Grappling Report: Official ADCC 2022 alternate list revealed
A rundown of the biggest headlines and news from the world of competitive grappling.
ADCC 2022 is less than a month away but anything can happen when you’re attempting to get almost a hundred elite athletes to compete over one weekend. That’s why the promotion has booked seven competitors to remain on standby in case there’s a pull-out at the last minute, one for each division at the event. These are all elite grapplers with the potential to do great things, with all of them only narrowly missing out on an invite.
This kind of forward-planning paid dividends almost immediately in fact as it was only a matter of days after the athletes were named publicly when Lucas Lepri was forced to withdraw from the 77kg division. As a result, Magid Hage has stepped up to compete at ADCC 2022 and top European competitor Mateusz Szczecinski has taken his place as the alternate at 77kg.
Dana White reveals attempts at Khabib Nurmagomedov grappling match
Khabib Nurmagomedov retired at the very peak of his career and he’s one of only a tiny handful of fighters to ever walk into the sunset without outstaying his welcome. For that reason, Dana White has been open about trying to coax him out of retirement before and it seems as though he’s actually looked for ways to bring Nurmagomedov back to fan’s screens without having him return to his MMA career.
White revealed that he has even offered Nurmagomedov a grappling match but the UFC Hall of Famer has still refused to compete. It might seem like an unusual move to make for the UFC president, but White has always used the logic that ‘if it makes money, it makes sense’. Nurmagomedov on the other hand is content with his work as a cornerman, and the owner of Eagle Fighting Championship.
Jocko Willink promotes daughter to BJJ blue belt
Jocko Willink is one of the most popular and instantly recognisable figures in the Jiu-Jitsu community. The Dean Lister black belt and former US Navy SEAL is well-loved for several reasons, not least of all being his motivational attitude and dedication to the grind. Alongside his long-time friend and training partner Lister, Willink hosted the BJJ sessions at the 11th annual Origin Immersion Camp this year.
It was there that Willink got the opportunity to do something that most parents in Jiu-Jitsu would one day love to do. He was able to promote his daughter Rana to BJJ blue belt after giving a speech about not forcing your opponent to do something and instead encouraging them to do it. While he jokingly proclaimed that he might not always take his own advice, his daughter’s status as a veteran wrestler and BJJ athlete shows that he hasn’t done so bad.
ADCC veteran Stephanie Egger gets first ever UFC finish in France
UFC Paris marked the very first time that the promotion had staged an event in France, owing primarily to the fact that MMA as a sport was banned in the country until 2020. The very first fight on the card featured a superb grappler in Stephanie Egger, taking on Ailin Perez who was making her UFC debut. Egger has won the ADCC European trials on two occasions in the past and even competed at the world championships in 2019.
Although she lost in the opening round of ADCC 2019 to the eventual winner Gabi Garcia, Egger has been able to show her grappling talent during her UFC career. She famously earned a performance of the night bonus for her brutal armbar finish of Jessica Rose-Clark. After slipping a little and dropping her last fight, Egger put on a phenomenal display in the opening fight of UFC Paris by tapping out Perez with a rear-naked choke.
Full results for the event can be found here.
Quick Hits
- Olympic gold medalist and three-time NCAA champion Kyle Snyder set to begin a five-state tour teaching wrestling camps.
- Olympic Judoka Travis Stevens revealed that he believes a top Judo competitor would have an easier time in BJJ than a top BJJ competitor would in Judo.
- English standout Judoka Owen Livesey received a callup to the under 99kg division of ADCC 2022 to replace Luccas Lira Costa after he experienced visa issues.
- Mark Zuckerberg revealed footage of him training in MMA with an up-and-coming UFC fighter, displayed both his striking and grappling.