The wait is finally over and Polaris delivers yet again an amazing show. As predicted the event had exciting matches throughout, a result of some fantastic match making handled by the promoters of this submission only jiu jitsu invitational.
Having taken place in Cardiff, Wales (United Kingdom) on the 12th of September 2015, The Polaris 2 had many winners, one of which was certainly Flo Grappling, who delivered a steady stream with colourful commentary and easy to follow infographics. A job well done.
If there was a negative side to take from the show, that would go to the clock’s time-stopper who handled his job very poorly. What was most likely the easiest job to handle in the whole of the event, ended up “robbing” spectators and competitors some precious mat time, particularly in the Strauss vs Agazarm match, where we lost close to 5 minutes of action (⅓ of the match).
Back on the positive notes, we were glad to see an all round success, with competitors trying to give their absolute all in search for the finish. Submission-only at it’s finest. Below are the results:
POLARIS 2 FULL RESULTS
Luca Anacoreta vs Pedro Bessa (Triangle)
The new breed of European athlete, Anacoreta showed up on point. A great display from the youngster who dominated the positional aspect of the match until he found room to sneak in a beautiful triangle.
Robson Moura vs Baret Yoshida (Draw)
Masters of the grappling game, these two put on one of the best performances of the night. Robson came in strong with some spectacular guard passing attempts, managing to sink in a tight armbar, one that Yoshida miraculously escaped.
Moura lost steam as the match progressed, finding himself in a crucifix position (Baret’s speciality) near the 10 minute mark. The 5x world champion managed to escape Yoshida’s deadly traps, but by then it was too late and the man from Teresopolis was running on fumes. Great match.
Vitor Ribeiro vs Nakamura Daisuke (Choke)
There was no doubt that Shaolin was the favorite going into this match, but stylistically, this was a masterful display of matchmaking. Two craftsmen from well respected camps, doing what they do best in a very entertaining duel.
Nakamura displayed his high level stand-up against the crafty sweep single leg attempts of Ribeiro, finding his base and shutting down the Brazilian. Shaolin had to resort to plan B and pull guard, dominating the engagement on the ground, finishing the match with a very tight choke, after a jumping back take.
Gianni Grippo vs Tom Barlow (Reverse heel-hook)
A nice match once again, with Barlow opting to pull guard. Grippo made no intention of stalling with an (expected) double guard pull, and went to work from the top. Barlow took the initiative in going for footlocks, but it was Grippo who managed to sink his reverse heel hook deepest, forcing the tap.
Eddie Cummings vs Reilly Bodycomb (Reverse heel-hook)
Coming into Polaris, we have to admit we hadn’t heard of much of Bodycomb and the worth of his sporting achievements, though the New Yorker had an interesting highlight against uncertain competition.
Reilly’s worth will unfortunately remain a mystery to jiu jitsu fans, who didn’t get to see the full potential from the “2014 Arnold Classic Sport Sambo Champion”, as he was quickly subbed by Cumming within the 2 minute mark.
AJ Agazarm vs Daniel Strauss (Draw)
A fun match to watch, though it would’ve been nice to see the timer stopping every time the two grapplers re-set on the centre of the mat (which happened fairly often).
In an entertaining match, and though none got too close to the finish, Daniel Strauss managed to sink in a tight toe hold control, one that twisted Agazarm’s foot. Though to be fair AJ never looked even close to thinking of tapping.
Gezary Matuda vs Michelle Nicolini (Armbar)
Fantastic work by Gezary who surprised EVERYONE with a beautiful flying armbar after a failed collar drag attempt when pulling guard.by Nicolini. The quickest match of the night (15 seconds).
Gary Tonon vs Masakazu Imanari (Reverse heel-hook)
A fun match to watch with both grapplers consistently looking for the kill, as predicted Tonon was a little too sharp, cinching the tap quickly against the Japanese.
