Another Fight 2 Win is in the books after last weekend’s card in Sacramento, California where Gabriel Arges secured a win over Dante Leon in a 185lb no-gi main event.

No.4-ranked 77kg grappler Dante Leon is extremely active (and successful) in the no-gi grappling circuit, so the format suited the aggressive submission hunter. Despite having only one no-gi match so far this year, Arges came to the stage as the favored “red corner”. With his third IBJJF World Title under his belt, a sinister submission game and an ADCC invite fueling his preparation fans were eager to see Arges return to the no-gi, sub-only stage.

Arges flirted with some stand up, dangerous waters to be in with Dante Leon, and eventually pulled guard. Leon wasted no time in imposing his passing game. He pushed the pace transitioning between passing methods: his controlling pressure, juxtaposed by his dynamic, agile style. Arges was able to use his length to his advantage, keeping Dante at bay. While Gabriel tried to threaten some leg entanglements and submission set ups off of Dante’s passing attempts, Dante was able to swiftly evade all attacks before they became threatening.

In true Dante Leon style, as the end of the match neared, and with no significant submission attempts scored by either athlete, Dante dove for a last ditch leg attack. The attempt was ultimately valiant, yet unsuccessful, providing Gabriel the space and angle he needed to rush in and get a near pass with guillotine head control. With 20 seconds left in the match the momentum shifted from Leon setting the pace, to Arges controlling from the top. 

At the end of the 10-minute main event the judges gave Gabriel Arges the unanimous decision victory over Dante Leon. Albeit, happy with his win Arges admits he was a bit rusty and needed this tune up in preparation for ADCC: “I wanted the submission”, he says, “but Dante is a tough kid. My retention was good, but not much happened”.

“Not much happening” is not something that frequently said about a Dante or Gabriel match. But that’s sometimes what we end up with when two of the best are pitted against each other. Dante gives kudos to Gabriel’s defense, and says he’s feeling confident for ADCC,  and this will only help him fix his strategic errors moving forward.

In the co-main event Cassio Werneck put on the most dominant performance of the evening, proving that the fundamentals of jiu-jitsu work. He displayed brutal pressure, savage knee-on-belly precision, and beautiful control of his opponent finishing it with a class cross-choke from mount for the Masters Welterweight belt – watch the match here.

The new featherweight champ

Samir Chantre proves that he’s still in it to win it with a foot-lock victory over Jose Lima for the featherweight strap. Though, it was mostly a 50-50 battle, Samir brought some flair with an armbar attempt, before securing the title via estima lock – watch the match here. 

Watch all of the action from Fight 2 Win 123 in the FloGrappling archives