Jiu Jitsu Vs Wrestling

An unusual twist in action was seen in the tournaments taking place this past weekend. They were Grapplefest 8 taking place in Liverpool, Great Britain and the BJJ Fanatics Grand Prix in Beverly, MA on Saturday. Grapplefest took the lead in the morning for viewers in the U.S. and a bit into the evening for the U.K. The card was structured to offer the ever-growing local talent in the east and work up to a professional main event. From the undercard all the way to the main event, grapple fest delivered on takedowns, quick submissions, and raw talent. The co-main event featured a No GI contender match between black belt IBJJF World Champion Dante Leon and ADCC standout and ATOS star Tye Ruotolo. The main event delivered a very even match up between Checkmat's Adam Wardzinksi and No GI specialized Jon Blank. BJJ Fanatics put up a talented handful of the world's best under 170lbs to go head to head. This finished to lead to the premiere of a BJJ X WRESTLING match between Gordon Ryan and Pat Downey. (SPOILER ALERT) Below is a light breakdown of some matchups as well as their outcomes.

Kade Ruotolo took the fight before his brother's Co-Main event match against Ashley Williams. Kade pushed heavily upon Williams pursuing flying attacks and landing a very heavy single-leg takedown. Going all the way to the wire it was Kade Ruotolo who would take the victory and win the 70kg belt for the promotion. Tye Ruotolo versus Dante Leon was a match ready for explosions of high-level technique and spirit. Boy, did the fight deliver exactly that and some. Dante Leon controlled most of the fight with attacks against Tye and ruling the scrambles.  This portrayed a decisive victory to put Dante in the running for next in line for the title.

 In the main event, it was a quick but perfect set up by Jon Blank to secure a heel hook victory over Adam Wardzinski. When both athletes started the fight with a leg entanglement, Blank felt at home and went right in. Getting a deep figure four lock on Wardzinskis leg and hip. Adam tried hard to turn and roll to escape the tight closure of the setup. Almost out of bounds Adam was forced to verbally tap as the knee was locked and heel hook applied. The winner Jon Blank took home a shiny new belt and the owner of Grapplefests under 90kg Champion.

The BJJ Fanatics Grand Prix delivered on matching up a specially chosen and entertaining group of No GI grapplers. The Grand Prix began with Jonnatas Gracie Vs Johnny Tama, Kody Steele vs Oliver Taza, John Combs vs Matheus Gonzaga, and PJ Barch vs Ethan Crelinsten. The winner ended up being Oliver Taza coming out of Tri-Star Montreal with two submissions by heel hook and a wrist lock in OT. Both of the final competitors Oliver Taza and Ethan Crelinsten train under the infamous John Danaher. The hard work and knowledge of this team are always noticed. The main event brought a match the community hasn't seen before. ADCC double gold medalist Gordon Ryan faced off against the number one ranked 86kg wrestler Pat Downey in two matches. One was a sub only, no time limit match where Gordon won by submission after an out of element fight from Downey. The following was a wrestling match under International wrestling rules. The winner was Pat Downey by tech. rather early on in the match. It was a refreshing sight to see Gordon hang in there with a top wrestler and do what he does best in the first match. The love for the competition and respect from these two is always a great characteristic to see.

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