The Copa Podio Lightweight Grand Prix provided a wealth of entertaining matches. Leandro Lo solidified his position as one of the most dominant lightweights ever, Lucas Lepri beat Davi Ramos in an ADCC grudge match, and Dillon Danis put the black belt division on notice. Not to mention a battle between Vikings and Brazilian Rednecks (yes, you read that right).

After reviewing the tape we’ve selected five of the standout matches from the event. The criteria was simple – matches where intensity and strategy reached equilibrium made the list.

Leandro Lo v Lucas Lepri (click to watch) 
The first match between Leandro and Lucas was absolutely electrifying. Lepri opted to pull guard first, feeding Leandro’s lapel through his own legs and establishing strong control over Lo’s movements. Lepri constantly made efficient use of the lapel while Lo worked his classic knee slice to step-over pass attempts and nimble movement. Zero stalling throughout, the match saw both men applying their strengths against one another. Leandro won by advantage. 



Dillion Danis v Leandro Lo (click to watch)
The first semi-final match of the Grand Prix was one between a rising star and the dominant champion. Lo pulled guard early and tied up Danis with his trademark spider/De la Riva guard. Danis attempted to work both the stack pass and toreando. Hardly stagnant, there were many near sweeps and passes, but ultimately Leandro’s guard was just too much for Danis -Leandro hit his signature waiter sweep to take the lead. Lot’s of fun scrambles and clever grip work exhibited from both athletes- do not miss this match.




AJ Sousa v Lucas Lepri (click to watch)
Positively one of the most entertaining matches of the event, AJ Sousa had Lucas Lepri in trouble from minute one until the finish. AJ was able to capitalize on a weak guard pull from Lepri into leg drag position. Not wanting to be passed, Lepri attempted to force a scramble which did nothing to help his cause -AJ rolled under Lepri’s hips into the truck, and was able to take Lepri’s back! Lepri threatened to close gap in the final seconds of the match by working a mean torreando to leg drag combo, but was unable to get pass AJ’s guard. A great win for a rising star in Jiu Jitsu. 




Dillon Danis v Patrik Guadio (click to watch - FREE) 
Patrick Gaudio was a last minute replacement for Jamie Canuto. A tough weight-cut and even more difficult opposition didn’t seem to bother the GF team standout -he took Dillon Danis to the task in an epic back and forth match. Showcasing efficient wrestling throughout the entire GP, Danis opened the match with a strong double leg to take the lead. The last minute saw Gaudio work an omoplata to kimura transition that would have tapped lesser-men and had the crowd giving the two athletes a standing ovation. Danis won the fight by a single advantage. 




Espen Mathiesen vs Yan Lucas (click to watch) 
Knowing that they only had a single match to put on show, The Vikings and Cabras da Peste teams delivered some of the most entertaining matches of the event. Espsen Matheisen took on Brazilian standout Pica Pau; both men embraced a modern style of play, initiating the round with a double guard pull. Espen largely neutralized Pica Pau’s top game with an aggressive lapel guard. Though he was behind on points for much of the match, Espen maintained an iron will and was able it a sweep to back-take on Yan in the final moments of the match to take victory.