Grappling Report: Andrew Tackett crowned Combat Jiu-Jitsu world champion

The Combat Jiu-Jitsu welterweight world championships came to an end last week, with Andrew Tackett and Alan Sanchez both putting on fantastic displays. Both of them made it to the final by finished all three of their opponents on the way there and they both did so incredibly quickly. Tackett spent a total of 6 minutes and 15 seconds on the mat before the final, while Sanchez only took 3 minutes and 44 seconds to do the same.

The final turned out to be the only match that they couldn’t finish at all, as they pushed each other to the limit of regulation time. From there it went to EBI overtime and after three rounds they were each still unable to submit each other and Tackett was declared the winner due to having the most ride-time. The two semi-finalists Davis Asare and Derek Rayfield both also impressed, representing New Wave Jiu-Jitsu and 10th Planet respectively.

Video: https://www.instagram.com/p/CqRg9x0AoQe/

Full results for the event can be found here.

Three new champions crowned at Grapplefest 15

Grapplefest is one of the biggest grappling promotions in Europe and they managed to put together a fantastic event last weekend with three titles on the line at the end of it. They crowned a new under 65kg champion first, as local favourite Shay Montague won a judge’s decision against a very game opponent in Daniel DeGroot. The second title-fight was in the lightweight division, although this was originally supposed to be a four-man tournament.

After two of the tournament competitors withdrew, the 70kg title remained on the line but in a single match between Sam McNally and Keith Krikorian instead. Krikorian locked up a rear-naked choke to finish the fight and take home the belt in convincing fashion. The final match of the night saw Luke Griffith help New Wave Jiu-Jitsu maintain a perfect record at the event, as he submitted Santeri Lilius with an inside heelhook to claim the under 100kgs title.

Full results for the event can be found here.

Mica Galvao and Meyram Maquine dominate at Majestic BJJ Challenge 3

Majestic BJJ Challenge 3 took place in Manaus, Brazil and although the card was stacked full of exciting young grapplers, most of the attention was on the title-fights at the end of the night. First up was Gabriel Costa and Dudu Paiva, who were battling it out for the under 88kg title. Costa won the match in convincing fashion, submitting his opponent and taking home the belt. The next match was significantly closer though, and only won by the thinnest of margins.

Meyram Maquine was competing against Iago Siqueira for the under 70kg title and both men had moments of success at different points in the match. It was close, but when the clock ended Maquine was up on points 6-4. The main event then saw local jiu-jitsu legend and incredibly-talented youngster Mica Galvao putting on a classic display of the skill he’s become known for as he submitted Alexandre de Jesus and won the under 83kg belt.

Video: https://www.instagram.com/p/CqjsJKQjwJU/

Full results for the event can be found here.

Jiu-jitsu legend Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza loses Boxing debut to Vitor Belfort

Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza started out his combat sports career by excelling on the jiu-jitsu mats and will no doubt go down in history as one of the greatest competitors in the sport. His IBJJF world championship absolute division win over Roger Gracie is routinely cited as one of the best moments in the competition’s history. He transitioned to MMA and developed fearsome striking that led to him becoming a StrikeForce champion and UFC veteran, but none would’ve predicted what came next.

After retiring from MMA, Jacare announced he was making his professional boxing debut against fellow MMA legend Vitor Belfort at GameBred Boxing 4. Jacare put in a respectable performance and even landed his fair share of shots against the more experienced striker, but he couldn’t find a reliable answer for Belfort’s heavy hands. He was dropped more than once and although he won a few rounds, he lost a clean unanimous decision to Belfort.