O UFC deixou nas mãos de McGregor a chance de ser o único campeão de duas categorias simultaneamente. Foto: Divulgação.

Valendo o cinturão peso leve da organização, Conor McGregor parte contra o campeão Eddie Alvarez, em duelo de cinco assaltos, no dia 12 de novembro, no famoso Madison Square Garden.

A surpresa maior fica por conta da manutenção do título peso-pena por parte de Conor McGregor. A luta foi divulgada, no site oficial do UFC, como “uma tentativa de McGregor de se tornar o primeiro campeão de duas categorias simultâneas, no maior evento da história do UFC.”

Outro detalhe interessante do processo fica por conta da luta que havia sido marcada para Alvarez, contra o casca-grossa Khabib Nurmagomedov. Após perder o prazo para assinar o contrato de luta, Alvarez ficou sem encarar o russo e agora terá McGregor em combate que deve render mais cifras ao campeão. Nurmagomedov, é claro, não gostou nada do combate.

McGregor (20v, 3d), já chegou ao Ultimate com status de estrela. Campeão de duas categorias no Cage Warriors, o irlandês enfileirou nomes como Chad Mendes, Diego Brandão e Dennis Siver, até ganhar a chance do cinturão e bater José Aldo em 13 segundos pelo cinturão dos penas. Após, encarou e foi finalizado por Nate Diaz, no mata-leão, em duelo nos meio-médios, resultado que foi vingado em agosto deste ano, após dar o troco e vencer na decisão dos jurados.

Alvarez (28v, 4d), ex-campeão do rival Bellator, não teve vida fácil no UFC. Após estrear com derrota para Donald Cerrone, venceu de forma apertada Gilbert Melendez e Anthony Pettis, ambos na decisão dividida. Contudo, ao receber a chance de lutar contra Rafael dos Anjos pelo cinturão peso leve, o americano fez seu trabalho e bateu o brasileiro por nocaute técnico, ainda no primeiro assalto.

Além da disputa entre McGregor e Alvares pelo cinturão peso leve, teremos na mesma noite as lutas de Tyron Woodley contra Stephen Thompson pelo cinturão dos meio-médios, e de Joanna Jędrzejczyk contra Karolina Kowalkiewicz pelo cinturão dos pesos-palhas.

E para você, amigo leitor, que leva melhor no duelo entre McGregor e Alvarez? Confira o card parcial do UFC 205 e comente conosco!

UFC 205
Nova York, EUA
12 de novembro de 2016

Eddie Alvarez x Conor McGregor
Tyron Woodley x Stephen Thompson
Joanna Jedrzejczyk x Karolina Kowalkiewicz
Frankie Edgar x Jeremy Stephens
Donald Cerrone x Kelvin Gastelum
Miesha Tate x Raquel Pennington
Tim Kennedy x Rashad Evans
Rafael Sapo x Tim Boetsch
Liz Carmouche x Katlyn Chookagian
Thiago Pitbull x Jim Miller
Lyman Good x Belal Muhammad

The position aims to break the posture of an opponent and attack from there–a good way for MMA fighters to control an opponent and still be able to punch.

Marcelo’s technique makes sure to negate the possibility of getting caught in a triangle by positioning the arm to prevent the free leg of the opponent from closing. By standing up and placing your limbs in the right angle, you can shake off the rubber guard to escape.

To pass, you’ll have to watch the video below.

See how Marcelo shows it:

Marcos Tinoco, Dominyka Obelenyte, Marcelo Garcia, Jonathan Satava. Photo: John “Ric” Ricard

When Marcelo Garcia runs his promotion nights at Marcelo Garcia Academy in New York City, he makes sure to leave some level of surprise. It may be seen as a tease or even a prank like when he promoted Gianni Grippo one year ago by making him think he was being promoted to a four-stripe brown belt before whipping out the black belt from his gi.

Dominyka receiving her black belt. Photo: John “Ric” Ricard

This year there were three additions to the MGA black belt team: Dominyka Obelenyte, Marcos Tinoco and Jonathan Satava. All active competitors on the team with multiple accomplishments for each, Marcelo decided it was their time. But not without inviting Marcos and Jon up for more stripes on their brown belts, letting them believe they would have to wait a little longer for their final rank.

Marcos receiving his black belt. Photo: John “Ric” Ricard

Before the ceremony was over, Marcelo gave his speech and called up the three one by one to have their black belts tied around their waist. A microphone placed in their hand, they each told a speech that they may or may not have been prepared for. Dominyka talked of her ten years in the art and wanting to quit while her parents encouraged her throughout her journey. Marcos talked of his struggles in Brazil and the opportunities that both his wife and Marcelo

Jon receiving his black belt. Photo: John “Ric” Ricard

gave to him that led him to this day. And Jon spoke of how he still had photos of Marcelo choking people in his bedroom at his family home that proved how much of a hero Marcelo was for him prior to even training with him.

Thanks to MGinaction, the speeches are available to see online. You can watch them below:

Watch out for Dominyka and Marcos, both entering the 2015 IBJJF European Championship to test their new belts on Jan. 22-25 in Lisbon, Portugal!

Paulo Miyao applying a choke. Photo: GRACIEMAG

They are coming from Sao Paulo to the world. Besides Murilo Santana, the youngsters João and Paulo Miyao (Cicero Costha) will embark on a new journey in their careers in Jiu-Jitsu. The destination is the cosmopolitan New York City.

The black belt brothers will now train at Unity, a gym located on the east side of Manhattan.

“They (the Miyaos) will only train and I’ll teach classes. João and Paulo will live in New York as athletes and train all day, and follow the classes taught by me. Luiza Monteiro will also live in New York to train for tournaments. For the IBJJF Pan Championship, Leandro Lo already wants to start a camp in NY too. It will be a great time training. Yago Souza, a brown belt from Cicero Costha will also be here,” said Murilo Santana.

“It is important to reinforce that no one is trading teams. The Miyaos will fight for Cicero (Costha) and I will compete for Barbosa, but using the patch from Unity Jiu-Jitsu as well,” said Murilo.

NY Pride XX. Photo: Erin Herle

The NY Pride XX held on Saturday, Dec. 6 at Baruch College in Manhattan, NY was a day full of good memories, moments and medals. Starting with the kids, Eloy Santos hyped up the future of the sport as they encircled the entire mat for a group warm-up.

And with that, they took over the mats in large numbers. Every mat featured kids as young as four facing off and enjoying their times in the limelight. There was few crying and laughs from both the competitors and the crowd ensued. It took a good few hours for the kids to complete their brackets in the gi before the adult belts entered the bullpen.

The brown belt masters and then the brown belt adults came onto the scene. A few of the matches from both brown belt adult male and purple belt adult male showed what true technique and heart together can accomplish. The matches were exciting and often went the distance. The blue and white belts also enthralled the audience as the barriers were constantly adjusted from the pressing crowd.

By the time the no-gi divisions began, the army of kids took over once again to bring the excitement and complete back and forth nature of their skills. Adult no-gi ended the day.

You can check out the full results when they’re up soon at www.lipridebjj.com

Here is a full photo album:

Women’s open mat. Photo: Erin Herle

Ladies, don’t miss the chance to gather with fellow females on the east coast to train and learn from one another. This Sunday, Nov. 23, GMA Renzo Gracie Academy will be open for an all-female open mat.

Training will be held from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. The X, Y & Z open mat will feature snack bags available from chef Dana Minuta Palmer of Tembatoo Granola.

You can also donate while you’re there to Safe Horizons, an organization dedicated to helping victims of domestic abuse.

You can roll in both gi and no-gi and the event promises surprises during the event.

RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/781443081922739/

Renzo Gracie NYC is located at 224 W 30th St. NY, NY 10001.

Lucas Lepri at LI Pride in 2010

The NY Pride XX is already filling up its athlete list. The event scheduled for Dec. 6 will be held at Baruch College in Manhattan, the heart of New York City.

The late registration period is now open but will close on Nov. 30. The prices are as follows:

Kids / Juvenile 1 Division: $85.00
Kids / Juvenile 2 Divisions: $105.00
Adults / Masters 1 Division: $95.00
Adults / Masters 2 Divisions: $115.00

Some GMA academies that have already signed up include Renzo Gracie Academy, Alliance NYC, Marcelo Garcia Academy, Soca BJJ, Vitor Shaolin Academy, C3 Athletics, and more.

You can register here: http://t360reg.com/nypride/nypride.aspx

Learn more about the tournament at www.lipride.com

The student, Zach Young, even gets to try out what a rear naked choke feels like and later an armbar. But by 1:40 of the video, Zach delves a little deeper. The video gets a bit silly and by the two-minute mark he takes it to another level. Maybe you’ve thought about his question before and maybe you have your own answer to his silly inquisition.

Check out what these BJJers say about how training Jiu-Jitsu effected even the most intimate parts of their lives:

Leandro Lo celebrates his win. Photo: Erin Herle

The 2014 IBJJF NY BJJ Pro is the first of its kind. Held in the traditional NYC location of the Nat Holman Gymnasium on the campus of the City College of New York, it offered cash prizes to the winners of particular categories.

The black belts came in from the top levels of the sport and aimed to cash in. The divisions for the male adult black belts were combined as follows:

Feather was rooster, light-feather and feather mixed into one.

Middle was light and middle mixed into one.

Heavyweight was medium-heavy and heavy mixed into one.

Ultra-heavy was super-heavy and ultra-heavy mixed into one.

Here is how the divisions played out:

Feather

Joao Miyao vs. Gianni Grippo Photo: Erin Herle

Joao Miyao took the back of Mark Ramos and secured the choke to win his first match.

Gianni Grippo faced Jonathan Thomas and the match was a battle of sweeps. By the end of the match the score was 4-4 points, 1-1 advantages and the referee decision went to Gianni.

Joao Miyao had his second match against Paulo Roberto Santana and although he suffered a sweep, he was able to make it to the back and finish the match with a bow and arrow choke.

Osvaldo “Queixinho” had a bye and stepped into his first match with Gianni Grippo. The match was mostly sweeps, toehold attempts and one dive for a crucifix/kimura by Gianni. The time narrowed down and Queixinho was down by advantages but he quickly acquired them making the score even. But the referee decision was Gianni’s with a final score of 6-6 points, 3-3 advantages, 1-1 penalties for both.

In the final, it was Gianni versus Joao. They both pulled and Gianni came up for the advantage. Joao swept, Gianni swept back. The same exchange happened and Gianni attempted two toeholds to lead with advantages. Joao swept again in the exchange to lead by points. A last ditch effort by Gianni to earn takedown points while Joao pulled failed and the title along with the $4000 went to Joao.

Middle

Otavio Sousa secures the choke over Vitor Oliveira. Photo: Erin Herle

The first match of the middle division came between new black belt Kevin Mahecha and seasoned competitor AJ Agazarm. AJ pulled guard and Kevin passed to earn the lead. AJ swept but still needed points. He eventually earned a pass of his own and later a sweep giving him the win of 7-5 points.

Vitor Oliveira faced Vinicius Agudo for his first match. It didn’t take long for him to secure the back and later the choke for his first win.

Otavio Sousa entered the bracket and faced teammate AJ Agazarm. A quick takedown defense and pull to an omoplata started the match by Otavio. AJ was able to defend and Otavio swept and later took the back and choked for the victory.

In the final, Otavio was up against Vitor. The match began with Otavio jumping guard. Vitor opened the guard and worked to pass for awhile. Eventually Otavio exploded with a sweep. As he went to pass he secured the back and the choke for the title.

Heavy

Keenan Cornelius vs. Leandro Lo. Photo: Erin Herle

The first and only match of the heavy division was between Leandro Lo and Keenan Cornelius. Tim Spriggs was set to compete in the division but was not present. Keenan pulled guard and immediately went for the worm guard. Leandro was able to deal with the lapel around his legs and secured an advantage for a pass over halfway into the match. He earned another for another pass attempt. And again. But Keenan was able to sweep to take the lead by two points. Leandro swept back and as he worked for a pass, Keenan secured an omoplata and then a gogoplata but only managed to earn an advantage. As Keenan attempted another sweep, Leandro took stepped over and managed to take the back right before time ended earning him the 6-2 lead and the title.

Ultra-heavy

Bernardo Faria vs. Abraham Marte. Photo: Erin Herle

The first ultra-heavy match between Tiago Giussani and Antonio Henriques ended rather quickly as Tiago secured a toehold in the beginning.

Abraham Marte faced Kenny Brown. He pulled guard, went to triangle was able to submit fairly quickly.

Bernardo Faria went against Tiago Giussani and pulled and earned a sweep in the beginning of the match. He went for the over-under pass and was able to use his legs to stretch out Tiago’s leg and submit with a kneebar.

In the final, it was Abraham and Bernardo. Bernardo pulled and secured a sweep, and using the same over-under guard pass, he tapped Abraham with a kneebar for the victory and the title.

Females

Nyjah Easton celebrates her win. Photo: Erin Herle

The only division with more than one athlete was the medium-heavy for the girls. Combined, there were four.

Nyjah Easton drew Karen Peterson first round and earned a pass and almost a back-take. Karen escaped but Nyjah swept and went to top half where she submitted Karen with a kimura.

Luiza Monteiro had her first match against Nathalia Amaral. Luiza pulled to x-guard, tried for the back and swept and pushed to side control. Nathalia recovered her guard multiple times but Luiza was able to keep securing the pass. As Nathalia swept, Luiza locked in a loose triangle, transfered to an omoplata and swept and as Nathalia defended, Luiza submitted with a toehold.

In the final, Luiza pulled guard and tried to attack the feet of Nyjah. But Nyjah was able to step into top half and submitted Luiza with an ezekiel for the title.

Open Class

While males had no open class, the females had to win their open class in order to win a cash prize.

Nathalia Amaral defeated Karen Peterson by choke from mount.
Nyjah Easton defeated Bibiana Silva by kimura.
Luiza Monteiro defeated Nathalia Amaral by armbar.
Luiza defeated Nyjah by triangle armbar.

See full results here: http://static.ibjjfdb.com/Campeonato/000311/en-US/Results.pdf

See full photo gallery here:

Paul Schreiner, Felipe Pena, Marcelo Garcia, Leandro Lo, Bernardo Faria. Photo: Erin Herle

While in town for the IBJJF NY Pro and/or seminars, the two Copa Podio stars Leandro Lo of Cicero Costha and Felipe “Preguica” Pena of Gracie Barra have stopped into the famed NYC academy of Marcelo Garcia.

The two stars took a class under Bernardo Faria who is also competing in the NY Pro and won the IBJJF Pro League last weekend in Long Beach.

Blending in as visiting students, they drilled the technique and sparred with other students in the class.

You can check out a quick video of the training:

Leandro will be competing in the heavyweight division in a round-robin with Keenan Cornelius and Tim Spriggs for a prize of $4,000 on Saturday, Oct. 25

The group of instructors, students and visitors discuss techniques. Photo: Erin Herle

The registration period for the NY Pride XX in Manhattan is coming closer to its end. But first, the discount must expire and lucky for you the deadline for the early registration period is Oct. 26.

The NY Pride will be held on Dec. 6 at Baruch College in Manhattan, NY. There are divisions available for kids, juveniles, adults and masters.

Here are the current registration prices:

Kids / Juvenile 1 Division: $75.00
Kids / Juvenile 2 Divisions: $95.00
Adults / Masters 1 Division: $85.00
Adults / Masters 2 Divisions: $105.00

The address for the venue is One Bernard Baruch Way New York, NY 10010.

You can register here: http://t360reg.com/nypride/nypride.aspx

Rodrigo Freitas coming back to NY for the NY BJJ Pro

The IBJJF is now offering a chance to earn money at their tournament–and not just the black belts. In a similar format to the BJJ Pro League for the black belts that will be held at the World Jiu-Jitsu Expo on Oct. 19, the lower belts will now have the opportunity to gain some monetary compensation.

The NY BJJ Pro will be held at the usual NYC venue, the Nat Holman Gymnasium located on the campus of the City College of New York. The one-day event has some different weight categories for black belt males.

They will be confined as follows:

Rooster, light-feather and feather will be combined to a new featherweight with a weight limit of 154.4 lb.

Light and middle will be combined to a new middleweight with a weight limit of 181.5 lb.

Medium-heavy and heavy will be combined to a new heavyweight with a weight limit of 208 lb.

Super-heavy and ultra-heavy will be combined to a new ultra-heavyweight with a weight limit of over 208 lb.

The categories for female adult, and female/male master are the same except the absolutes will be separated as follows:

Female adult blue, purple, brown and black belt will have one absolute for each belt.

Male adult blue, purple and brown belts will have two absolutes, rooster to light, middle to ultra-heavy.

Master male blue, purple, brown and black belts will have one absolute.

Female and male white belts will have no absolute.

Note: All adult black belts, male and female, will need to have at least 20 points in the IBJJF ranking system to qualify for competition.

The prizes are listed as follows:

Black belt adult male weight divisions: $4,000 for gold, $1,000 for silver

Black belt female absolute: $1,500 for gold

Master 1, 2, 3 black belt male: $1,000 for gold

Each brown belt male absolute (2): $800 for gold

Each purple belt male absolute (2): $600 for gold

Each blue belt male absolute (2): $400 for gold

Master 1, 2, 3 male blue, purple, brown belt absolute: $400 for gold

Adult female blue, purple, brown belt absolute: $400 for gold

Note: All athletes must place in their weight divisions to be eligible for open class except for adult female black belts.

To register, head to www.ibjjf.org. Registration period ends on Oct. 17!