Zak Maxwell vs Alexandre Pulga Superfight at World Jiu-Jitsu Expo

I'll say this for the IBJJF. This expo, with both the list of superfights and the IBJJ Pro roster.....it is awesome.

And the roster keeps building:

"The latest addition to the schedule is a superfight between American Zak Maxwell and Brazilian Alexandre Pulga.
...
The match is set to be a 15-minute match under IBJJF rules.
The World Jiu-Jitsu Expo takes place October 18-19, at the Long Beach Convention Center
...
Three IBJJF events will take place during the Expo: IBJJF Pro League, the American Nationals Kids and the Long Beach Open.
Nine superfights are also already confirmed:
Gianni Grippo vs. Augusto Tanquinho
Nino Schembri vs. Vitor Shaolin
Robson Moura vs. Marcos Parrumpinha
Tim Spriggs vs. Leo Nogueira
João Assis vs. Rolles Gracie (no-gi)
Caio Terra vs. Jeff Curran
Samir Chantre vs. Baret Yoshida
AJ Agazarm vs. Bruno Frazatto
Kit Dale vs. Ricardo Rezende"

World Jiu-Jitsu Expo Adds AJ Agazarm vs Bruno Frazatto, Samir Chantre vs Baret Yoshida et al



Click HERE
Other superfights include:

"Seven other  superfights are also already confirmed:
Gianni Grippo vs. Augusto Tanquinho
Nino Schembri vs. Vitor Shaolin
Robson Moura vs. Marcos Parrumpinha
Tim Spriggs vs. Leo Nogueira
João Assis vs. Rolles Gracie (no-gi)
Caio Terra vs. Jeff Curran
Samir Chantre vs. Baret Yoshida"

I'm honestly far more excited about this card than the last metamoris.
More Gi matches, and more high level grapplers by far. The return of Robson Moura, some of the up and comers facing proven world champions.....Tanquinho vs newly minted Gianni Grippo et cetera. Can't wait.

Otavio Closes out Weight & Absolute: Jiu-Jitsu Expo

As I predicted, (along with calling Rafael, Kron, and Kyra), Otavio Sousa had an amazing day at the Spring Open/IBJJ as part of the 1st World Jiu-Jitsu Expo.

From Graciemag: he closed out his weight category with teammate Claudio Mattos and then closed out the absolute with teammate Romulo Barral.
Otavio hails from the Gracie Barra gym I trained at whilst in Brazil (GB Pernambuco).

Some previous posts/videos of Otavio Sousa can be found Here, Here, and Here. Between this and his showing at the IBJJF NY Open (he won weight and absolute at Faixa Preta as well), he is certainly as I predicted way back when he was a Brown belt at the Mundials, one to watch.

Here's a link from over at Graciemag where he talks about the upcoming Worlds/Mundials.
Come to think of it between the Expo, the Pans, and now the Worlds, this has been a great several months for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Submission Grappling.

Happy Trainingz!

World Jiu-Jitsu Expo Superfights - Video Mailbag

Kron Gracie Vs Vitor Estima

Nino Schembri Vs Bill "the Grill" Cooper

Lucas Leite Vs Rafael Lovato Jr.

Kyra Gracie vs Alexis Davis

World Jiu-Jitsu Expo Superfight Predictions

Now, I have not seen the rules for the superfights coming up at this weekend World Jiu-Jitsu Superfights, but the matches and my predictions are as follows:

Nick Diaz vs. Bráulio Estima (No-Gi)         - Braulio by triangle - props to Nick Diaz for jumping into the
                                                                    shark tank. Hopefully he does better than GSP did in ADCC

Kayron Gracie vs. Rafael Lovato Jr (Gi)     - Kayron by sweep then guard pass

Victor Estima vs. Kron Gracie (Gi)             - Kron by  2 advantages. I think he was tired from the Absolute
                                                                    which hindered his performance at the Pans.

Nino Schembri vs. Bill Cooper (Gi)            - Cooper by ? I haven't watched him play much as of late  

Kyra Gracie vs. Alexis Davis (No-Gi)        -   Kyra by head/arm triangle

Caio Terra vs. Jeff Glover (No-Gi)             -  Caio by sweep and 2 advantages

In other Expo news, here's an article about Otavio Sousa (a guy I've posted about quite a bit on here, who comes from Gracie Barra Pernambuco, one of the places I trained while visiting Brazil).
Here's a mount attack from the man himself, Otavio Sousa:




Happy Trainingz!