Kasai Pro 7 – Weigh ins

Completed in Dallas this Friday afternoon were the weigh-ins for Kasai Pro 7. Kasai came out to Dallas last year with their super series and the reception was so great that Commander in Chief Rich Byrne decided to have their version of their 8 Man Tournament Series Heavyweight back in the the city. Putting together the great names of Jiu-Jitsu on the card tournament, and a couple of pretty promising Super Fights too – including the remake of Canuto vs. Leon, which ended in a bit of controversy and a video review in Orlando last time.

All fighters seemed ready to go. They all made weight (not too hard for the Heavyweights, right?).

Superfights

No Gi – 170 lbs

Renato Canuto 169.6 vs. Dante Leon 168.6

No Gi – 180 lbs.

Pedro Rocha 177.6 vs. John Combs 177.8

No Gi – 140 lbs.

Raquel Canuto 138.6 vs. Gabi McComb 138.2

8-Man Round Robin Tournament

No Gi Heavyweight

Lucas “Hulk” Barbosa 209

Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu 238

João Gabriel Rocha 246.8

Nicky Rodrigues 238.6

Bruno Bastos 260

Patrick Gaudio 226

Vinny Magalhães 243.4

Kyle Boehm 222

Kasai Pro 7 – Weigh ins

Kasai Pro 7 – Weigh ins

135lb Tournament Final
João Miyao (Unity) def Edwin “Junny” Ocasio (Unity) via Points (2-1)

Kasai Pro 6 Tournament in Atlantic City, New Jersey ended with the members of Unity fighting each other in a fast-paced match. It was João Miyao who ended up taking the win and the belt, by one extra point, over Junny Ocasio. The fight was very evenly matched with great action from both sides.

A couple of superfights earlier, it was Murilo Santana, Unity’s head, who took the win over Jonavin Webb. The match saw Murilo use his closed guard against Webb, who was able to avert submissions but was not able to do much in terms of points against Santana.

Unity also had a few guys on the undercard that did really well. Looks like that new Unity facility in NYC is starting to produce a good crop of champions.

As promised earlier by Kasai’s CEO, Rich Byrne, the tournament did not disappoint – all the matches were really fast-paced, with quite a few leg lock attacks and a few great submissions. In one of them, Rafael “Barata” Freitas got caught hard and ended up having to leave the tournament due to the injury.

The superfights brought their own amount of excitement. Local Tom DeBlass had the whole crowd with him when he took the stage. He was able to finish off with a great kneebar over Nick Caggia. Matheus Diniz was able to capitalize when Josh Hinger fell on his neck and sunk in a tight RNC to take home the win. The match was a great back-and-forth of styles. Diniz looked like he was on a tear to return the loss to Hinger from when they had faced off before.

Kaynan Duarte had a great back-and-forth match with Patrick Gaudio on the last superfight of the day. Gaudio was able to thwart Duarte’s relentless attempts for submission, even attempting some of his own, but in the end it was Duarte who took the win by points.

Below the full results and the gallery coming up.

135lb Tournament Final
João Miyao (Unity) def Edwin “Junny” Ocasio (Unity) via Points (2-1)

Super Fight
Kaynan Duarte (Atos) def Patrick Gaudio (GF Team) via Points (4-1)

135lb Tournament Third place match
Richard Alarcon (ONE) def John Calestine (Bancho MMA) via Points (4-0)

Super Fight
Matheus Diniz (Marcelo Garcia) def Josh Hinger (Atos) via Submission (RNC)

135lb Tournament Round 3
John Calestine (Bancho MMA) draws Geo Martinez (10 Planet)
Edwin “Junny” Ocasio (Unity) def Masakazu Imanari (Team Roken) via Points (8-1)
João Miyao (Unity) draws Ashley Williams (Chris Rees BJJ)

Super Fight
Murilo Santana (Unity) def Jonavin Webb (Webb BJJ) via Points (7-0)

135lb Tournament Round 2
Edwin “Junny” Ocasio (Unity) def John Calestine (Bancho MMA) via Points (5-2)
Geo Martinez (10 Planet) def Masakazu Imanari (Team Roken) via Points (7-1)
Richard Alarcon (ONE) def Ashley Williams (Chris Rees BJJ) via Points (3-2)
João Miyao (Unity) def Rafael “Barata” Freitas (Gracie Barra) via Submission (Heel Hook)

Super Fight
Tom DeBlass (OCBJJ) def Nick Caggia (KDOJO) via Submission (Kneebar)

Round 1
John Calestine (Bancho MMA) def Masakazu Imanari (Team Roken) via Submission (heel hook)
Edwin “Junny” Ocasio (Unity) def Geo Martinez (10 Planet) via Points (4-0)
Ashley Williams (Chris Rees BJJ) def Rafael “Barata” Freitas (Gracie Barra) via Submission (RNC)
João Miyao (Unity) def Richard Alarcon (ONE) via Submission (RNC)

Undercard
William Tacket def Nick Ronan via Points (9-0)
Mike Wilcox def Tim Williams via Points (6-4)
Fiona Watson def Yaz Almonte via Submission (Armbar)
Athos Miranda def Garrte Lavaggi via Points (7-0)
Marcio Bittencourt def Marcelo Mattos via Points (4-0)
Daniel Tavares def Nakapan Phungephorn via Points (4-2)
Italo Moura def Izaak Mitchell via Points (6-2)
Lucas Protasio def Jeferson Guraesi via Points (4-2)
Gracie Gundrum def Gabby Etzel via Submission (Guillotine)
Aaron Harris David Brennan via Submission (Heel Hook)
Steve Ramos def Chris Marti via Submission (Baratoplata)
Chloe McNally def Lydia Coleman via Points (2-0)

During Kasai weigh ins for Kasai Pro 6 in Atlantic City we caught up with Kasai’s CEO Rich Byrne, who has great plans for the event. “We started out with some NY shows and all we are hearing from fans is ‘when are you going to come to our city?’, ‘When are you coming to our country?’”. Kasai took their even on the road, with their “Super Series” event which is comprised of only super fights. The Atlantic City event shows a departure from this model. Rich explains “Originally we contemplated only doing Kasai Pros in NY. As we toured we started the Kasai Super Series. Because the reception has been so great in all these other cities we decided to mix it. We are agnostic now. Kasai Pros are our tournaments – 8 man round robin tournament. We have done 6 weight classes so far. Kasais pro 6 is our Bantam weight. After that we have only one left which are the heavy weights. We are going to do that in NY beginning 2020. We are picking the best guys in the world at that weight class. Our rules set is a good blend. We can attract people no matter what their discipline. We also have superfights between the tournaments.” The difference between Kasai Pro and Kasai Super Series is that the latter is only Super Fights “On average 12 super fights. We are just having fun. Just making our dream match ups. We are trying to match styles to have super exciting fights – All of our dream match-ups. In Orlando some of the fights we have put together are still being talked about as some of the great super fights of the year.”

When asked about future plans Rich explained, “We are going to keep doing it. We are going to go to Brazil, Europe, Asia. The sky is the limit for Kasai! Brazil is going to be Kasai Super Series. It will be a special version. Brazil against the world. Main card will have 12 or 13 fights. It will be a Brazilian against a guy that is not a Brazilian. They are going to blow people away. We were originally thinking Brazil against the US but there are a lot of guys from Europe and Australia that fit the bill perfectly. We are going to get some good guys against these Brazilians.“

In regards to this event, happening today in Atlantic City “Bantam weight is 135 lbs. This is our lowest weight, but these guys are killers! Some of these guys are leg lock specialists. You’re going to see some crazy stuff. These guys move fast. The rounds are only 6 minutes and the action is usually frenetic. This is a hard one to pick a winner.”

“We have 4 super fights of big guys. 2 of our guys are champs from prior tournaments. Our 185 lbs. champ is Matheus Diniz and he is fighting Josh Hinger who is a world champion. 2 of the most highly credentialed guys in the sport. They fought once before and the match was crazy so we wanted to have them on our stage.”

“Our heavyweight, Kaynan is our belt holder at 205 who will be fighting Patrick Gaudio – one of the best fighters in the world.”

“We also have Murilo Santana, the famous professor at Unity Jiu Jitsu, who have 6 guys in our card. It’s a big day for Unity.”

“And we have Tom de Blass, who is a local NJ guy. Tom is coming into his house to fight in front of his crowd. We’re excited for that.”

The event in happening at the Showboat in an intimate setting. The card is promising some really great matches.

All fighters were at weight.

Check out the gallery!

Gordon Ryan (Renzo Gracie NY) def. João Gabriel Rocha (Soul Fighters) via Points (1-0) – No Gi Heavyweight

It was a great night of 23 exciting matches at the opening of the Kasai Super Series in Dallas, with Gordon Ryan taking the win by one point due to a submission attempt during the second part of the match. The main event and the co-main event were both using modified rules — the first 10 minutes of the match were submission-only. In case there was no submission after a quick interval, the fight continues for another 5 minutes with modified Kasai rules, which grants one point to submission attempts. It was that point that earned Ryan the win. The first 10 minutes of the match had been a true game of guard pass, with failed attempts from both fighters to get an advantage spot. During the second part of the match, Ryan was able to sink a really nice heel hook, which Rocha was able to counter. After the match, Ryan commented that he “felt the heel pop a couple of times.” Rocha tried to pass the guard numerous times and get to a side mount, all the way up to the very last second of the match; however, Ryan’s guard proved ironclad. Ryan mentioned later that on a takedown attempt his knee “popped” and he had to fight the rest of the match with the injury, causing him not to be able to use the strength of the guard on his left side.

At the end of the match, João Rocha was visibly frustrated. Given the microphone, he asked his local crowd, “Who won this match?” to which the crowd acknowledged him in unison. The point, however, showed a different winner, and Gordon Ryan walked out with the trophy.

João Gabriel Rocha getting up after the match ended

Gordon Ryan’s heel hook attempt, which earned him the victory

Renato Canuto taps Marcio Andre with a devastating heel hook

The co-main event between many-time Kasai winner Renato Canuto and Marcio Andre was a different story. Canuto was able to sink in a tight and devastating heel hook that left Andre with no option but to tap, during the first 10 minutes of the match. Canuto adds another Kasai trophy to his collection and proves once again he is a force to be contended with in this stage.

Dante Leon (GF Team) def. Matheus Lutes (Marcelo Garcia) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) – No Gi 175 LBS

It is pretty clear that the game of sport jiu-jitsu needs rules to make the matches speedier and more entertaining to a larger consumption crowd. Kasai’s modified rules have proven to make some matches that are great to be watched. On the flip side, it can cause some confusion, as it happened in the match between Dante Leon and Matheus Lutes — Leon received 4 points for taking the back, which left Lutes, who thought he was fighting 10-minute, submission-only, confused. While Lutes was trying to talk to the referees, Leon continued the match and was able to sink a deep rear naked choke which left Lutes with no option but to tap, albeit a little late.

Below, find the full results and a complete photo gallery.

Undercard

Jorge Vasquez (Alvarez Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) def. Ryan Benoit (Gracie Gym Texas) via Points (7-2) – No Gi 140 lbs..

Jessica Crane (Soul Fighters) def. Meghan Williams (Stout Training) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) – No Gi 120 lbs..

Conrad Duran (Seeds 13) def. Dillon Hinojosa (Genesis) via Points (3-2) – No Gi 155 lbs.

Jeff Horn (AMBJJ) def. Leigh Macneil (RCJ MACHADO) via Points (18-0) – Gi 185 lbs.

Abdul Karem Al-Selwady (Soul Fighters) def. Dylan Kastelic (Mohler MMA) via Points (22-0) – No Gi 170 lbs.

Kecia Makenzie (Checkmat Texas) def. Nathalia Santoro (Renzo Gracie NY) via Submission (Armbar) – No Gi 135 lbs.

Cameron Adair (Checkmat Texas) def. Franklin Caballo (Renzo Gracie Houston) via Submission (Armbar) – No Gi 145 lbs.

Thomas Gentile def. Javier Zapata (AMBJJ) via Referee Decision (Unanimous) – No Gi Heavyweight

Diego Santana (Gracie Gym Texas) def. Jairo Bautista (Marcelo Garcia Dallas) via Submission (Toe Hold) – No Gi 170 lbs.

Dulces Flaco Flores Jr. (AMBJJ) def. Bobby Alexander (Travis Lutter BJJ) via Points (11-2) – No Gi 180 lbs.

David Hulsey (Soul Fighters) def. Benjamin Annunziato (Travis Lutter BJJ) via Submission (Heel Hook) – No Gi 165 lbs.

Alan Shebaro (Tier 1) def. Sebastian Black (Checkmat Texas) via Submission (Toe Hold) – Gi 230 lbs.

Camron Couch (Mohler MMA) def. Marcus Antelante (Soul Fightes) via Points (3-1) – No Gi 190 lbs.

MAIN CARD

Edwin “Junny” Ocasio (Unity) def. Vinny Saenz (Lovato) via Submission (Heel Hook) – No Gi 140 lbs.

Lucas Valente (Gracie Barra) def. Rafael “Formiga” Barbosa (Soul Fighters) via Referee Decision – Gi 175 lbs.

Alex Martins (Alex Martins) def. Mike Medrano (Mushin MMA) via Points (8-0) – No Gi 173 lbs.

Raquel Canuto (Checkmat International) def. Chelsah Lyons (Marcelo Garcia Dallas) via Points (5-1) – No Gi 145 lbs.

Bruno Bastos (Bruno Bastos) def. Tom Deblass (Renzo Gracie) via Points (3-1) – No Gi 240 lbs.

Aaron “Tex” Johnson (Unity) def. Ricardo “Demente” Abreu (Team Lead) via Points (1-0) – No Gi 220 lbs.

Andressa Cintra (Gracie Barra) def. Jessica Swanson (Soul Fighters) via Points (4-2) – Gi 150 lbs.

Dante Leon (GF Team) def. Matheus Lutes (Marcelo Garcia) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) – No Gi 175 lbs.

Renato Canuto (Tio Chico BJJ) def. Marcio Andre (Nova União) via Submission (Heel Hook) – No Gi 170 lbs.

Gordon Ryan (Renzo Gracie NY) def. Joao Gabriel Rocha (Soul Fighters) via Points (1-0) – No Gi Heavyweight

Gordon Ryan and Joao Gabriel Rocha weighting in a Kasai Super Series Dallas with Rolles Gracie

On the heels of the success from Kasai Pro 4 in November, Kasai Grappling is expanding throughout the United States, their first stop is Dallas. They picked this as the start of their tour due to the burgeoning Jiu Jitsu community in the area.

Since this is the “Super Series” there won’t be a tournament, as we have seen in previous shows – only Super Fights this time. The card is stacked with talents from around the country. The Main superfights are 10 minutes sub only plus 5 minutes of Kasai rules.

Below are the results from the weigh ins and a an image gallery with all match ups.

Main Card

Gordon Ryan vs. JG Rocha

Renato Canuto vs. Marcio Andre – No Gi at 170 lbs.

Dante Leon vs. Mateus Lutes – No Gi at 170 lbs.

Andressa Cintra vs. Jessica Swanson -Gi at 150 lbs.

Tex Johnson vs Ricardo “Demente” Abreu – No Gi at 220 lbs.

Tom DeBlass vs. Bruno Bastos – No Gi at 240 lbs.

Raquel Canuto vs. Chelsah Lyons – No Gi at 145 lbs.

Mike Mendrano vs. Alex Matins – No Gi at 170 lbs.

Lucas Valente vs. Rafael “Formiga” Barbosa – Gi at 175 lbs.

Junny Ocasio vs. Vinny Saenz – No Gi at 140 lbs.

Undercard

Camron Couch vs. Marcus Antelante – No Gi at 190 lbs.

Alan Shebaro vs. Sebastian Black – Gi at 230 lbs.

Benjamin Annunziato vs. David Hulsey – No Gi at 165 lbs.

Bobby Alexander vs. Dulces Flores Jr. – 180 lbs.

Diego Santana vs. Jairo Bautista – 170 lbs.

Javier Zapata vs. Thomas Gentile – Heavyweight

Cameron Adair vs. Franklin Carballho – 145 lbs.

Nathalia Santoro vs. Kecia Mckenzie – 135 lbs.

Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady vs. Dylan Kastelic – 170 lbs.

Jeff Horn vs. Leight Macneil – 185 lbs.

Dilon Hinojosa vs. Conrad Duranz – 155 lbs.

Meghan Williams vs. Jessica Crane – 120 lbs.

Ryan Benoit vs. Jorge Vasquez – 140 lbs.

This time the winner came from Marcelo Garcia’s camp – Matheus Lutes, who had an epic battle in the semifinals with Alex Oliveira from Renzo Gracie NY. In the end he quoted Marcelo Garcia’s motto of always being ready to fight, whether gi or no gi. Well, he was ready. We will be seeing more of him at the Pro event for sure.

Matheus Lutes (Marcelo Garcia) def. Alex Oliveira (Renzo Gracie NY)

The end of the Advanced No-Gi Bracket was:

1. Matheus Lutes (Alliance Marcelo Garcia)
2. Jason Rau (Serra Bjj)
3. Enrique Galarza (Renzo Gracie NY)
3. Alex Luis De Oliveira (Renzo Gracie NY)

(Full results here.)

On the teams front, the overall winner was Renzo Gracie NY, followed by Renzo Gracie Jersey City and Unity.

Middleweight tournament finalists
Mike Perez from Atos (silver) and Matheus Diniz from Marcelo Garcia (winner)

By Dan Rod

Kasai is quickly making its mark in professional Jiu Jitsu, with some New York flair and some of the best and upcoming athletes, the second edition of the event proved the tournament style, along with great superfights, makes for a great spectator sport – complete with beer and hot dogs!

The final of the tournament was an action-packed match between Matheus Diniz and Mike Perez. Diniz put on nonstop pressure on Perez, who was able to defend from a major submission, although not always able to stay on the mats – a couple of times the front row folk got more than sweat… In the end it was Diniz who walked away with the belt. When asked what he had done in order to prepare for the match, he recited Marcelo Garcia’s mantra – “Be always prepared – for any match, any time.”

In order to avoid the explosive agility of Renato Canuto, Eddie Cummings “sat” for most of the entire superfight. Every time Canuto tried to step in, Cummings would reply with a grab and attempt a submission. This led to Canuto keeping some distance, which ended up costing him a penalty. Although not entirely exciting to watch, in the end Cummings’ strategy worked, and he “sat” away with the win.

Right before this superfight, we were graced with a match for 3^rd place in which the Australian Craig Jones was able to apply a quick and sneaky heel hook on rubbery Californian Richie Martinez, who used his rubber guard skills to eliminate Felipe Mota from the tournament with a beautiful armbar from his exquisite guard in a little over 2 minutes.

Richie’s brother, Geo, had a superfight with Nicky Ryan – a great back-and-forth of attempted ankle locks which ended in a 0-0 tie, later decided by the refs for Ryan. Martinez made sure to let all know he was not happy with the decision, and the New York crowd responded in kind.

In the first superfight of the night, we saw AJ Agazarm relentlessly attack Marcos Galvão’s heels. His insistence was rewarded at the 9-minute mark, when he finally sank it deep and got the tap from Galvão, who had the home crowd going for him the entire length of the match.

Below are the full results.

Undercard

Blue Belt 185 lbs. No Gi
Steven Ramos (Essential BJJ) def. Ryan Kenski (Vanguard Gym) via Points (19×0)

Purple Belt 160 lbs. No Gi
Juan Quispe (Renzo Gracie Brooklyn) def. James Haseman via Points (5×2)

Purple Belt 155 lbs. Gi
Caio Basso (Igor Gracie Academy) def. Andre Solano (Kioto BJJ) via Points (2×0)

Purple Belt 185 lbs. No Gi
Sergio Vilas (Renzo Gracie) def. Kevin Luzardo (Una BJJ) via Submission (Knee Bar at 4:26)

Brown Belt 160 lbs. Gi
Cameron Florczak (Renzo Gracie Ottawa) def. Jason Olcott (Kioto BJJ) via Submission (Bow and Arrow Choke at 1:18)

Brown Belt 145 lbs. No Gi
Frank Rosenthal (Renzo Gracie NY) def. Zach Maslany (10th Planet Jiu Jitsu) via Submission (Heel Hook)

135 lbs. No Gi
Mikael Yahaya (Absolute MMA) def. Tony Bergamo (Mushin MMA) via Points

180 Lbs. No Gi
Steven Kasten (10th Planet Jiu Jitsu) def. Chris Schlesinger (Soca BJJ) via Submission (Triangle Armbar at 1:44)

Black Belt 150 lbs. Gi
Alex Oliveira (A-Force BJJ) def. Thiago Britto (G13 BJJ) via Points (2×0)

Main Card

Middleweight Round Robin 185 lbs. Round 1

Craig Jones (Absolute MMA) def. Nick Calvanese (Tac Team BJJ) via Submission (Triangle Choke at 2:24)

Mike Perez (Atos Jiu Jitsu) def. Dante Leon (GF Team) via Submission (Heel Hook at 4:19)

Felipe Mota (Oxy RGA) def. Pierre-Olivier Leclerc (Tristar Gym) via Points (9×0)

Matheus Diniz (Alliance Marcelo Garcia) def. Richie Martinez (10th Planet Freaks) via Points (7×0)

Middleweight Round Robin 185 lbs. Round 2

Nick Calvanese (Tac Team BJJ) def. Mike Perez (Atos Jiu Jitsu) via Points (4×2)

Craig Jones (Absolute MMA) def. Dante Leon (GF Team) via Points (2×0)

Matheus Diniz (Alliance Marcelo Garcia) def. Felipe Mota (Oxy RGA) via Points (2×0)

Pierre-Olivier Leclerc (Tristar Gym) tied Richie Martinez (10th Planet Freaks) (0x0)

Middleweight Round Robin 185 lbs. Round 3

Dante Leon (GF Team) def. Nick Calvanese (Tac Team BJJ) via Submission (RNC at 1:19)

Mike Perez (Atos Jiu Jitsu) def. Craig Jones (Absolute MMA) via Points (3×2)

Richie Martinez (10th Planet Freaks) def. Felipe Mota (Oxy RGA) via Submission (Armbar at 2:39)

Matheus Diniz (Alliance Marcelo Garcia) def. Pierre-Olivier Leclerc (Tristar Gym) via Submission (Choke at 3:19)

Bronze Match

Craig Jones(Absolute MMA) def. Richie Martinez (10th Planet Freaks) via Submission (Heel Hook at 1:18)

Final

Matheus Diniz (Alliance Marcelo Garcia) def. Mike Perez (Atos Jiu Jitsu) via Points (2×0)

Superfights

AJ Agazarm (Gracie Barra) def. Marcos Galvao (Vitor Shaolin BJJ) via Submission (Heel Hook at 9:03)
Nicky Ryan (Renzo Gracie NY) def. Geo Martinez (10th Planet Freaks) via Decision (Unanimous)
Eddie Cummings (Renzo Gracie NY) def. Renato Canuto (Checkmat International) via Points (1×0)

Kasai Grappling is quickly establishing their events as wholesome, intimate shows of high-level Jiu-Jitsu. For their next pro show, this April 14, the qualifiers happened this weekend at a dojo in Brooklyn, spectators on the mat along with the fighters – a 9-men bracket of hand-picked guys hungry and ready to go pro, from as far away as Spain and Montreal.

Nick Calvanese from Tac Team BJJ ended up taking the overall win over Pierre-Olivier Leclerc from Trystar Gym and will be moving on to the pro show.

Keep an eye out for their shows; last one sold out and it was blast to see live.

Here are the complete results:

Quarterfinals

Matthew Martinez (East Coast United) def. Justin Michael (Alliance Charlotte) via points (5×0)

Nick Calvanese (Tac Team BJJ) def. Juan Quispe (Renzo Gracie Brooklyn) via points (14×0)

Steven Kasten (10th Planet Jiu Jitsu) def. Steven Ramos (Essential Jiu Jitsu) via Submission (Heel Hook @2:52 remaining)

Pierre-Olivier Leclerc (Trystar Gym) def. Jonathan Potts (Monster Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and MMA) via Submission (Heel Hook @0:24 remaining)

Matthew Martinez (East Coast United) def. Chris Schlesinger (Soca BJJ) via Submission (Knee Bar @00:36 remaining of extended time)

Semifinals

Pierre-Olivier Leclerc (Trystar Gym) def. Steven Kasten (10th Planet Jiu Jitsu) via points (7×2)

Nick Calvanese (Tac Team BJJ) def. Matthew Martinez (East Coast United) via points (13×0)

Final

Nick Calvanese (Tac Team BJJ) def. Pierre-Olivier Leclerc (Trystar Gym) via points

Picture gallery here

NY City-based organization with professional and amateur events to be led by Rolles, Rich Byrne and Kenny Florian

Gotham gets to grips with grappling as today marks the official launch of New York City’s premier competitive Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) grappling promotion, KASAI Elite Grappling Championships (“KASAI”).

KASAI will produce professional competitive tournaments and spirited amateur events in venues throughout the city, with its inaugural card scheduled for the fall of 2017. The promotion is led by an executive team including:

•Rolles Gracie, internationally renowned grappler, fourth-degree BJJ black belt and member of the sport’s first family of fighting – the Gracies.

•Richard Byrne, president of Benefit Street Partners, former CEO of Deutsche Bank Securities and a BJJ black belt.

•Ken Gelman, founder of G-Funk Sports & Entertainment with 20-plus years in sports, marketing and media across fight sports organizations including Strikeforce, WWE, Shooto Brazil, Glory Sports International, Bellator MMA and more.

•Kenny Florian, three-time MMA world title challenger, host of UFC Tonight on Fox Sports 1, and owner of Florian Martial Arts Center (Brookline, MA) and Meraki BJJ (Santa Monica CA).

•Erik Owings, third-degree BJJ black belt, co-creator of the RUSHFIT training program and owner of New York City-based dojo Mushin Mixed Martial Arts.

“KASAI celebrates the skill and intensity that elite BJJ athletes bring to active competition today,” said Gracie, KASAI President. “We look forward to hosting events for the grappling community that profile pedigreed global talent, while unearthing next-generation prospects.”

KASAI, which adopts its name from the Japanese term for ‘a fire that rages uncontrollably,’ will host professional and amateur live events. Professional bouts will be contested at black-belt level under no-gi conditions. Events will adopt an exciting eight-man tournament structure with two round-robin brackets and fast action. The live tournaments will be broadcast via pay-per-view. Amateur tournaments will take place in no-gi attire, be open to male and female competitors, while spanning different age groups, weight classes and skill levels; white belt through black belt.

“We’re building this promotion with experienced minds from the worlds of martial arts, media production and event operations,” said Byrne, KASAI CEO. “There are exceptional competitors and a passionate martial arts audience out there, particularly on the East Coast.”

KASAI is targeting its first amateur and professional events for later this year, with KASAI’s first amateur tournament scheduled October 21. The promotion will also provide a steady pipeline of content and audience engagement initiatives year-round.

“KASAI is our effort to expand BJJ’s profile in both the spheres of sport and popular culture,” noted Florian. “While New York is unquestionably a hotbed for grappling talent in its own right, our aim is to present a product that reflects BJJ’s ability to transcend language and culture by entertaining a global audience.”

KASAI will provide further updates regarding event scheduling and talent acquisitions in the coming weeks.

About KASAI

KASAI Elite Grappling Championships (“KASAI”) is New York City’s premier competitive professional and amateur Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) promotion, committed to hosting live events featuring the most talented male and female grapplers from around the globe. Founded in 2016, KASAI’s organization includes well-renowned names from the worlds of martial arts, media production and business finance who are committed to developing the sport’s public profile and amplifying the brand of BJJ’s greatest competitors. For more information, visit www.kasaigrappling.com, or KASAI’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram social media channels.