UFC Fight Night 36: Machida vs Mousasi - Picks & Prognostications

Machida is going to put the stamp on Mousasi. Mousasi couldn't put away his first softball opponent in the UFC (knee injury or whatever).
Machida looked faster and more dynamic in his brief debut against a tentative Munoz.
I think Mousasi will hang on for the duration of the fight but I think Machida will frustrate him and a bewildered Mousasi will look terrible.
Machida by unanimous decision.

Jacare by 1st round submission. All other predictions are silly.






Erick Silva is getting a softball here (but damn if he came out swinging for the fences in his last fight in Brazil and got clipped and shut down. It will be interesting to see how a kid who at first was all aboard the hype train recovers from such a devastating KO.
Silva by decision.
Oliveira because I don't trust TUF prospects.
Marecllo by TKO, round 2.
Damm by split decision.
Trinalde by KO round 2.
Reis by 3rd round submission.


"                                                                           

FOX Sports 1, 10:30 p.m. ET

Lyoto Machida vs. Gegard Mousasi

Francis Carmont vs. Ronaldo Souza

Takenori Sato vs. Erick Silva

Viscardi Andrade vs. Nicholas Musoke

Andy Ogle vs. Charles Oliveira

preliminary CARD

UFC Fight Pass, 7:30 p.m. ET

Cristiano Marcello vs. Joe Proctor

Rodrigo Damm vs. Ivan Jorge

Jesse Ronson vs. Francisco Trinaldo

Yuri Alcantara vs. Wilson Reis

Felipe Arantes vs. Maximo Blanco

Ildemar Alcantara vs. Albert Tumenov

Douglas de Andrade vs. Zubair Tuhugov "

Kouchigari to Ezekiel Choke: Maryland Takemori Judo Open 2013

Throwback to the Takemori Open 2013 in the black belt division (sankyu and up):

Kouchigari/makikomi to leg weave pass to Ezekiel choke from the back when he bridges to avoid the pin/osaekomiwaza. I've probably drilled this transition a thousand times or more.

That was my first semi-legit tournament back with some hard training post ACL surgery.
It was a long day.
I only won a single match in the -73kg, and took 2nd in the -66kg division.
No easy matches up there.
Even the brown belts were tough.


 

Various IBJJF San Fran 2014 Open Matches/Rafa vs Gianni Grippo Part Deux - IBJJF San Francisco Open

With some new editions in the lower class at black belt (Gianni and half of the Miyao Brothers), there will be some repeated match-ups.
Gianni recently faced Rafa at the Euros and lost a relatively stale match on points.
This time, however, Rafa turned up the heat.

 

Keenan vs Antelante at Weight



Keenan vs Moizinho in the Open Class Final
 

Gui Mendes vs Paschoal

BJJ Mundials NOT for Everyone/Black Belt World Championship Requirements

I suspected it would come along eventually as the sport grew. The IBJJF has announced that black belts will need to medal/win (it's unclear exactly how many) at other IBJJF events in order to quality for eligibility to compete at the world championships.
It may start at black belt, but you can bet it will eventually trickle down to other belts.
"
In pursuit of this goal, we are requiring that Adult Division Black Belts who would like to register for the 2015 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship will need to have placed at other IBJJF tournaments prior to May 2015.

Because the World Championship is the most prestigious event of our Jiu-Jitsu calendar, it is important that only the most accomplished athletes have a chance for the title.
Athletes eligible to participate in the 2015 World will be:
- Black belts with minimum of 50 points in the IBJJF black belt adult ranking
- Former Black Belt adult World champions
- 2014 Brown Belt World Champions (all weight divisions)

"

ON one hand, logistically, it means ONLY the elite of the elite will compete.
ON the other hand, it means that competitors must now increasingly travel to potentially accrue enough points to be eligible to compete at the Mundials.

If you look at the mechanics of the points system in Judo, only a player at the very upper echelon of USA Judo will get funding to travel to a limited number of international events in order to score enough points to be ranked/qualify for the Olympics/Trials.

Again, on one hand, I'm all for making sure only the elite compete at the black belt level.

ON the other hand, then we should do away with the gentleman's agreement.
If we're really here to ensure fans see the showdowns and elite level competition, then there can be no handshake or coin toss. There needs to also then be a break up or shakedown at some of the major powerhouse teams.

I predict some unforeseen long term effects/changes on BJJ as a result of this decision.

Judo has increasingly become an elitist sport in which a handful of US Teams put forth a handful of competitors as a few events each year to quality for the Olympics.
The recent changes also have meant that an increasingly small handful of countries overall produce competitors for the Olympics/World Championships as well.
For a grass roots level player from a small town, unless you are part of one of a handful of teams, you can go ahead and accept you will likely never compete at  even the national level.

What I've loved about BJJ (among other things) is that openness in the sport.
That any guy with the gumption and drive can show up and do the World Championships.
I like seeing guys from all manner of different teams show up with the patches on their back and compete at that level.

I think it will also mean that you will see more investment by competitors into the other IBJJF events throughout the year which I think is a fiscal reason motivating this decision, which they can then also stream/sell because there will be more high level names competing at the various Opens across the calendar.

US Grappling Submission Only Greensboro - Purple Belt/Video

Made my purple belt debut February 1st/this past weekend at US Grappling Submission Only Greensboro.

Won my first match in the combined -162 weight class then lost to a teammate in the final.

Won my first match from knee on belly to setting up the lapel choke, Brabo-whatever-you-call-it then sliding over into mount.




I also lost in the 1st round of the absolute.
My opponent pulled guard pretty low and hit the outside of my knee (the non-surgery knee which has some collateral damage from years of training across Judo, Jiu-Jitsu, and my 5 MMA fights).

I spent the time in his closed guard trying to determine if my knee was okay and got caught in a triangle which he eventually finished with an armbar.
The Takeaway: I should've pulled guard immediately in the absolute because as the guys get bigger, I'm a bit more hesitant on the feet in the event exactly what happened happens: pull guard and launch into my leg/knees.
Going forward, I'll be pulling guard immediately rather than be worried someone takes a flying jump toward my knee(s).

At any rate, I learned a bunch which is the most important part and got my first 3 matches at purple under my belt.

US Grappling runs great tournaments minus pretty much all the things we hate about Jiu-Jitsu tournaments: start late, poor refereeing, et cetera.
Submission Only, in particular is awesome.
I got to see a bunch of black belt submission only matches and a lot of great, solid Jiu-Jitsu.

Sao Paulo Abu Dhabi World Pro Trials Highlight

Keenan Cornelius Pancake Guard