Give the man his props. There are few harder working people in the game than Gianni Grippo, who won the KASAI Pro 145lb tournament by beating Paulo Miyao. 

The 26-year-old New Jersey native was spurred on by a large group of vocal supporters and managed to defeat Paulo Miyao 3-2 thanks to a last-gasp sweep in the dying seconds of the 145lb tournament final. 

It was non-stop hustle for Grippo in the final. Predictably, he and Miyao spent the majority of the match in an entanglement of legs, and as so often happens they kept finding themselves locked in the 50-50. Miyao’s strength on top was apparent and it appeared he would see out the bout by denying Grippo the ability to come up. 

Where there is a will, there is a way. And one thing Grippo has never suffered from is a lack of motivation. Grippo fought harder and harder as the clock counted down and the crowd got louder. His reversal of Miyao had the crowd on their feet– either in joyful support of the match-winning sweep, or in the case of Miyao’s supporters, in desperate protest and despair. 

Gianni Grippo is your @KASAIGrappling Pro Featherweight Champion! pic.twitter.com/250LQ0H86Y

— FloGrappling (@FloGrappling) November 11, 2018

It’s the third time this year Grippo and Miyao have faced off and incredibly their last three encounters have ended in similar fashion; in April at the Abu Dhabi World Pro it was Miyao who won on points. In September Grippo had his turn, sweeping Miyao in the final 10 seconds of the match. And now– this time no-gi– Grippo does it again. 

It’s a great end to the year for Grippo. He fought through to a third place finish in the 155lb tournament at KASAI Pro 1 in December of 2017 and lost a decision to Jon Calestine at KASAI Pro 3. 

Ranked no.14 in the 66kg FloGrappling no-gi rankings going into this event, Grippo will surely jump up plenty based on this performance. Grippo drew 0-0 with no.2-ranked Augusto “Tanquinho” Mendes, beat no.3-ranked Miyao 3-2, handed no.8-ranked Ethan Crelinsten a huge 9-2 loss and beat no.15-ranked Kim Terra 8-0. 

Watch Gianni Grippo's run to the 145lb championship

Gianni Grippo (Alliance) SCORE Ethan Crelinsten (Tristar/Renzo Gracie), 9-2 6:00

Gianni Grippo (Alliance) SCORE Kim Terra (Caio Terra Association), 8-0 6:00

Gianni Grippo (Alliance) REF Augusto Mendes (Soul Fighters), 0-0 6:00

FINAL: Gianni Grippo (Alliance) SCORE Paulo Miyao (Unity JJ), 3-2 6:00