Fight 2 Win makes its return to Chicago for the promotion’s 111th event on Saturday, and we’ll be seeing can’t-miss match after can’t-miss match on the main card.
The main event has sparked some controversy, with Daniels bringing back Erberth Santos to go up against Gutemberg Pereira for the male black belt heavyweight title. Santos is a polarizing athlete, and many believed he should be blacklisted from jiu-jitsu after an incident at BJJ Stars in which he rushed off the mats to attack the corner of his opponent, Felipe Pena. However, in a statement to the Jiu-Jitsu Times, F2W CEO Seth Daniels defended his choice to feature Santos, saying, “He’s one of the best in the world. Maybe he’s a little crazy, but f*ck, I’m a little crazy. If you run your mouth at a savage, be prepared for savage **** to happen to you. I’m literally just going off of the skillset. I think it’s bulls**t that he got suspended by a bunch of organizations, but just like me, they can do whatever the f*ck they want, too.”
Daniels also referenced a situation that happened at his own event when Vagner Rocha kicked AJ Agazarm off the stage. “Look at what happened to Vagner — No one wanted to work with him, now he’s everywhere.”
This won’t be the first time that Santos has competed since the BJJ Stars incident — last week, he worked his way up to the semifinals at the UAEJJF World Pro before being stopped by Atos’ Kaynan Duarte, who would go on to win gold in his division.
The co-main event of the evening will see Catherine Perret face Luiza Monteiro for the female black belt bantamweight title. Perret is an IBJJF Worlds champion and multiple-time Pans champion, while Monteiro has an extensive list of accomplishments to her name as well (including multiple championship titles at Worlds and No-Gi Worlds, plus Pans and No-Gi Pans). A win for these athletes would be a big deal, as both of them are more than formidable opponents.
Many of the world’s top teams will also have high-level athletes representing them at this event. Matheus Diniz of Marcelo Garcia’s team will be facing Atos’ Gustavo Batista, and Tac Team’s Matt Leighton will be going up against Unity standout Devhonte Johnson in 195lb gi matches. F2W veteran and former (and highly accomplished) MMA fighter Jeff Curran will also have a match, this time against Infinito’s Steve Kinnison.
Check out the video below for some of the highlights of the event, and make sure you’re watching on Saturday, May 4 when Fight 2 Win 111 streams live on FloGrappling.
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