Fighter

That’s right! One of the best grappling events around is back tomorrow, live from Dallas Texas. Kasai pro returns with their 7th edition and this just might be the best card yet. The undercard is full of young talent and legendary competitors, three fire super fights and an absolutely stacked eight-man tournament challenging for the heavyweight world title. Let’s take a look and see what we have in store this weekend.

The Undercard

Rafael “Formiga” Barbosa will face off with Andrew Lang in a 185-pound match. Barbosa is a legend of the sport. A 3x World medalist in the adult division (2005, 2007 and 2009), 5x World Masters 1 medalist (including double gold in 2018), CBJJF World Champion 2002, Brazilian Nationals medalist and much more. With over 17+ years competing for at the black belt level Formiga has seen it all. Make sure you take the chance to watch this legend step on the mats. Recently promoted to black belt, Kody Steele has a lot of hype around him right now. With an aggressive style and strong wrestling base, Kody was able to make some noise this past couple of months at some major events. He will meet Texas native Camron Couch in a 180lb matchup. Couch knows a thing or two about wrestling, picking up the sport at age 10. His wrestling career would lead him to the University of Tennessee Chattanooga where he went on to have a successful career. Expect a standing battle with plenty of big takedowns.

The Super Fights

John Combs will take on Pedro Rocha. John Combs has been on the scene for a long time, seeing much success in No-Gi events. He has competed at this past years ADCC and many more super fights. John is known for his nasty guillotine choke which he hits from anywhere. The Colorado native faces a tough challenge in Pedro Rocha. Rocha is the younger brother of world-class competitor Joao Rocha. Pedro has trained in Jiu-Jitsu since an early age alongside his brother, however, he later would pursue a career in Olympic wrestling.  In the second super-fight, Raquel Canuto will take on Gabi McComb. Canuto scored 2nd at the World Championship in 2018 and Won the No Gi Worlds in 2017, McComb represents the famous Gracie Humatia women’s competition team and is a black belt under the legendary Letícia Ribeiro. She scored a third-place finish at Worlds and No-Gi Worlds ( weight and Absolute) in 2019. This should be an exciting match up with two athletes known to like a good scrap. The third and final super fight is between two of the most exciting grapplers on the scene today. Renato Canuto is a must-watch every single time he takes to the mat. The lightweight doesn’t know how to be boring! Huge throws, flying submissions, and crazy scrambles. Every match is fun and has you at the edge of your seat. Dante Leon will stand across the mat from Renato come Saturday and as the strength and athletism to match every that Renato throws at him. Dante had a breakout year last year winning No Gi worlds and having a strong showing at ADCC

Eight-Man Tournament

This is an absolute dream card! The eight competitors are split into two groups. The winners of each group will face off in the finals while the second-place finishers will compete for the third place. Legends like Roberto “Cyborg” Abreau, Vinny Magalhaes and Bruno Bastos are in.  Powerhouses Joao Rocha, Lucas “Hulk” Barbosa, and Patrik Gaudio. Along with new starts Nicky Rodriguez and Kyle Boehm. An absolute dream bracket with fireworks at every stop. 

Make sure you catch all the action live tomorrow or you are sure to miss out. If you don’t get a chance to watch, we have you covered. Come back next week for a full recap of the event.

Ffion Davies makes history- the Irish star picked up where she left off in 2019 winning the lightweight and absolute crowns. Scoring a shocking 71 points with only 2 points scored against, while achieving the submission on 4 of 7 opponents. Her victory in the absolute division landed her in the history books as the lightest competitor to ever win the absolute division at Europeans. 2019 was a breakout year for the then-freshman black belt winning Europeans, Brazilian Nationals and Pan Ams. Fffion also walked away with medals at the World Championship and ADCC Championship. In her second her at Black Belt we could see a more seasoned version of Ffion walk away with the grand slam.

Michael Musumeci takes a shot at the absolute division-  on Saturday the Lightfeather weight (sometimes Rooster weight) shocked many by jumping into the absolute division. Mikey was able to score 2 victories, one over an Ultraheavyweight before falling short against Muhammad Aly is one of the most exciting matches of the Europeans. Mikey used his incredible guard to attack the back of Aly and looked to score sweeps from the 50/50 but, was unable to settle the positions and score the points needed to win. Mikey would go on to win his division on Sunday. Afterward, he promised to join in more absolute divisions at major events this coming year. Do you think he will be able to seize absolute gold at an IBJJF major in 2020?

Fellipe Andrew takes home an absolute gold medal- the Zenith BJJ black belt scored a submission victory in the opening round before taking out Patrick Gaudio and Fellipe Trovo in the Quarterfinal and Semifinal. In the finals, Andrew would face off with the worm guard expert Keenan Cornelius. Andrew quickly jumped guard at the start of the match. After defending his guard against the outside passing from Cornelius, Andrew found a home for his dangerous Triangle Choke as Cornelius changed his grips. Despite a stout defense, Cornelius was unable to free himself and Andrew scored a major title to start off his 2020.

Tainan Dalpra starts 2020 with a bang- the prodigy from AOJ showed why so many people think he will be the next star at black belt. The brown belt lightweight ran through the competition including other highly ranked opponents, scoring 5 submissions in 5 matches with a quick armbar victory in the finals match. Tainan was dominant at Purple belt last year and looks like things will remain the same for him at brown belt.

 All photos by The Grapple Club

In this week's edition of Technique Tuesday, Irish grappling star Darragh O'Conaill shows how to turn defense into offense. Check it out!

Who is Darragh?

Born and raised in Dublin Ireland, Darragh was a competitive rugby player from age 8 to 18. After his rugby days ended, Darragh was in search of new sport to stay active and fit. His searched ended when he came across BJJ, he has not not looked back since! Over the course of his 13+ years in BJJ/Grappling, Darragh has competed in every major event across the globe. Winning major events such as No-Gi Europeans, American Nationals, London Open, Finnish Open and more. Darragh began teaching as a Purple belt when his coach retired from the martial arts he took over his academy. Since then he built his team (East Coast Jiu-Jitsu Academy) into one of Europe’s strongest teams. Even coaching athletes to World Championship titles at the black belt level.

Grappling Game

Being one of the most experienced grapplers in his training room since the Purple belt. Darragh took it upon himself to search for the best grapplers around the world and learn from them. He would also watch endless amounts of technique and competition videos while home in Ireland. He developed a unique game creating his own unique positions and variations of existing techniques. Always open to a challenge, He would compete in as many events as possible with any rule set or weight division. These experiences influenced him to become an efficient grappler who chases the submission. Because Darragh has coached for most of his grappling career, he has learned how to best breakdown and explain techniques.

Tomorrow is day 6 of the IBJJF European Championship in Lisbon, Portugal. The competition is in full swing with the lower belt, juvenile and masters competitors taking to the mats this whole week. As the weekend begins the adult black belt divisions will take place with the most prestigious division, the absolute class kicking things off Saturday morning

Check which begin names have signed up ( there is a lot!!). This is going to be🔥

Black Belt Male Absolute:

Black Belt Female Absolute

This week Ffion Davies shares the details behind her powerfully knee cut pass against the half guard. Add this to your game and let us know how it works for you!

Accomplishments:

If you don’t know who Ffion Davies is yet, you have not been following the BJJ competition circuit closely. With titles such as Black belt IBJJF No-Gi World Champion (2018), IBJFF Pan-American Champion (2019), IBJJF European Champion (2019) Polaris Lightweight Champion, and ADCC European Trials Champion. With wins over the likes of Gezary Matuda, Bianca Basililo, and Emilia Tuukkanen-and all in her FIRST year at black belt, you soon will know her name.

Martial Arts Journey:

Her martial arts journey started at the age of 8 with Judo, competing often and even making the Welsh National Judo team. Ffion would eventually leave Judo and martial arts in her teenage years before deciding to return and focus on MMA in 2013. After successfully winning her first four fights (three amateur and one professional) Ffion decided to focus on her love of competition and training in the gi. With the transition, Ffion went to Ireland to visit East Coast Jiu-Jitsu and train with Riberio brothers black belt Darragh O’Conail. Finding the training to be what she was looking for she decided to settle in Ireland.