and the UK & Ireland who battled it out over eighty minutes. Each match lasted no longer than five minutes and the short regulation time meant that every fight was contested at the highest pace possible.

In the end, there was only one submission finish as Tom Halpin locked up a Triangle Choke against Dinu Bucalet, getting Team UK & Ireland the 1-0 victory. The event also featured a high-level women’s match as a superfight, where Ffion Davies locked up a Rear-Naked Choke against Magdalena Loska in a matter of minutes. The event was such a success that the promotion has already announced that the second event will take place in the gi and given that it took less than 2 months for the first event to take place, we might get to see it before Christmas.

A full play-by-play of the first ever Polaris Squads event can be found here.

FloGrappling Puts on the Biggest Event of the Year So Far

FloGrappling’s Who’s Number One featured the biggest names in grappling, including a supporting cast that featured the likes of Geo Martinez, Nathalie Ribeiro and Paulo Miyao. After several high-profile fights to start, Elisabeth Clay took to the mats to try and take down the intimidating Gabi Garcia, but she wasn’t able to overcome the significant weight disadvantage.

The Danaher Death Squad had a flawless night though, with Nicky Ryan picking up the finish against NCAA Champion Tony Ramos by heelhook in under thirty seconds. He seemed to light a fire under Craig Jones who came out guns blazing against Roberto Jimenez and relentlessly chased the legs until he finished his opponent by heelhook too. The main event saw the DDS figurehead Gordon Ryan put the pressure on fellow ADCC Champion Matheus Diniz before getting the squad’s third heelhook finish of the night.

The Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Tour Makes it’s First Stop in Miami

The 2020/2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Slam season was delayed due to an almost-worldwide cancellation of major sporting events but now it’s finally underway. The first event saw a mixture of hardened veterans and young stars coming away with gold, and delivered a number of surprises along the way. Cobrinha’s son, Kennedy Maciel, continued his recent streak of dominance to win the Lightweight division in impressive fashion.

One of the highlights of the day was the final match in the Middleweight division between Guthierry Barbosa and Ronaldo Junior that was eventually decided by a single point. Elsewhere at Super-Heavyweight, another legendary grappler’s son, Klidson Abreu came up short against the much more experienced Max Gimenis. In the female divisions, ATOS dominated with both the Lightweight and Middleweight finals being filled by two of their competitors.

Third Coast Grappling’s All-Female Kumite Crowns it’s Queen

Third Coast Grappling Kumite 7 was the first of the promotion’s tournament events to feature an all-female cast and they delivered just as much action as the previous six installments. Luiza Monteiro had a great run to the finals by being the only woman to finish a match by submission, beating Jessica Swanson with a Lapel Choke and Nathiely De Jesus by Kneebar.

On the other side of the bracket, Ana Caroli na did get a finish in her first match but not by submission. Due to the rules that the Kumite is contested under, she ran up such a significant points-lead that her match with Victoria Montrezor was called a Technical Fall. She then beat Nathalie Ribeiro in a close decision before overcoming Monteiro in the final in another close match.

Quick Hits

• Zabit Magomedsharipov is taking the UFC Featherweight division by storm but his brother Khasan made waves this week with a Twister finish to take his record to 4-0.
• Bellator 247 saw newcomer Monika Tochlikova score an incredibly rare submission victory when she tapped out Jade Jorand with a Scorpion Crunch.
• Later in a packed week for Bellator, SBG Ireland’s James Gallagher got his ninth submission win, also the seventh fight he’s ended by Rear-Naked Choke, against Cal Ellenor.
• One of the most successful grapplers of the 21st century, Caio Terra, was awarded the 4th degree on his black belt from his mentor, Paulo Mauricio Strautch.

Technique Corner

Fireman’s Carry to Single-Leg X to Backside 50/50 to Heelhook Finish

Passing Single-Leg X to Berimbolo, Securing the Back

Sweep from Worm Guard (with Competition Footage)