BJJ Stars has quickly established itself as the premier Jiu-Jitsu promotion in Brazil and the organization has put together a superb lineup for their 8th event. They have arranged a Middleweight grand prix featuring eight of the best gi competitors around like Mica Galvao, Leandro Lo, Roberto Jimenez, and Lucas ‘Hulk’ Barbosa, who will all be competing for a grand prize of R$100,000 (approximately $21,000).

BJJ Stars 8 will also feature a number of superfights that will be contested under ADCC rules, including a main event match between two UFC veterans in Demian Maia and Alex ‘Cowboy’ Pereira. Felipe Pena will also be competing against Henrique Ceconi in a high-profile match, while Gutemberg Pereira and Beatriz Mesquita will be coming up against Fellipe Andrew and Julia Boscher respectively.

Two elite grapplers have tough fights at UFC 273

One of the main storylines heading in to UFC 273 was Khamzat Chimaev facing his biggest test to date as he shot up the rankings to take on one of the best welterweights on the planet, IBJJF world champion Gilbert Burns. Chimaev’s coach even promised him a BJJ purple belt if he could submit Burns and although he came out on top, Burns came within seconds of derailing the hype train before he lost the decision.

Shortly before that, another IBJJF world champion stepped in to the cage as Mackenzie Dern took on Tecia Torres. Dern was eager to right the ship after her last loss while Torres had been working her way towards a title-shot in the Women’s Strawweight division. Dern had clearly made huge improvements to her striking game but in the end it was her phenomenal grappling ability that won her the split decision.

Full results for the event can be found here.

Final ADCC North American trials comes to an end

The day is fast approaching that almost a hundred of the greatest grapplers on the planet will battle it out across a single weekend to claim glory as an ADCC world champion. Now, the final round of North American trials have come to an end and seven more competitors have booked their place at the event, with only three more trials left to take place around the world and a handful of invites left to hand out.

There were some unsurprising winners as Kyle Boehm and Paul Ardila triumphed in the heaviest weightclasses while Keith Krikorian finally came out on top at 66kg, but elsewhere some surprising athletes emerged victorious. At 88kg, Nicky Rodriguez’s younger brother Jacob submitted all seven of his opponents at just 20 years old and Brianna Ste-Marie continued her recent run of results by winning the women’s 60kg division.

Full results for the event can be found here.

IBJJF Pan-Ams 2022 gets underway with coloured belt champions

When the IBJJF first came in to existence, the coloured belt divisions were not something that anyone really paid attention to because all of the best grapplers were competing at black belt. As the sport has grown, more and more young blue and purple belts are capable of winning tournaments full of veteran grapplers and this leads to a significant amount of attention being paid to the winners of major tournaments at those levels.

With the IBJJF Pan-ams 2022 well underway, fans have already got to see some of the best coloured belts on the planet battle it out for glory. As a perfect example of the talent on display, ADCC trials winner Cole Abate was even present, competing for the first time as an adult in the purple belt division. Shockingly, he failed to win gold after losing to fellow teenage prodigy and eventual winner Mourece Noah Ramirez in the semi-finals.

Full and live results for the event can be found here.

Quick Hits

• IBJJF world champion and UFC veteran Rodolfo Vieira experienced a health scare that put his career in jeopardy, but was fortunately cleared to continue fighting.
• Footage went viral of a white belt being put to sleep and immediately attacking the referee who stopped the fight upon waking up.
• Kayla Harrison has had the first fight of her new PFL contract announced as she faces Marina Mokhnatkina at PFL 3 this year.
• Thirteen-time IBJJF world champion Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida is now set for his third professional MMA fight against the intimidating wrestler, Oumar ‘Reug Reug’ Kane.

Technique Corner

Ankle-pick setup to Imanari Roll

Drills for stripping grips from Open guard

Four different Leg-drag passes

Meme of the Week