Zak Maxwell, admittedly first came to my attention when shortly before the Pans, he beat Kron Gracie.
I then watched him at the Pans finish 2 guys in a row with virtually the same omoplata to armlock sequence, and when it didn't work on the 3rd guy he used that same omoplata sequence to sweep then get on top and win.
At any rate, Jits Magazine has a great post here about him and his background.
Turns out (as is the case with many "overnight stars") that he's been at this Jiu-Jitsu things for awhile. The Jits magazine article goes into detail but starting out he had the little man survival mode that turned into making him one hard nut to crack.
For add'l competition and background info, here he is over at BJJ Heroes.
Zak Maxwell Vs Leandro "Lo" Nascimento at the Abu Dhabi Pro Trials in Las Vegas (not long after Zak was promoted to faixa preta/black belt).
Kron opens with a lapel grip to inside foot sweep (kouchigari), then quickly follows up with a 2 on 1 cross grip, he follows with some half-hearted uchimata and sumi gaeshi attempts, but ultimately results in pulling guard.
Kron quickly hunts for an armbar (jujigatame) then keeps the arm dragged across his body with a high/shoulder guard.
Maxwell makes space and Kron smartly goes to stand and base, briefly flirting with the idea of a loop choke..and they're back to their feet.
Kron against immediately controls a sleeve end grip and sets up his 2 on 1 cross grip with the power/strong hand over the back, grabbing the belt.
Kron pulls guard. Again, Maxwell has been largely reactionary (defensive perhaps?) up until this point.
Referee restarts them, Kron again gets the stronger 2 on 1 cross grip/over the back, but Maxwell pulls guard this time.
Kron stands to pass, eventually breaking open Maxwell's guard.
Maxwell begins quickly hunting for hooks and such with deterity in his feet/legs and find an omoplata while Kron is standing.
(One thing I have noticed about Kron which strikes me as different from other high level black belts is how often he pulls back/out of submissions etc. Also, why he so often ends up with his Gi pulled over his head or losing his sleeve/arm in matches: go back and watch some of his other matches and you'll see what I mean).
As Maxwell looks to transition into side control, he leaves/Kron creates a bit too much space and escaped, then immediately hunts for the takedown with an outside trip which he follows with an attempt to transition to the back. Kron's hips are a bit high and without the far side hook, Maxwell peels him off and looks to transition into side mount or knee on belly. As Kron defends the pass and goes to all 4's down, Maxwell spins and takes the back.
