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When (And When Not) To Believe The Hype

We've seen it before but it never fails to amaze: a world champion gets beat by a new face on the scene. 

There’s nothing surprising about people winning and losing in jiu-jitsu. It happens every weekend across the globe, and nobody is undefeated in jiu-jitsu. Sometimes it’s a fluke, a one-off. Sometimes it’s a sign of greater things to come. Knowing the difference between a breakout star and a guy who got lucky requires special consideration. 

So, a guide on when to believe the hype.

July 20 in Washington, DC. A high of 97º in the city, but cooler in the air-conditioned Prince George's Sports & Learning Complex. The IBJJF Washington D.C. Summer International Open was in full swing and no less than 57 athletes from Team Lloyd Irvin were signed up to compete. 

Among them, 2018 featherweight black belt world champion Shane Jamil Hill-Taylor. A man nicknamed “The Wizard” by teammate Mahamed Aly for his spooky technical ability, which defies belief and leaves you wondering if he knows some weird kind of jiu-jitsu magic. Jamil was fighting up a division at lightweight and you'd imagine that he'd have a hometown advantage. His day started well enough with a win over the unheralded Garrett Beck, but things took turn for the worst in the final of the lightweight division. 

Hill-Taylor’s opponent in the final was Italo Moura, one of the best-known colored belt competitors out of Unity Jiu-Jitsu in NYC. That was until he got promoted to black belt in June, immediately after the 2019 World Championships. One of the most consistent and capable members of the Unity squad, Moura lacks the immediate name recognition of some of his teammates due to his quiet nature. Make no mistake though, Moura is a silent killer. One of the main training partners for the Miyao brothers, Levi Jones-Leary and others, he is a seasoned competitor even if this was his first time out as a black belt. 

Moura made sure his first tournament as a black belt was one to remember. The result came via referee’s decision after a tied score 2-2, 1-1 adv. As such, we caution about getting carried away. But make no mistake, this is a significant result. Moura managed to get one of his first black belt wins over a 2018 IBJJF World champ. People will remember that for a long time. 

It makes you think of the meteoric rise of Moura’s teammate, Levi Jones-Leary. He scored a huge win in the early days of his black belt career when he beat Lucas Lepri at the beginning of 2018, coincidentally also by referee’s decision. We should not be too quick to draw comparisons. 

Jones-Leary beat Lepri in the final of the European Championships, but that came after beating Gianni Grippo, Pedro Ramalho and Kevin Mahecha. Jones-Leary’s win earned him international attention and acclaim as it was at a major tournament and he’d gone through a stacked division in the process. 

Moura’s win over Hill-Taylor was the second match in a division of four, meaning they each had just one match before the final. And while not taking anything away from the win, the ever-humble Moura will be the first not to brag about such a result knowing it could be the complete opposite next time they meet. 

The big picture: 

The story here is simple. A black belt world champ loses to an opponent who is making his black belt debut. All credit must be given to Moura for his win. But we must also point out that Hill-Taylor rebounded later that day by winning absolute gold. 

It’s always a big deal when a name black belt goes down to a new name on the scene. Judgment is required to decide if we are witnessing the birth of a new star, or whether it’s the slow burn of a solid career. For Moura, I’m leaning toward the latter. This is nothing against him– he’s quite obviously got the tools and the ability to take out the best in the world. He’s young, committed, humble, and a welcome injection of fresh blood to the lightweight division. 

Compare it to when Nicholas Meregali or Kaynan Duarte joined the black belt ranks. We knew from the word go that they were cut from a different cloth, that they had the makings of something truly special. They both scored big wins early in their black belt careers, capping off their first year at black belt with gold medals at the World Championships. 

It’s not that there shouldn’t be any hype about Moura’s win. Make a note as it could turn into something significant. But as we saw in the case of Jones-Leary, even great starts can fizzle out. After Jones-Leary won both Euros and Pans, he bombed out at World Pro and Worlds. Success is a fickle, elusive thing and the added pressure that comes with hype can complicate things. 

Moura’s hardly the kind of guy to let this win go to his head, which is a good thing. “Tough fights today. It was really cool to finally compete as a black belt,” was the message he posted to announce his gold medal. As for us, we’re interested to see what comes next for him– there’s plenty of time for Moura to develop and grow before gi season starts in January. 

When Will The Big Names Start Training For ADCC?

ADCC is a little over two months away– 68 days from today, if you want to get precise. Not that we’re excited or anything (ha) but ADCC is very much on our minds and will be until the end of September. 

Thanks to stalking on Instagram, we have an idea of where some of the ADCC champs are and what they’re doing: Buchecha and Felipe Pena are on vacation in Mykonos, Greece. Beatriz Mesquita is traveling in New Zealand. 

So it begs the question, when will they start their training camps for the biggest no-gi grappling event in the world? 

A few have even started already. We heard that Andre Galvao started training on July 1, a full 89 days out from the tournament, with the singular focus of prepping for ADCC. 

Some of the 96 competitors are staying busy by competing during the summer to stay sharp as ADCC approaches. JT Torres and Vagner Rocha will face off this coming weekend on Fight 2 Win 119. 

Josh Hinger, Matheus Diniz, Kaynan Duarte and Yuri Simoes will all appear on KASAI Pro 6 on August 18 in superfights that will act as precursors and previews of what to expect in September. 

Nick Rodriguez, the Renzo blue belt who qualified at +99kg by winning West Coast Trials, has been busiest of all– it seems he’s in action nearly every weekend. 

We’ve been told that Buchecha’s camp begins in August, as does Felipe Pena’s. So let them enjoy their summer a few weeks more– they’ve still got plenty of time to get ready. 

Results Recap:

Should we start calling Marcio Andre the “snakecharmer”? He now holds wins over both Cobrinha and Kennedy Maciel, aka Cobrinha Jr. Andre scored his win over Senior in 2016 at the IBJJF World Championships, and faced Junior over the weekend in the main event of Fight 2 Win 118. Andre won by decision – you can watch the full event replay here. Individual matches will be uploaded soon. 

Tomoyuki Hashimoto choked Jose Carlos Lima for the Fight 2 Win bantamweight title belt, and Talita Alencar defeated Amanda Monteiro by decision to reclaim the flyweight title. 

Fight 2 Win 118: Results | Full Event Replay 

Brand new black belts Ronaldo Junior and Jake Watson both enjoyed success over the weekend. Ronaldo cleaned up with double gold in Fresno submitting all but one of his opponents, white Watson took quad gold (doublegold gi and no-gi) in Austin. Watson’s quickest submission of the weekend was a 30-second ankle lock in the gi. A good weekend for the next gen of black belts coming through. 

Quote of the Day

"I used to do this because I had to. Now I do it because I want to. Everyone sees the medals, the fame, and the money in pro sports. What they don't see is all the suffering. 16 hours 7 days a week 365 days a year. The days when you had a bad training session and literally walk out of the gym wanting to kill yourself. Thats why when you see dorks posting their worthless opinions online you have no choice but to laugh. They could never do what we do." – Gordon Ryan

In Case You Missed It:

Roberto Jimenez documentary – watch video

Episode one of the FloGrappling series THE NEW GUARD chronicles the competition career of one jiu-jitsu's hottest prospects, Roberto Jimenez, and remembers his epic 10-submission win streak at 2018 Worlds! 

Chasing Greatness: Geo Martinez – watch video

Geo Martinez is known as one of the greatest athletes to come out of the 10th Planet camp. Among the many topics in this episode of 'Chasing Greatness' we dive into Geo's history with 10th planet, what it means to earn a black belt from Eddie Bravo, and his experience at ADCC.

Claudia do Val on A Fistful of Collars – watch video

Three-time IBJJF World champion Claudia Do Val joins us in the studio and reveals that she still gets nervous for competitions even after four years of winning gold in every major tournament. PLUS, she gives plenty of advice for women training in jiu-jitsu including how to stay safe and avoid injury by dealing with rough male training partners.

Photo of the week: 

Name that technique...! 

Upcoming Live Events on FloGrappling:

Fight 2 Win 119 – July 27 

JT Torres vs Vagner Rocha and Tex Johnson vs Tim Spriggs– two submission-only matches that could seriously influence how the ADCC brackets will look. 

KASAI Pro 6 – August 17

An 8-man 135lb tournament featuring Geo Martinez, Joao Miyao, Jon Calestine and many more. Also, Josh Hinger vs Matheus Diniz and Kaynan Duarte vs Yuri Simoes. 

IBJJF Masters Worlds – August 21-24 

The biggest and best tournament for grapplers over the age of 30, which always sees some legendary names come out to play! 

IBJJF Heavyweight Grand Prix – August 24 

With a cash prize $40,000 this heavyweight tournament is no easy warm-up for ADCC. Featuring Joao Gabriel Rocha, Patrick Gaudio, Lucas Hulk Barbosa, Cyborg, Mahamed Aly, Luiz Panza, Yuri Simoes and Gordon Ryan (injury permitting). 

ADCC World Championships – September 28-29 

The BIGGEST no-gi event of the year.