SEPTEMBER 18, 2020 – Another big night for Fight 2 Win in Texas, as we saw a very impressive card come to fruition last night, featuring some of the biggest names in the sport such as legends Rômulo Barral and Rafael “Formiga”, rising stars Johnatha Alves and Gabriel Almeida as well as world no-gi champ Johnny Tama and Pans medalists Edwin Najmi and Michael Liera Junior.
As shown to be a trend in jiu-jitsu, when high-level athletes are paired up with other competitors of a similar rank, the submission ratio was slightly lower than the event’s average. Even so, we saw plenty of entertaining matches and a respectable 46% sub ratio.
26 Recorded BJJ Matches – 12 submissions (46% sub rate)
15 Gi Matches – 6 submissions (40% sub rate)
11 No-Gi Matches – 6 submissions (54.5% sub rate)
FIGHT 2 WIN 152 RESULTS
(Main Event) Welterweight Black Belt Gi Title
– Edwin Najmi (Gracie Barra) def. Michael Liera (Logos) via split decision
Very evenly paired, Liera and Najmi offered two diverting styles – The wilder/faster approach of Edwin versus the calm and collected grappling of Colorado’s most recent addition, Mr. Liera.
This was a very fun bout, though, not for the first time, we disagreed with the judges’ decision. Liera was more aggressive throughout the match, swept Najmi twice, passed his guard, and was overall pressing the action. Najmi pushed for the 50/50 guard and attacked the feet from the position (as did Liera) from the 4:30-minute mark of a 10-minute match. Liera was unable to unlock the fifty and the position did slow down the pace of the match substantially.
Edwin’s straight ankle lock attempts did appear strong but never placed Michael in serious tapping danger. Nonetheless, the title went to the Gracie Barra representative by judges split decision in a match worthy of a championship belt. Great performance by both fighters.
170lbs Black Belt Gi
– Johnatha Alves (AOJ) def. Johnny Tama (Alliance) via decision
A very grinding victory by Alves here, he who had the perfect game-plan against the ferocious Tama. Johnatha stuck to Johnny like glue from the top position, pressed the current no-gi world champion’s guard, and was able to secure the pass, never releasing the pressure. This top-heavy performance was rightfully rewarded with a victory.
200lbs Black Belt GI
– Gabriel Almeida (Checkmat) def. Romulo Barral (Gracie Barra) via decision
One of the best performances of the year by Gabriel Almeida, he who dominated one of the legends of our sport last night in Rômulo Barral.
After an initial period of stand-up, where both athletes nullified each others attacks, Gabriel opted to pull guard. Barral’s scary pressure from the top position almost had him passing but the young Checkmat athlete was able to recover. Later Gabriel applied a beautiful sumi-gaeshi sweep on Barral, which he followed by passing Rômulo’s guard (an achievement on its own reserved to only a handful of names) and reaching a full-mount on the Belo-Horizonte native. The former world champion remained calm and was able to recover top control, but could not mount any significant offense. A solid, solid showing by Almeida.
Masters 185lbs Black Belt Gi Title
– Rafael “Formiga” Barbosa (Double 5) def. Alex Martins (AMBJJ) via decision
195lbs Black Belt Gi
– Nathan Mendelsohn (Coalition 95) def. Rafael Lang (Octagon MMA) via decision
195lbs Black Belt NOGI
– Isiah Wright (Easton BJJ) def. David Garcia (Tac Team) via outside heel-hook
175lbs Black Belt GI
– Rodrigo Lopes (Double 5) def. Kauan Barboza (Checkmat) via decision
160lbs Black Belt Gi
– Alejandro Siqueira (Gracie Barra) def. Chris Hutchison (Triton) via straight ankle-lock
195lbs Brown Belt GI
– Tainan Dalpra (AOJ) def. Italo Lima (Ares) via armbar
200lbs Brown Belt Gi
– Wally Thompson (Tac Team) def. Nader Tannir (Soul Fighters) via kneebar
145lbs Brown Belt Gi
– Joan Cabas (Ares) def. Jason Gavenda (Mohler MMA) via choke from the back
170lbs Brown Belt GI
– Mark Francescutti (Octagon MMA) def. Caleb Johnson (Ethos) via bread cutter
180lbs Brown Belt NOGI
– Kemoy Anderson (10th Planet) def. David Altgelt (Dark Clan) via kimura
170lbs Purple Belt NOGI
– Dillon Hinojosa (Genesis Jiu Jitsu) def. Luca Ramaci (Renzo Gracie) via decision
150lbs Purple Belt Gi
– Nicolas Ponce (Nova União) def. Diego Vasquez (Alvarez BJJ) via decision
120lbs Purple Belt Gi
– Jessie Crane (Ares) def. Abbigayle Tetterton (PSLPB) via choke from the back
135lbs Purple Belt NOGI
– Sam Micale (Ultimate Athletics) def. Marquise Jefferson (Magness BJJ) via armbar
145lbs Purple Belt Gi
– Thalys Pontes (PSLPB) def. Thomy Yano (Ares) via decision
215lbs NOGI
– Francisco Papasidero (Renzo Gracie) def. Kevin Smith (Double 5) via decision
180lbs Purple Belt NOGI
– Alex Asad (VOW BJJ) def. Sammy Kroc (Collective JJ) via heel-hook
180ls Blue Belt NOGI
– Matthew Anater (Mohler MMA) def. Truitt Cole Odom (Genesis JJ) via heel-hook
150lbs Blue Belt NOGI
– Riley Golden (Easton BJJ) def. Colton Lewis (10th Planet) via triangle
145lbs Blue Belt NOGI
– Joh Tao (Gracie Gym) def. Jonathan Thomas (Double 5) via decision
Heavyweight Blue Belt NOGI
– Denzel Freeman (Fight Sports) def. Garrett Bennett (Mohler MMA) via decision
116lbs Blue Belt Gi
– Jollene Sunga (Kola Ajose) Jordan Sierra Smith (Ares) via decision
185lbs Blue Belt NOGI
– Nick Carlucci (Mohler MMA) def. Chase Main via (Alliance) via decision
210lbs Black Belt Judo
– Garrett Andrews (CCA) def. Vernon Kirk (Relentless MA) via 2x hipon.
