Both episodes of the Royal Invitational are live on Flograppling. It was an incredible tournament with some unbelievable moments and plenty of unforgettable matches. Here is a list of the ten best matches from both the Purple/Blue belt and Brown belt brackets.

Rewatch Episodes One and Two now!

10. Elliot Hill (RDOJO NOLA BJJ) vs Dan Carlson (City Of Champions)

Round One of the Brown belt bracket had multiple finishes but none was sweeter than Elliot Hill's submission victory over Dan Carlson. Hill was one of the only competitors to take advantage of the allowance of knee reaping and in this match he used a sneaky setup to finish Carlson via a foot lock.

9. Dante Leon (GF Team) vs Richard Alvarez (Conde Koma)

GF Team's Dante Leon had a stellar performance at the Royal Invite and it all started here with a very competitive fight against Richard Alvarez. The two traded sweeps but ultimately Leon's pressure led to back mount and a choke moving him into the quarter finals.

8. Renan Vieira (Atos) vs Esdras Barbosa (CheckMat)

Renan Vieira was the biggest competitor in the brown belt open weight bracket, and one of the favorites to make the finals. Good thing no one told Esdras Barbosa who brought a great fight against the larger Vieira. The two battled on the feet for a good portion of the contest but Barbosa pushed the pace even securing a big takedown towards the end.

7. Cameron Florczak (Renzo Gracie) vs Gabriel Almeida (Checkmat)

In the only fight to hit overtime in the blue/purple bracket, Cameron Florczak and Gabriela Almeida put on a back and forth war in the opening round. Florczak came on strong in the opening minutes but it was Almeida who clawed his way back into the fight, tied it up and swept Florczak off his feet to secure the win in thrilling fashion.

6. Matheus Luna (Checkmat) vs Jay Jay Wilson (Alliance)

Jay Jay Wilson proved to be a breakout star from the Royal invitational. A relative unknown purple belt from New Zealand battled some of the best Brazilians on the circuit and made it all the way to the semi-finals before losing to Andrew Wiltse. All of Wilson's matches were entertaining but the match against Matheus Luna does a good job of showcasing Wilson's durability, he fought off several bad positions all tournament long.

5. Jean Paul Lebosnoyami (Nono's MMA) vs Leonardo Lara (Ryan Gracie)

Two bright young stars of jiu-jitsu went head to head in this match and it turned out to be one of the most exciting matches of the day. Lebosnoyami set a high pace early on and looked like he was getting the better of the Brazilian but Lara was never out of the fight and towards the end mounted his attack and finished the fight.

4. Elliot Hill (RDOJO NOLA BJJ) vs Johnny Tama (Alliance)

A quarter final matchup between two of the most exciting Brown belts, winner was headed to the semi-finals. Both tried to implement their wildly different games on eachother throughout the course of the fight. Hill used his leglocks and unorthodox takedowns to threaten Tama many times but the Ecuadorian stayed calm and used his closed guard to slow Hill's attacks. Tama eventually comes on strong at the end to put the fight out of Hill's reach.

3. Felipe Bezerra (CheckMat) vs Dante Leon (GF Team)

Maybe the most closely contested match of the tournament, Felipe Bezerra and Dante Leon threw down in the quarter-finals that made for an all time classic. Leon played a smart game against the super-heavyweight World Champion Bezerra staying out from underneath the big man and brought the fight to overtime. The ending of the fight was a bit controversial but you can see for yourself, should the ref have kept it going? 

2. Gutemberg Pereira (GF Team) vs Roberto Jimenez (Alliance)

After both tournaments ended talk quickly began of having both Brown belt and Purple belt winners face each other. Luckily both Gutemberg Perieira and Roberto Jimenez are two game competitors always willing to put it on the line, because we are treated to an incredible super-fight that came together in a matter of moments. Credit to Joel Tudor and the rest of Royal for getting this match done. The environment was electric!

1. Andrew Wiltse (Pedigo) vs Roberto Jimenez (Alliance)

Andrew Wiltse and Roberto Jimenez both started this tournament as blue belts. They both dominated their sides of the bracket and met in a frenzied final of blue/purple belt bracket. This was the reason Royal was created. To showcase the future stars of the sport and give them opportunities to succeed. The future of jiu-jitsu looks bright!



New to FloGrappling? Watch our original documentaries on jiu-jitsu stars like Mackenzie Dern, Romulo Barral, Cyborg Abreu, Caio Terra, Andre Galvao, and more.