Failure Before Success: Tournament Recap/Toro Cup, Ultimatum Xships, Submission Only......

Drove the 3 hours up to Norfolk for the Goodfight Submission Only on the campus of ODU. Despite non-existent parking, stumbling into the midst of a large swim meet, and barely making weigh-ins due to a closed tunnel, we made it and weighed in.
Unsurprisingly, it was a combined -162 weight class so we did a round robin then I competed in the Absolute. My first match I lost to a nice spider guard to triangle set-up because I didn't respect the length of his legs. My second match I was escaping a kimura back take but doing so lazily and got armbarred. Instead of stacking in and being patient; I felt like I could pull out. Not so much.



In the absolute I had a couple deep half guard sweeps, but then had difficulty passing the guard for no other reason than fatigue. In general, I felt a bit slow and weak. Not sure if I didn't time my training right after the Submission Only the weekend before, or if I didn't rest enough the day before but I felt pretty flat all around. Spent Sunday afternoon training with/visiting the guy who triangled me the day before. His gym, Tidewater BJJ, in Chesapeake, Virginia was super welcoming.
Tough guys, good training.
Found out about the Ultimatum grappling tournament March 7th in Norfolk, a week after the Toro Cup on the 28th of February. I'll do the Toro Cup, the Ultimatum tournament the following weekend, then I'll head to Virginia Beach for another Submission Only with US Grappling on the 21st of March. My prep for my superfight (yes, I still hate that term) continues for the next 2-3 weeks. The entire event will be streaming online, February 28th, from roughly 1pm EST until completion. 

I'll post more information as it becomes available. Assuming all matches run the full 20 minutes, I'm slated to go about 4:30pm EST. I know almost every single competitor on the card, have trained/rolled with many of the guys competing, and as a spectator alone I'm super excited for the event.  It will also be a fundraiser for the George Pendergrass Foundation. If you're anywhere in NC, or especially the Triangle/RDU area, come out and support.

Event Details: The event will be Saturday, Feb. 28, at Triangle Jiu-Jitsu/Cageside Fight Co. in Durham, NC. The doors will open at noon and the start time is at 1 p.m. The address is 1408-C Christian Ave, Durham NC, 27705. Baked goods and a Dumpling/Food Truck will be on site as well.