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WNO 20 is in the books, and it saw Gordon Ryan expectedly dominating his overmatched opponent, and Mica Galvao stealing the show to win a title tournament.
Gordon Ryan dominates Patrick Gaudio
Gordon Ryan returned after being inactive for the entire year, coming into his WNO 20 main event match bringing a “mystery box” of predictions and promises. As expected from an all-time great and the -2500 favorite, Gordon Ryan absolutely dominated and kept toying with Patrick Gaudio. Ryan seemed like he intentionally avoided getting other open submissions for 15 minutes, until he decided to eventually get the armbar.
After the match, Gordon Ryan’s gimmick box was revealed to simply be advertising for him: An armbar prediction with ad about his new armbar instructional, and a sponsored Proper Twelve whiskey bottle.
Considering Gordon Ryan’s talent and how infrequent he competes, it would’ve been better to have seen him matched up against someone who has won been actively winning major competitions. I’d rather see more relevant match ups on the rare times an all-time great competes, even without any mystery gimmicks involved.
Commentators announced a possible match up next for WNO 21 on November 30 against Lucas Barbosa, who Gordon Ryan quickly dismissed.
Mica Galvao, Diogo Reis win title tournaments
Outside the main event, WNO 20 was highlighted by two title tournaments, which saw teammates Mica Galvao and “Baby Shark” Diogo Reis win the belts at 170 and 145 lbs, respectively.
Andrew Tacket won in the opening round to book a trip to the finals, but had to pull out due to injury, giving PJ Barch a second shot at the tournament. The late change didn’t matter to the 20-year-old Galvao, who beat Jay Rodriguez in the opening round, and clinched his new title win with a slick flying armbar win over PJ Barch.
Galvao stole the show and put on the best performance of the evening, with his highlight reel finish also netting him a $1000 submission of the night bonus.
Nicky Ryan, who saw his B-Team stablemate Jay Rod lose to Galvao, called for a possible next title shot afterwards.
Reis, the reigning ADCC champion, put on two excellent, scramble heavy performances against Gabriel Sousa and Keith Krikorian to add to his already decorated resume at just 21-year-old. WNO 20 ended up being a big night for coach Melqui Galvao, who had both his young BJJ prodigies win their tournaments.
Also on the card were two women’s title matches that saw Nathiely de Jesus defeat Rafaela Guedes to win the heavyweight crown, and Elisabeth Clay beat Brianna Ste-Marie to win the belt at 145 lbs.
WNO 20 results
Check here for full results, video highlights on the event.
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