Strap in grappling fans, your essential Monday morning digest of all good things from the world of jiu-jitsu is here. 

Roberto qualifies for Pans in style

First point of order – Roberto Jimenez is even MORE of a badass than before. How so? He just wrecked the competition at the Kansas City Open by submitting fight opponents all via choke fro the back, including 2020 IBJJF European absolute champ Fellipe Andrew. 

Fresh off beating Keenan Cornelius at Who's Number One (in his black belt debut no less), Roberto tore through the opposition and earned the required number of points for him to be able to compete at Pans.

Let's break it down. There were only three people signed up for the heavyweight division. First, Jimenez tapped Todd Mueckenheim of Atos and followed it by beating Matthew Leighton for gold. Two down. 

Next up came the absolute division. This time Jimenez would have four matches. Due to his status as a new black belt, he was seeded 11 out of 12. On his side of the bracket: IBJJF Euro absolute champ Fellipe Andrew and ADCC veteran Eliot Kelly. 

Jimenez faced off with three super-heavyweights in a row: Julian Synan (Brasa CTA), Eliot Kelly (American Jiu-Jitsu Syndicate), and Fellipe Andrew (Zenith). He then met 2016 IBJJF Pan middleweight champ Yago de Souza in the final. 

Adult / Male / Black / Open Class

1 - Roberto Francisco Jimenez - Alliance

2 - Yago Vinicius de Souza - 316 BJJ

3 - Brian J Beaury II - Atos Jiu-Jitsu

3 - Fellipe Andrew Leandro Silva - Zenith BJJ

Adult / Male / Black / Heavy

1 - Roberto Francisco Jimenez - Alliance

2 - Matthew W Leighton - TAC Team BJJ

3 - Todd Brandon Mueckenheim - Atos Jiu-Jitsu

Jimenez scored 67.5 IBJJF ranking points for the double gold, which puts him far clear of the 40-point entry requirement. 

We expect Jimenez to compete in the heavyweight division at Pans, where he'll face some of the very best black belts in the world: Vinicius "Trator" Ferreira, Patrick Gaudio, Jackson Sousa, Adam Wardzinski, Arnaldo Maidana, and Tim Spriggs are just some of the names currently signed up. We also hope to see Leandro Lo and Keenan enter this division, although neither man has put their name in as of the time of writing. 

First, we'll see Jimenez take on Lucas "Hulk" Barbosa of Atos in the main event of Fight to Win 137, on March 6 in Denver, CO. Don't forget you can watch this live on FloGrappling. 

Gordon vs Downey was… weird

The untouchable Gordon Ryan struggles so hard to find opponents, he had to take on a wrestler just to get a match. 

His opponent was Team USA freestyle wrestler Pat Downey, and they arranged to compete in two matches back-to-back. The first, a 40-minute ADCC rules grappling match, the second, an international freestyle rules wrestling match. 

The grappling match came first, and it lacked the decisive outcome and were hoping for. Downey tapped out at around the 18-minute mark to... nothing? Ryan had got the back and was controlling Downey with a power half nelson (a common wrestling move). And then Downey tapped. 

Not super surprising, right? Downey has never had a submission wrestling match and has only been on the radar of the grappling community since around September, when his training partner Nick Rodriguez (coincidentally, Gordon's teammate) took silver at the 2019 ADCC. 

Anyway, part of the deal between Gordon and Downey was that after the grappling match Gordon would put on a singlet and pair of wrestling shoes and wrestle Downey under freestyle rules. The result: Downey won via tech fall in a matter of seconds. 

There's so much weirdness with this much it's hard to know where to start. 

Why didn't Gordon just blow him out of the water and sub him as fast as he could? Apparently he wanted to demonstrate that he was a superior "scrimmage" wrestler, although nobody seems to know just what that means. Luckily he came in to help explain it: 

"Scrimmage grappling is wrestling under ADCC rules. You scrimmage until a point is scored under ADCC scoring. As clearly demonstrated yesterday I won the takedown battle under ADCC rules. No[body] is focusing on it because they're morons. Just like no one focused on leg locks for years and then we crushed everyone with leg locks."

Sounds a lot like wrestling, right? I think the point Gordon was trying to make was that he meant you focus on ending up in a scoring position that applies to ADCC rules, and not simply going feet to floor, which scores in freestyle. Not sure why we need a new name for that, but given that the DDS are on the cutting edge of the grappling arms race I think it's fair to say they're cooking something up we'll likely see a lot more of soon. And when it enters the grappling lexicon they'll release a DVD about it. Business as usual for Gordon and co. 

IBJJF Worlds could go on the road... but not for a while yet 

Alliance co-founder has recently started a new series of interviews on his YouTube channel. So far he's spoken with Andre Galvao, and Marcelo Araujo, VP of the IBJJF. Araujo rarely (if never) speaks in public, and so this was a unique opportunity to learn more about the inner workings of the biggest jiu-jitsu federation in the world. 

There were many standout moments from the two-plus hour interview, which is in Portuguese. There was plenty of discussion about how new rules are introduced and why they prefer to let competitors figure out the game than try to use the rulebook to deal with the rapidly evolving techniques we see every year. The topic of anti-doping came up, although the limitations of the contract between IBJJF and USADA meant few details were discussed. 

By far the most newsworthy item was that Araujo didn't rule out the possibility of the IBJJF World Championships one day maybe going on tour. In the 24-year history of the IBJJF Worlds, it has taken place in only two cities: Rio de Janeiro and Long Beach, CA. 

Few people would complain about the Worlds taking place in the iconic Walter Pyramid. Recent years have seen jiu-jitsu under major global expansion, and so there have been some calls for the IBJJF World Championships to one day visit other countries. 

Araujo didn't say no and recognized it as a possibility, but he was open in discussing the challenges of relocating Worlds and was doubtful it would happen any time soon. The high concentration of jiu-jitsu gyms and practitioners in California make it an ideal location for spectators, and he compared that to the example of hosting it in Europe. 

While European countries could offer the benefits of visa-free travel for many competitors, there are the complications of finding a suitable venue with the necessary infrastructure to host 2000+ athletes and more than a few thousand spectators. They'd need to stay somewhere, so affordable accommodation is a must and that would rule out many major European cities where hotels are prohibitively expensive. London was highlighted as an example of being too costly, whereas Portugal doesn't have a suitable arena. 

The unlikely location of Ireland was brought up, with Araujo casually mentioning Ireland had a "cool arena." Don't get too excited, though, as he also said they would need to host a test event such as the European No-Gi Championships to better understand the logistics of such an endeavor. Still, don't rule out being able to sink an authentic pint of Guinness after your matches! 

Grapplefest 8

Dante Leon held off the spirited challenge of Tye Ruotolo, Jon Blank hit a FAST submission on Adam Wardzinski and Kade Ruotolo picked up a nice title belt with a win over Ashley Williams. 

Matches 

Dante Leon vs Tye Ruotolo Grapplefest 8

Jon Blank vs Adam Wardzinski Grapplefest 8

Kade Ruotolo vs Ash Williams Grapplefest 8

Interviews 

Dante Leon Details How He Beat Tye Ruotolo at Grapplefest 8

Jon "Thor" Blank On Hitting FAST Finish at Grapplefest

Kade Ruotolo Claims Grapplefest Title Belt, Analyzes Performance

Tye Ruotolo Reflects On Loss To Dante Leon at Grapplefest 8

Watch the full event replay. 

Kade Ruotolo, 17, hit this incredible flying darce choke at Grapplefest 8 on @FloGrappling

Details: note the use of the foot to pin opponent's leg, the grip behind the tricep to separate elbow from ribs, the jumping shoulder roll.

High level stuff pic.twitter.com/UZW446bCfc

— Hywel Teague (@hywelteague) March 2, 2020

Results Recap

The BJJ Fanatics 170lb Grand Prix went down on the same event as Gordon vs Downey. Here are the results: 

Opening round

• Oliver Taza def PJ Barch via inside heel hook
• John Combs def Matheus Gonzaga via guillotine
• Jonnatas Gracie def Johnny Tama in OT 
• Ethen Crelinsten def Nick Fury in OT

Semi-Finals

• Oliver Taza def John Combs via inside heel hook
• Ethan Crelinsten def Jonnatas Gracie in OT

Final

• Oliver Taza def Ethan Crelinsten in OT (armbar)

IBJJF events

The Norwegian is settling into his new weight category of middleweight. Espen Mathiesen won three matches with three submissions in London to win gold. 

Also in London, lightweight Natan Cheung of Cicero Costha took double gold, winning both his division and the absolute. 

The Kansas City Open drew solid attendance at black belt as competitors race to get their points before Pans. Paulo Gabriel Costa won lightweight gold, Yago de Souza won the middleweight division, Angelo Claiborne took medium-heavyweight gold, Fellipe Andrew won super-heavy and Tanner Rice won ultra-heavy. 

Photo of the week 

Respect. Kade Ruotolo and Ashley Williams share a moment after their match at Grapplefest 8. Photo by Jay Chow. 

ICYMI: 

2-Time ADCC Champ Yuri Simoes On His Move to MMA | A Fistful of Collars

Yuri talks about the movie that inspired him to do MMA, training with Mirko "Cro Cop," and tells us when we can expect to see him in the ring.

Technique Breakdown: How Matheus Gabriel Kills The Kiss Of The Dragon

Matheus Gabriel is known for his razor-sharp submissions, and I noticed that he used the same technique at both Pans and Worlds last year.

WATCH: Every Win From Leandro Lo's Pans Career, 2016-2019

With eight titles to his name, Leandro Lo is the winningest black belt competitor ever at the IBJJF Pan Championships.

Daisy Fresh: An American Jiu-Jitsu Story Ep.1

Follow the lives of the young men who live and train on the mats at Pedigo Submission Fighting in Mt. Vernon, IL.

Daisy Fresh: An American Jiu-Jitsu Story Ep. 2

The second episode of Daisy Fresh follows the guys to Anaheim, California for No-Gi Worlds.

Upcoming Events on FloGrappling

March 6 

Fight to Win 137, Denver CO

F2W returns to Denver, featuring Lucas "Hulk" Barbosa of Atos versus brand-new black belt Roberto Jimenez, plus Michael Liera Jr vs Marcio Andre for the welterweight gi title belt, and Rudson Mateus vs Jake Watson. Click for more 

March 14

Third Coast Grappling, Houston TX 

Featuring Gordon Ryan vs Patrick Gaudio in a no time limit, sub-only match! Click for more

IBJJF Pan Championships 

The IBJJF season continues with one of the most important tournaments of the year! Results here will have major ramifications for Worlds.