Grappling Report: Buchecha wins MMA debut, Rodriguez reveals why DDS split
A rundown of the biggest headlines and news from the world of competitive grappling.
It’s been a long and winding road but Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida has finally made his MMA debut at ONE: Revolution and he certainly made it worth the wait. As the man with the most IBJJF world championships in the history of Jiu-Jitsu, naturally there were high expectations on him, but with Glory veteran Anderson ‘Braddock’ Silva stepping in to face him on short notice, the striker v grappler matchup could feasibly have gone either way.
‘Buchecha’ was clearly well aware of his opponent’s advantage on the feet as he rushed in for a takedown immediately after the fight began. From there he landed hard ground and pound to maintain top position before switching to north-south and landing several big knees to his opponent’s head. This helped him secure a north-south choke and force Silva to tap after less than three minutes of the very first round.
Dillon Danis arrested, bouncer who restrained him gets rewarded
Footage of Dillon Danis being arrested outside a New Jersey nightclub went viral earlier this week and it was quickly followed by more that showed the Bellator veteran being restrained by a bouncer. Rumors have been circulating about what led to the arrest but since then, he’s been charged with disorderly conduct by the state. While this has obviously been bad news for Danis, it appears to have been great news for the bouncer who restrained him.
It all started with Gordon Ryan asking his followers to find the bouncer on social media so that he could give him tickets to the 2022 ADCC world championships, and Al Iaquinta putting the two in touch. Not only has Ryan started arranging the tickets but multiple-time ADCC trials winner Tom DeBlass has also reached out and given him a year’s free training at his academy in New Jersey.
Yuri Simoes is back in fine form at Fight 2 Win 185
The two-time ADCC world champion Yuri Simoes has had some difficulty lately, starting with a knee surgery he needed after his last ADCC run. The next time he was seen competing was his ONE FC MMA debut against Fan Rong, although he came up short and ended up losing a clear-cut unanimous decision. He’s also stumbled on the mats since then, losing to Lucas ‘Hulk’ Barbosa, Vagner Rocha, and Nicky Rodriguez one after the other.
The latter half of this year saw him getting back in the win column against solid opposition but Fight 2 Win 185 represented a very tough test in IBJJF Pan-ams champion Fellipe Andrews. He wasn’t able to get the finish but a beautiful sequence of leg attacks in the final minute or two of the match helped seal the deal and earn Simoes a big win in front of an excited crowd in Seattle.
Full results for the event can be found here.
Nicky Rodriguez reveals the reasons behind Danaher Death Squad split
It’s been almost two months now since John Danaher announced that his famous team were going their separate ways and forming two rival teams in Austin, Texas. Danaher decided to stick with Gordon Ryan and Garry Tonon, while Craig Jones, Nicky Ryan, Nicky Rodriguez, and Ethan Crelinsten all formed B-Team Jiu-Jitsu just down the road. With none of the athletes revealing the reasons behind the split, rumors started to circulate.
“There was some issues within the team. Certain people had certain issues with, really, one person… You got to cut the poison out. Whatever is hurting the team or hurting the majority of the people you have to eliminate that and focus on competition. At B-Team, we’re focused on getting better, and that’s all we’re focused on… We’re doing our best to keep out distractions and all the negativity. That’s our reason for doing our own thing.”
He stopped short of mentioning any specific names but he made repeated references to his and his teammates’ desire to ‘cut the poison out’ and mentioned problems with one member in particular. He also spoke about his desire to face Gordon Ryan in competition and expected that to happen at ADCC 2022.
“If you ask me, Gordon’s always been fine to compete. When shit gets tough, some people go harder, and some people quit. Not everybody can deal with having hard practices. I’ll just leave it at that.”
Quick Hits
- EBI champion Erin Blanchfield put on a dominating display in her UFC debut at UFC Vegas 37, registering multiple 10-8 rounds on her way to a decision victory.
- ONE FC Chairman Chatri Sityodtong was promoted to BJJ brown belt by the promotion’s former Featherweight world champion Alex Silva.
- ADCC head organizer Mo Jassim revealed that UFC veteran Ryan Hall might be making his return to the ADCC world championships in 2022.
- Ethan Crelinsten has just undergone a successful ACL replacement after suffering with the injury untreated for around three years.