Hello from New York! Hywel Teague here, Senior Editor of FloGrappling, and I'm sat matside in the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan, just yards away from the world famous Madison Square Garden. 

I'll be live blogging throughout tonight's KASAI Pro 4, adding commentary and analysis to the event as it goes. Watch the live stream here. 

We've got some big news coming up that is going to shock the grappling world – check back in a few because as soon as we get clearance we'll be dropping the bomb. 

We'll have the undercard up first, then the main card (which features the superfights and the 145lb tournament). 

6.10pm. The action is underway with the first undercard match between James Taylor of East Coast MMA and Justin Reyna of Essential Jiu-Jitsu. 

Reyna trains under JT Torres and it reflects well in his jiu-jitsu. Dynamic takedowns, and a non-stop pace puts him on Taylor's back and with 12 points to 0. After scoring the points Reyna settles in with the back control and rides the clock out for a solid points win. The noise coming from the crowd means plenty of locals have come out to support their boys. Reyna takes it 12-0. 

6.20pm. It's fricking cold in here. November in New York = 34ºf! 

6.21pm. Unity's Jeferson Guaresi is up against Timmy Hallaby of Gracie Barra. Holy crap, Timmy has a lot of friends here. 

Tommy is coming out aggressive! A blast double takes them almost off the stage and people are scrambling to catch them. Jeferson on the back foot here. 

Just over 2 mins left in the match and Jeferson moves from an omoplata to a triangle attack. Timmy postures up at first but slowly gets broken down and Jeferson gets the tap with 1.40 left on the clock. A nice patient performance from Guaresi in the face of Hallaby's aggression. 

6.28pm. Purple belt Sean Yadimarco of Savarese BJJ comes out to the stage to some crunchy nu-metal track, the likes of which I haven't heard since about 2003. Josh Boodhoo of OAMA chooses some mumble rap over a trap beat. Based on their music choices they're not making it easy for me to root for either guy. 

This is the first gi bout of the evening. One minute into the match and they're locked in 50-50 guard and messing about with the lapels. Unlike the two previous matches nobody is cheering. There's a lesson here boys. 

6.42pm. I have an admission to make. I ran downstairs to see some of the athletes and missed the ending of Yadimarco vs Boodhoo. I don't think I missed much.

I came back upstairs just as Matheus Anderson was armbarring the crap out of John Potts, he of the famous fancy singlets. A straight up armbar from the closed guard, you don't see too many of those any more. 

6.45pm. BREAKING NEWS: Gordon Ryan is OUT of his superfight with Matheus Diniz! 

6.48pm. Back to the action :( 

6.49pm. Jessy Florentino of Sout BJJ is up against Randy Nieves of Vamos BJJ. These guys are scrambling like crazy but it's Jessy getting the better of all the exchanges, scoring points from each submission attack and ending the match with a massive 15-0. The match was actually more competitive than the score portrays, but Jessy was just one or two steps ahead the entire time. 

6.53pm. Halfway through the undercard. Another gi match, this time between Caio Basso of Igor Gracie is going up against Cameron Chaffee of Gracie Humaita in Philly. 

Both guys are in blue gis– note to the organizers, they really should be wearing contrasting colors in events such as this. 

7.00pm. What is it about gi matches and 50-50? Basso and Chaffee have been stuck here for minutes and the crowd is getting restless. Chaffee takes it 2-0. People clap at the end of the match because that's what you do at the end of matches. 

7.03pm. Brown belts up now. First onto the stage is Italo Moura of Unity, one of the most active and consistent colored belts competitors on the scene. He'll face Nick Fiore of Renzo Gracie NH. 

There's a platinum blonde lady whooping like crazy for Nick. Sat next to her is a cute little kid of about 7 who just shouted "Go on Nick, you can do it!" Oh man, how can you root against that? 

Lots of tricky guard play from Moura until right around the 3.30 minute he hits a nice go behind from guard and takes back control with the body triangle. Only 1 point for this under KASAI Pro rules and not the full 4, but Moura is using it to squeeze like crap on Nick's jaw. Last 30 seconds and Moura unlocks the body triangle and gets his points. He keeps working on the choke but times runs out. Moura wins 5-0. 

7.11pm. Brown belt Thiago Rela comes out to Bad Moon Rising by Clearwater Creedence Revival and gets a HUGE cheer from the crowd. 10th Planet's Steve Kasten comes out to Feel it Still by Portugal. The Man. We are getting some great music choices tonight. 

Kasten goes hard after an achilles lock but Rela manages to get out. He's confident playing on bottom and hits a nice inversion to get under the legs and into an attacking position for a reverse heel hook. It takes him a while but he gets it with about 2 mins left in the match. 

7.19pm. Juny Ocasio comes to the stage with Unity coach Murilo Santana right behind him. Juny's a firecracker brown belt and a multiple time KASAI Pro veteran. The other half of this featherweight bout is Rey de Leon of 10th Planet, a brown belt from Long Island. 

Juny comes out and sits to guard immediately– his coaches tell him to go side to side, but Juny is quick to hit a sweep and a pass to side control getting 5 points in less than 60 seconds. 

Halfway into the bout and Juny nearly hits a beautiful arm drag to the back but Rey shakes him off. Juny scores another 2 for a reversal and nearly gets a pass but Leon is hard to hold down and fits back up to his feet. 

The last 20 seconds and Leon dives for a front headlock / anaconda choke but Juny squirms out and gets on top. This match ended 11-0 but it was a lot more scrappy than the result looked. Ocasio would score and then when Leon escaped and got on top Juny would sit to guard and score again. Smart strategy and plenty of action – a good match. 

7.28pm. Mariachi music floats on the air and Tony Bergamo of Mushin MMA walks out onto the mat. His opponent is Silvio Duran of Shaolin BJJ, and his walkout music choice is one of the most chill of the night – The XX. 

Silvio promised me earlier he was going for another footlock, just like he got at the last event. Let's see if he can make that happen. 

In Duran's corner is Renato Canuto. They're friends and hail from the same hometown of Santos in Brazil. Canuto is up later against Vagner Rocha, that's going to be one not to miss. 

7.33pm. WOW! A crazy rolling back take and Bergamo latches onto Duran's upper body. It takes a while but Duran manages to wriggle out of danger but somehow scores 2 in the process. Bergamo is fired up! He stalks him across the stage and says "What's up?"

Bergamo is a rock and Duran's flexible guard is nearly impossible to pass. A frustrated Bergamo tries dropping back for a heelhook but runs out of time. 2-0 to Duran. 

That's the end of the undercard. Taking a break and we'll be back with the main card soon!

MAIN CARD

This is my first time at a live KASAI Pro event, and what an event it is! An intro video up on the big screen, an introduction for each of the tournament competitors and the superfight participants and we're almost underway! 

The matches should be up in a few mins. 

Time for the MAIN EVENT! ??? @KASAIGrappling pic.twitter.com/iT3k8ASkcJ

— FloGrappling (@FloGrappling) November 11, 2018

First match: Bruno Frazatto vs Geo Martinez from Group A. 

We're underway. Remember these are 6 mins matches. They're both standing, Geo pulls guard after about a minute. These two have history, having fought at the 2017 ADCC Trials in a superfight. Not giving up a lot right now. 

Geo looking for the reverse berimbolo. a technique I refuse to call Kiss of the Dragon. You can kiss my dragon. Geo using a combo of kneeshield, reverse DLR and hip clamp to try and get in under Bruno's hips, but nothing happening right now. 

After insisting for some minutes Geo gets a good bite on the legs and comes close to getting a kneebar. He uses the attack to come up and score 2, but Bruno immediately sweeps him overhead for 2. Neck and neck right now. 

Geo on a toehold right at the end! The attack gets him 1 point, which means Geo wins 3-2. 

Next: Paulo Miyao vs Frank Rosenthal, Group A. 

Paulo and Frank both get big cheers when they come up on the giant screen above the stage. This is Unity vs RGA, one of the great crosstown rivalries we have here in New York. Paulo chooses a religious pop song as his walkout music, wheres Frank's choice is Welcome to Jamrock. Very different tastes from these two guys. 

Miyao hits a sweep and gets on top, Rosenthal goes for the legs– people told him Paulo's never tapped to a leglock, right? Miyao hits two torreador passes from the outside and is up 8-0 just two minutes into the match. A group from the balcony chant "Reeeeeennnnzzzzzooooooo". I imagine them like thosetwo old guys in the muppets, who just woke up in the middle of a grappling match. 

"I have the same rashguard!" shouts somebody behind me. 1.30 left in the match, Paulo is up 10-0. 

Oh shit! Dillon Danis and Mansher Khera just came in and sat down right next to me. Awesome, the banter bus has arrived. 

Rosenthal gets 1 for a leg entanglement. Paulo wins 10-1. 

Up now: Ethan Crelinsten vs Gianni Grippo, Group B 

Gianni actually had a little trouble making weight yesterday, the first time in his career he ever missed weight. An hour on the treadmill and he sweated out the last pound and a half easy enough though. 

The ref says go and the both hit the deck, instantly becoming a tangle of legs. Marcelo is in Gianni's corner and Gordon and Nicky Ryan are cornering Ethan. 

They trade sweeps, Ethan is looking for the legs but Gianni is so good and hiding his heels and staying heavy on top. A late guard pass with a gnarly crossface puts Gianni way ahead with 9-2 on the board. 

Last match of this round: Tanquinho vs Kim Terra, Group B

They start off scrappy and Tanquinho hits a nice double leg. Kim's attacking for the legs, he looks like he wants a heel but Tanquinho's staying pretty heavy on top. Interesting, Kim's not got anybody in his corner. 

Dillon and Munchie are providing an excellent running commentary here, I wish I could get mics on these guys. Maybe they should coach Terra, they seem pretty into the match. 

Tanquinho wins 2-0. 

BAD NEWS! Can this show see any more pullouts? Bruno Frazatto injured his knee in the opening round vs Geo and is OUT of the rest of the event. 

Dillon approves. ? @dillondanis pic.twitter.com/TIi0ikBwKm

— FloGrappling (@FloGrappling) November 11, 2018

Geo Martinez vs Paulo Miyao from Group A next. 

Paulo Miyao is a wizard! Some spinning shit and those long long legs nearly put him on Geo's back. Not sure how, but Geo spins out and avoids the back control. No points scored. What a transition! 

Miyao scores a sweep with around 2 mins left. Geo's doing his best to tie that leg up but Paulo is so sticky and heavy from on top. Geo jumps on a guillotine and Paulo drives forward to defend, Martinez tries to sneak in a gogoplata and gets the foot under the chin but right as the clock runs out. Paulo wins 2-0. 

Ethan Crelinsten vs Tanquinho, Group B

Tanquinho seems to be the only guy actually wrestling tonight, and gets 2 points vs Ethan with a nice kneetap. His heavy top pressure just seems too much for Ethan, who's trying his best to open something up but with no luck. 

Uh oh. Tanquinho wins 2-0 but looks like he's pulled his hamstring. 

Next: Gianni Grippo vs Kim Terra, Group B

Yow! Terra goes for a leg but Grippo defends and threatens the back– he locks up the kimura grip but Terra postures up and shakes him off. Close one. 

Gianni's back attacks are looking sharp! Oh man, he's using that kimura grip and is racking up the points now. Lovely technical work from Grippo, he's really got into his groove. He winds up the match ahead 8-0. 

Gianni beats Kim Terra via points 8-0. Gianni is tied in his group with Tanquinho 4 points each. ? @KASAIGrappling pic.twitter.com/l9aJM6AYUp

— FloGrappling (@FloGrappling) November 11, 2018

A quick break and we're back with the first superfight. It's Marvin Castelle– he of the 10million-view Imanari roll video fame– against Carlos Rosado, a tough Gracie Barra black belt and KASAI Pro veteran with a school on Long Island. 

Spinning shit! Castelle is so dangerous with these attacks here, doing such a great job of opportunistically dropping under Rosado for leg and even arm attacks with his spins. Castelle seems to be hunting for subs a little more, Rosado's strong but on the back foot. It's 2-2 from a sweep each so far. 

Boing! Rosado bounces Castlee off the mat to defend his high guard attacks. Castelle is looking for the dead Orchard but Rosado's defending well. Time runs out at 2-2, we're going to golden score! 

Wooaaah, that did not take long. Rosado shot in and finished a double leg just 11 seconds into the 2-min golden score period. Great match, Rosado's fans loved it. 

Carlos Rosado beats Marvin Castelle in golden score overtime with this takedown! ? @KASAIGrappling pic.twitter.com/WzWmLcGOel

— FloGrappling (@FloGrappling) November 11, 2018

Back to the tournament... 

Up now is Frank Rosenthal and Geo Martinez.

Sorry guys, I went downstairs and got talking to Vagner Rocha and totally missed this match. Vagner liked my video talking about dirty moves. Frank beat Geo 1-0 via an omoplata attack. 

I came back up halfway through Kim Terra vs Ethan Crelinsten, which ended 2-1 for the Brazilian. 

OK we've got Gianni Grippo vs Tanquinho back in Group B. Tanquinho's leg is definitely bothering him as he walked out. Zero points scored in this match, Gianni comes up right at the last minute as Tanquinho dives for a leg but it's nothing, no score for either. 

So even though Grippo and Tanquinho are tied in the overall scores in Group B, it's Grippo who will go through. They had to go down through the criteria until they could decide a winner, and it was Grippo via total points scored in all of his matches – 17, vs 4 for Tanquinho. 

The groups are over, and the finals are set: 

Paulo Miyao will face Gianni Grippo 

Frank Rosenthal will fight for third place vs Tanquinho. 

Gianni Grippo will face Paulo Miyao in the final. Tanquinho will face Frank Rosenthal for 3rd place. ? @KASAIGrappling pic.twitter.com/pzV3K9XH8z

— FloGrappling (@FloGrappling) November 11, 2018

Tim Spriggs just came by and said hi to Munchie, AJ Agazarm and Michael Perez are here with Mo Jassim, and there are plenty of other recognizable faces around here tonight. KASAI has attracted a lot of attention, and people want to come and see it for themselves.

Our second superfight of the night is up: Jeremiah Vance of 10th Planet vs Matheus Lutes of Alliance-Marcelo Garcia. 

Man, Matheus Lutes is intense! His blitz passing is something else, he gets to top but Vance is proving hard to hold down! Jeremiah's not as physical as the Brazilian but he's playing a smart game by conserving energy. 

Lutes grabs an arm! He gets full extension but Vance manages to hitch hiker his way out. Close escape. 

And theeerrrrrrrre it is, after moving from back to mount to north-south Lutes gets a north-south choke for the win. Very strong showing from the brown belt. 

Matheus Lutes is a PUTBULL. ??? @KASAIGrappling pic.twitter.com/7wvVMdtgMO

— FloGrappling (@FloGrappling) November 11, 2018

It's time for the third place match for the 145lb tournament – Tanquinho vs Frank Rosenthal. 

I'll be honest. I ended up chatting to a couple of guys from Marcelo's next sat to me and I kind of missed the match. I looked up and Tanquinho had won 9-0, even with an injured leg. and let's not forget he went through the whole tournament without conceding a single point. 

SUPERFIGHT TIME: Vagner Rocha vs Renato Canuto! 

Vagner comes to the mat first and he's amped. He's doing sprints up and down the mat and looks like you would before an MMA fight. 

Renato runs onto the mat, shakes the judges' hands but Vagner turns away as he comes over. The ref starts the match and there's the quickest of fistbumps. 

Things are tense. 

Renato shoots a takedown and Vagner dives on the kimura trap. Somehow Renato flips it and now he's the one with the kimura grip! They spin and spin before they break apart. I will need to rewatch that. 

Two points! Renato shoots a double and finishes it, Vagner threatens for a leglock from bottom but Renato is too good at the leg fighting game to get sucked into it. Vagner almost gets him down with a reversal but Renato spins out. 

Canuto in on another single leg, you can tell he's done his homework because Vagner can't lock on that kimura trap. 1 point for Canuto for a near-takedown. Up he goes! Flying triangle attempt! They go out of bounds and get reset on the middle. Vagner on top now. 

Wow, Vagner is trying all sorts of passes here but Renato's combination of flexibility and leg entanglements is making it impossible for him to get anywhere. Wait! I spoke too soon! Last 20 seconds and Vagner makes contact, he flattens Canuto out and moves to mount – but Canuto spins, gives the back and Rocha puts on the body triangle....  NO POINTS. 

It was so close, Vagner was really seconds away from stealing it, but Canuto wins 3-0. A dramatic end and one Rocha is incredibly disappointed with. 

FINAL: Miyao vs Grippo 

Dillon Danis is basically coaching Paulo right now, drink in hand. Sat behind him are the guys from Marcelo's. It's a weird time. 

Double guard pull and Miyao is looking at an Estima lock. Looks kind of nice, but no single point awarded. 

Grippo is making shapes with Paulo's feet right now and cranking on a toehold. MIyao has never tapped to a leglock, ever. He gets 1 for the submission attack though. Paulo tries to use the leglock attack to come up on top but Grippo holds it off..... for a while. 2-1 to Miyao right now. 

DRAMATIC FINISH ALERT! Grippo scores 2 in the LAST TEN SECONDS to make it 3-2 and WIN the KASAI Pro 4 145lb tournament! 

"The crowd was nuts tonight, I really appreciate it. I needed that," says Grippo. 

"A little unknown fact is that Paulo and I come to church here every Sunday, so we compete today and we will go to church here tomorrow." 

That's it folks. Thanks for tuning in, hope you enjoyed it!