Fashionably Late: Galvao vs DJ Jackson & Galvao vs Leandro Lo - Pan Ams 2014 - Minutes of Your Life You Won't Get Back

Galvao stymied the tree trunk built like Jackson with solid Jiu-Jitsu and guard retention. If you want to see the match, go watch it elsewhere. In my mind, he'll never get any actual press or visibility here unless he returns to the state where his outstanding warrant is and goes through the criminal justice process. On to a video I will like but with the warning that it is relatively boring in the way black belt sport jiu-jitsu matches in the finals can very often be.

Leandro looked...I won't say lost...but stymied or perhaps frustrated at times. Galvao, for his part, much like in the DJ Jackson match mentioned above, was exceedingly patient. You kind of had a feeling by about the 5 minute mark (if not before) this would come down to some advantages.
Visually pleasing? No.
Better than the 5 handshake/coin flip/toss/whatever that decided 5 of the finals of the Pan Ams, one of the most prestigious events of the IBJJF and thus Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu sport calendar?
Kinda, sorta, barely, relatively, something like a "yes".

My reality did not meet expectations once I heard Galvao would face Lo in the finals. It was also interesting to see Lo at Middleweight having faced Otavio Sousa in another clearly close match early in the tournament. They had previously faced one another in a very close match at the Copa Podio. Lo seems to have put the weight on well and filled out his frame. Interesting to see him at the Worlds at Middleweight and see how that shakes up the reigning two-time back to back world champion Otavio who looked a bit flat both here at the Pans and at the earlier Abu Dhabi Pro Trials in Montreal.  

Leandro keeps a consistent pace in his matches with pressure whether it be to sweep or pass and Galvao never really entered that zone with Leandro and this seemed to stymie Leandro at points. It was frustrating to see Galvao pull a Bernardo Faria and chill in the over/under position- double under position not really trying to pass and not really overtly stalling....and thus the referees patiently allowing both participants to play the waiting game of attrition.

The Check's in the Mail: Tuesday's Multimedia Mailbag: UFC 171 - Lombard vs Shields/Sanchez vs Jury

I really thought Lawler had this one in the bag.
Watching it sober, I definitely thought he would get the nod out of the 5 rounds. I'd go back and rewatch it to re-evaluate my decision but as is the case sometimes, it was close, and rounds could have been subjectively scored either way and I'll leave it at that and go on with my life.

Hendricks looked flat across the later rounds in both this fight and GSP's fight. I don't think he has the same aura of danger he did on his run to the title. He did enough to win the fight but honestly, it was not an overly impressive win nor was it some classic snatching of the title despite perhaps being wobbled at one point earlier in the fight.
Hendricks' fabled bomb punch never really seemed overly dangerous of explosive as it has in the past early in the going and Lawler had Hendricks on the back pedal first.

At any rate, enjoy.

 

Lombard vs Shields: Sanchez vs Jury

Gianni Grippo NY Open 2013

I've said it before, but I'm a big fan of watching a march to the final in a bracket rather than just random matches from a division.

On that tip, here's Gianni Grippo at brown belt at last year's NY Open 2013

US Grappling Virginia Beach Jiu-Jitsu Tournament/Judo Hiatus

I went up to Virginia Beach to intern/referee and work the US Grappling points tournament. I worked with a bunch of great people, got to train my refereeing skills (made some questionable and bad calls) and also competed in the purple belt featherweight division in my second outing as a purple belt.
A year ago, I made my return to competition after ACL reconstruction at this venue. A year fast forward and I'm in my second tournament as a purple belt. Wild.

I lost my first match to the eventual division winner then won my match for 3rd place via points. The 3rd place match is below. I could wax about taking time off due to being sick the week before and time spent on Judo before that but I decided to compete and it was a good experience. I see the purple belt jump from blue belt is considerable. You may or may not get that one mistake back. In my first match I didn't get the mistake back and lost by cross collar choke from the mount. Live by the face crush and die by the face crush and it came back to me this time.

I had really been in a lull in my training the past few weeks with little motivation to train, hampered by the North Carolina weather breaking up the weeks and then I got sick.

Looking back over my return to Judo competition, the sport feels radically different than it did when I left due to ACL injury. The automatic DQ for a slight leg touch feels punitive in the most understated of ways and I simply refuse to train and set aside time in my life to get on a plane and spend money to fly across the country to compete at the national level in Judo if something as errant as referee discretion that my elbow/hand grazed someone's leg can end my day.

Furthermore, the style of throwing and overall style of play while more upright is so fundamentally different from what I grew up in Judo playing that I doubt I will return to competition soon, if at all. It just doesn't feel like the same sport to me.
I've been fighting the cognitive dissonance since I returned, and pressed through training, and though I've done well fighting myself back into shape for the black belt division, I don't derive the same pleasure from winning in Judo that I once did.
Beginning there and continuing...Judo practice is much akin to wrestling practice. It is not fun in the way that I enjoy Jiu-Jitsu class. Judo is work. Without the payoff of enjoying winning and competing and with more things illegal than legal now in Judo along with a number of very counter-intuitive rules which are part of a very punitive/aggressive punishment policy of the rules to produce a hyper athletic/aggressive attacking sport with a very narrow window of throwing stylistically....I am stepping away from Judo competition for the time being.

I'm not going to say I am done, but it honestly feels that way. I don't blame anyone nor even really the organizations that be.
Coaches and clubs as part of the Judo mindset just accept the changes wholesale and that gets passed down: this expectation to quietly grin and bear it and bow politely.
I'm done. It's not fun anymore.
It doesn't have to be nor should it just be fun all the time.
But it's rarely fun for me with the restrictions upon restrictions upon illegalities.

I don't have to live with the results of other people's thinking nor decisions.
I don't have to invest my time in the sport if I don't want to.
I can deal with almost everything that bothers me about Judo....but not the austere expectation that I blindly and slavishly continue to invest my time, energy, money, and effort into a sport so radically different than when I started.

Some will just say I'm lazy or don't care or was never dedicated but that of course is to ignore the countless injuries, my knee surgery, and thousands upon thousands of repetitions on the mat.
They just need to distance and isolate me in their mind to rationalize their decision to stay despite the near deafening cognitive dissonance required to dismiss or ignore what has happened to the sport in a relatively short amount of time under their lackadaisically respectful and politely politically correct watch.

You can make it easier and more welcoming for people to continue to invest in your sport or you can choose to make it more difficult and blindly expect them to just suck it up and deal with it.
Judo has made its choice and so have I.

 

Otavio Sousa vs Lucas Lepri - Abu Dhabi Pro Trials 2014

Two guys I haven't seen face one another before:
Otavio's game is one I've studied a bit in the past.
He goes for his DLR hook to omoplata which he normally uses to sweep if not finish with  an armlock but Lepri spins quickly and recomposes to pass. Otavio looks for his sit-up guard sweep with the DLR hook but Lepri wisely does not retreat giving Otavio the direction he needs to impose the sweep as he would normally.

Otavio is a bit lackadaisical with his guard retention and Lepri's pressure is spot on, and he gets the x-pass/torreando/tornado/whatever it's called these days pass to the back.
 

Cinderella Man Walking: UFC 171 Lawler vs Hendricks Countdown Full Video

If you'd told me 2 years ago, Robbie Lawler would not only make his way back to the UFC (believable with the folding of Strikeforce/Elite XC/Whatever), but that he would fight for the belt, I would have told you to put down the TRT and get a CAT scan for your brain. You've been choked unconscious too many times.
At any rate, MMA's own Cinderella Man, Robbie Lawler looks to win the belt against Hendricks who himself had his dance with the belt recently but chose to let it slip by attempting like 4 takedowns in 25 min's of fighting despite having a stellar wrestling pedigree.

In other awesome co-main event news, Tyron Woodley fresh off a devastatingly impressive KO of Koscheck, now faces Condit (who as dangerous as he is has...*ahem* shall we say struggled at times against wrestlers).

I'm very, very excited for this card with two incredibly solid match-ups for the co-main event.

At any rate, enjoy:


 

Gustaffson Finishes Manuwa/Calls Out Jon Jones - Full Video Highlights

In case you don't have Fight Pass (I'm not hardcore enough of a fan to care), Gustaffson punches his ticket to a rematch with Jon Jones by defeating that guy that had the atrocious fight with Ryan Jimmo back in England I think it was awhile ago.
I had the night off and would have gladly watch the fights out somewhere but alas, Fight Pass is not streamed at venues which show sports/serve food on pleasant NC spring afternoons.

Gustaffson had every right to a rematch after taking Jon Jones to the wire and why he needed a rematch after a win when guys like Frankie Edgar and BJ Penn got them in spades is beyond me, but the rematch with Jon Jones will be gangbusters.