The Disruptors: Five Men Ready To Force Upsets At Worlds
The Disruptors: Five Men Ready To Force Upsets At Worlds
Call them what you want: 'wildcards', 'spoilers', 'dark horses' – they all refer to the same thing.
Call them what you want: wild cards, spoilers, or dark horses—they all refer to the same thing—athletes who on the right day can beat the very best in the world. We've singled out five disruptors that we believe have a 100 percent chance of ruining someone else's Worlds bid next week in Long Beach, CA.
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Masahiro Iwasaki – Lightweight (Japan)
Masahiro Iwasaki is the prototypical disruptor. He’s taken out HUGE names including Edwin Najmi, Renato Canuto, Servio Tulio, and Gilbert Burns—and that’s just in 2018 alone. The Carpe Diem representative hailing from Japan has three major style points that make him such a difficult task: great wrestling, a wicked half-guard game, and an unshakeable base when on top.
Scoring on Iwasaki is simply one of the most difficult things to do in the game. Michael Langhi was only able to beat him via one advantage in the European Championships final earlier this year.
Masahiro Iwasaki vs. Edwin Najmi – 2018 European Championships
Charles Negromonte – Medium-Heavy
Another athlete who's consistently beaten the best in the business is Charles Negromonte from Roger Gracie Academy.
The Brazilian living in England has had a spectacular year so far. He took first place at King of Mats after beating Andre Galvao, Jaime Canuto, and Renato Canuto. We’re particularly excited for potential matches with Lucas "Hulk" Barbosa, Horlando Monteiro, and Thiago Sa and a rematch Rudson Mateus (which Negromonte won the first time around).
Negromonte's pressure on top is a horrible experience for a guard player.
Nathan Mendelsohn – Middleweight
The middleweight division at Worlds this year is gigantic: 41 complete savages have thrown their hats in the ring. We see returning champion Gabriel Arges being the toughest man to beat, but there are endless possibilities for who could face him on the other side of the final.
Nathan Mendelsohn just might be the surprise no one sees coming.
Though he hasn't hit the podium yet in a major yet this year, Mendelsohn has given hell to names such as Isauqe Bahiense and holds wins over Michael Liera Jr. and Igor Estrella, among others.
Nathan Mendelsohn: Jack of all trades.
Johnny Tama – Lightweight
Alliance has stacked the decks at lightweight: the division features Lucas Lepri, Michael Langhi, and Jhonny Souza, but the dark horse representing the powerhouse team is Johnny Tama.
Tama can end a fight in an instant with his vicious Estima lock variation known as the "Tama Lock"—he’s also been refining his passing game and has been able to get by elite-level guards such as Gianni Grippo. Though it would take some MAJOR upsets in the division to see Tama with a gold medal (someone would have to beat Lucas Lepri and JT Torres, for example), we certainly plan on Tama spoiling a least one medal chaser's day.
DJ Jackson – Medium-Heavy
Nobody wants a match with DJ Jackson. Impossible to take down, relentless, brutal passing power, and the ability to force (and win) the scramble off of sweeps, Jackson has a well-defined game that is extremely difficult to negotiate. The TLI representative hasn't been at Worlds for the past two years and will be looking to add another piece of hardware to his medals collection.
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May 31 to June 3 | Long Beach, CA