Third Coast Grappling is drawing ever-closer to their seventh major event, and though they’ve had a few shakeups in their Middleweight Grand Prix tournament, the bracket has now been finalized.
3CG 7 will feature a number of familiar faces on the 3CG mats, plus a few newcomers vying for the championship title and the $15,000 prize that comes with it.
Six of the originally announced competitors — Roberto Jimenez, Pedro Marinho, Pat Downey, John Combs, Gustavo Batista, and Pedro Rocha — are still scheduled to compete. Oliver Taza and William Tackett, however, have since pulled out of the event, being replaced by Mica Galvao and Adam Bradley.
Bradley is a brand-new black belt, having just been promoted at the end of May by Andre Galvao himself. Though he’s certainly the underdog in his first-round match against Jimenez, who just won the welterweight championship at CJJ Worlds, Bradley has proven his prowess on the mats time and time again with wins at events like 3CG and F2W. Jimenez and Bradley will be worthy opponents for each other, but whoever wins round one won’t have an easy trip to the semifinals.
The other first-round match on the left side of the bracket will see decorated wrestler Pat Downey face off against 3CG regular Pedro Marinho. While Downey is obviously more known for his wrestling prowess, he is steadily becoming a more familiar face in the jiu-jitsu world. He has twice gone up against Gordon Ryan, and he recently competed at Subversiv 5. Though Marinho has only recently earned his black belt, he’s been challenging (and defeating) some of the best in the sport for some time now, taking on every possible competitive opportunity. Though he was defeated by Nick Rodriguez at 3CG 6, he’ll be coming back this time with his eyes on the prize.
Combs is another 3CG veteran, with his most recent appearance for the promotion resulting in a win at 3CG 6 against Andy Cordova. The ADCC veteran will be going up against young rising star Mica Galvao — a brown belt who took home gold at No-Gi Pans and recently got a win over Andrew Tackett at the last WNO.
Finally, Pans champion Gustavo Batista will be trying to add another 3CG win to his record. Batista claimed victory at the first 3CG Kumite event last year, and in the first round of 3CG 7, he’ll be facing Pedro Rocha. Rocha was also a competitor in the Kumite series, and he’s recently picked up wins against Oliver Taza and Tony Tipton at F2W.
The event will also feature multiple superfights, plus a Teams event that will see five athletes from Team Gracie Barra Westchase take on five competitors from Team Narvaez.
3CG 7 will take place on Saturday, June 19 and can be streamed live on FITE TV.
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