AIGA Debuts In Brazil With Qualifier Round Full Of Star Talent
AIGA Debuts In Brazil With Qualifier Round Full Of Star Talent
The AIGA Champion's League has begun and the first qualifier event in Brazil is happening this weekend, featuring teams packed with elite grappling talent
AIGA is back and after an incredible season in 2023, there's plenty of talented teams vying for their spot in the Champion's League finals later this year. AIGA is expanding a lot and this weekend's qualifier event will be kicking off from Sao Paulo, Brazil. The winner of the Champion's League will receive $1,000,000 as a team - and a prize like that has drawn a lot of interest from elite teams & athletes. Every match will be streamed exclusively on FloGrappling.
All eyes will be on Team Kasai as they have assembled the most credentialed squad of grapplers maybe ever at an AIGA event. They are backed by Rich Byrne, a black belt and CEO who formerly ran the Kasai Grappling events. They will field a team featuring;
- -60kg: Junny Ocasio
- -65kg: Diego Pato
- -65kg: Dorian Olivarez
- -70kg: Fabricio Andrey
- -76kg: Andrew Tackett
- -76kg: Renato Canuto
- -83kg: William Tackett
- -83kg: Sebastian Rodriguez
- -91kg: Pedro Marinho
- -91kg: Roberto Jimenez
- +91kg: Kaynan Duarte
While there will be many other talented teams at this event, this group certainly looks well positioned to advance to the finals. Still though, AIGA offers a unique ruleset that saw quite a few upsets last season so nothing is guaranteed beyond action.
Other teams represented include Team Melqui Galvao, Team Vouk Elite, Team Luta Livre, Team Demian Maia, Team Untouchable, and more. Many of the athletes involved will be at the ADCC World Championships, including Henrique Ceconi, Kaua Gabriel, Alexandre Robinho, and more of Brazil's best.
How Do AIGA Matches Work?
- In the individual matches, the basic ruleset is ADCC points and penalties but with some modifications. That means:
- Takedown - 2 points
- Sweep - 2 points
- Mount - 2 points
- Guard pass - 3 points
- Back mount - 3 points
- The matches are structured as close to MMA as possible. Each bout is scheduled for three rounds of five minutes with a one minute break in between. Like ADCC, there is a no points period. Here, most points go into effect after the first two minutes of each round.
- Penalties and takedown points are still counted in those first two minutes.
- In the match, points are reset to 0 at the beginning of each round. Like MMA, whoever wins the most rounds wins the fight. A submission at any time ends the match, regardless of score.
How Do The Team vs Team Matches Work?
- The team on team matches will be 7 vs 7, with weight categories similar to those of the ADCC Opens:
- -60kg, -65kg, -70kg, -76kg, -83kg, -91kg, +91kg
- Unlike Quintet, an athlete does not stay if they win. They compete at their weight only, similar to a wrestling dual meet.
- Whichever team wins at least four out of seven matches in any way will win the team head-to-head. If teams are tied to advance, criteria like head to head results and margin of victory will be considered.
- The team matches could start at any weight, those will be determined at the opening of the match after a coin flip gives one team the choice.
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