Live from Musclepharm HQ in Burbank, CA, the first Combat Jiu-Jitsu Welterweight tournament and seventeenth installment of the Eddie Bravo Invitational took place on Saturday, September 29, 2018. In this sixteen-man tournament, regular EBI rules apply with one exception: open palm strikes are legal if either opponent is grounded. The format is ten minutes of submission-only grappling; overtimes are decided by up to three overtime rounds, opponents choosing whether to start in an armbar setup position or a standard back control. Two minutes of action on the feet will be brought to the ground with one opponent starting with a double underhook butterfly guard clinch. Victor D’Avila and Eddie Bravo were personally on hand to referee the matches.
FIRST ROUND
Chris Shahgholi
Red Dragon Tech Cell BJJ
Vs.
Jesse Taylor
10th Planet Freaks/Team Quest
Shagholi pulls guard taking a couple slaps in the process, attempting a sweep with a neck wrap then falling back to guard. It’s quickly apparent that these fighters are for real, there’s no holding back on the open palm strikes. Taylor performs a neck wrap of his own and looks to mount, recovered by Shahgholi. A couple of hard strikes force Shahgoli to turtle. A few more and Taylor takes the back, sinking in a tight rear naked choke. Shahgoli holds his neck tight but is forced to tap. Jesse Taylor moves on to the quarterfinals.
Stephen Martinez
Peerless Jiu-Jitsu
Vs.
Matt Secor
Secor Jiu-Jitsu
A double leg by Secor lands him in closed guard. He puts on tight pressure smashing to half guard which is neutralized to a butterfly recovery. Choosing to keep body pressure rather than strike, Secor looks to sprawl off the hooks. Minimal strikes are thrown thus far as the two are engaged in a classic battle of pressure and points of contact. A solid butterfly sweep attempt by Martinez takes the action out of bounds. Despite a couple front headlock attempts by Secor, the two are started on the ground with Secor having a double underhook butterfly guard. Martinez quickly steps to half guard. Some side slaps to the head by Secor allows Martinez to time the split and land in mount, connecting with a couple of solid body shots. Secor recovers and lands in an attempted heel hook as it goes to overtime. The match goes the distance as the two exclusively choose to start from back mount, with Secor winning by an 83-second riding time advantage.
Dan Martinez
Gracie Pac
Vs.
Sergio Rios
99 BJJ HQ
A two-on-one grip by Rios helps him shoot for the legs, pushed away by Martinez. Martinez times a good sprawl in defending a single-leg attempt. A quick level change by Rios lands him the double-leg falling into closed guard. Rios with a monster slap, Martinez times the posture and nails a sit-up sweep, forcing Rios to turtle. Martinez jumps for an armbar and winds up on bottom. To the crowd’s amusement Rios chases him down half the mat space for a flying slap. There’s a reversal by Martinez as he steps to mount, followed by a well-timed trap and roll by Rio into closed guard. Martinez works from his half-guard pulling off a textbook dogfight sweep into the guard of Rios. Martinez lords over, opening the guard forcing turtle, feeding a slap to the ear of Rios. Martinez hunts for the back take and arm submission attempt which fall short again as he lands on bottom. Monster smacks are traded between the two. A 4-11 leg entanglement is achieved by Martinez in open guard, a couple of major body smacks are not enough for Rios to defend Martinez’s heel hook.
Josh Neer
Elite Edge MMA
Vs.
Nicholas Greene
Ralph Gracie Academy
Neer comes out of the gate with a flurry of collar-ties, countered by a well-timed outside leg trip by Greene as he lands the takedown. Greene lands one big slap, exchanged for one by Neer which Greene acknowledges. Greene moves to half guard, Neer recovers to his feet. A strong double underhook clinch by Neer is neutralized by the break-dancing balance of Greene. Leg trips are to no avail for Greene, the two are put on the ground by the ref with Greene on bottom securing a double underhook clinch. The UFC veteran Neer breaks out of the clinch and lands three major strikes to Greene, wooing the crowd. Neer passes to mount, despite Greene’s recovery there is notable pressure and heat from Neer. Greene is holding the line with his half guard. In stride with a reverse half-guard pass, Neer locks up a kimura grip. Greene defends the angle with a lockdown, but his arm straightened to get the tap for Neer.
Felipe Fogolin
Triunfo Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Vs.
Hunter Colvin
Triton Fight Team
Fogolin locks up a front head lock and pulls guard, well-timed defense as Colvin runs around. Fogolin maintains chin contact and controls the getup, attempts the same guard pull and the defense repeats itself, Colvin manages to neutralize and stand up. Single-leg by Colvin lands him in another front headlock He neutralizes the submission but lands on bottom. Colvin uses butterfly hooks to swing to the back but falls back to open guard. Knee reap neutralized by Fogolin, Colvin shoots a quick pop triangle, Fogolin throws his leg over Colvin’s head defending the submission. Fogolin lands in a 4-11 as a result of the entanglement. Huge shots to the body from Colvin don’t faze Felipe. Colvin sits through to get on top and passes, mounts, strikes to open a back take, back to mount, then the back. Colvin locks up the body triangle. A near choke is defended well by Fogolin, he eats a few more slaps in s-mount to give the back again. Sequence of match deja vu occurs as Colvin throws up another pop triangle, Felipe defends and falls into a 4-11. An attempted reversal by Colvin does not go anywhere as the two go to overtime. Both split time in the first round whereas Fogolin quickly escapes spider web in the second. Body triangle by Felipe as he gets a face crank, sinking it deeper, getting the tap and finishing the match.
DJ Abshire
Gladiator Academy
Vs.
Kyle Chambers
10th Planet Freaks
An arm entanglement occurs as Chambers rolls straight for the legs, Abshire holding a tight clinch to keep Chambers at bay. Chambers is relentless in his pursuit of the legs, bleeding profusely from his nose. There’s a battle of knee position as Abshire attempts to triangle his legs beyond the knee line. The clinch is broken as Chambers dives for the legs, Abshire spins out. Chambers spins from open guard to a kneebar, garnering a loud verbal tap by Abshire as the crowd erupts from the explosive submission.
Gabriel Checco
Gracie Humaita Henderson
Vs.
Bobby Emmons
Nice Guy Submission Fighting
Checco gets eye-poked to start the match, the two are restarted, quickly getting to the ground as Emmons aggressively stalks Checco. Emmons sits for the heel hook coming an inch from a tap, Checco spins out. Checco is utilizing a two-on-one grip to avoid finishing pressure from Emmons. Emmons smoothly transitions between heel hook attempts, falling into the half-butterfly guard as Checco feeds slaps. Emmons rolls for a kneebar, face strikes from Checco force him to back off to his knee shield. A 50/50 heel hook by Checco is neutralized by Emmons. Rolling leg lock attempts are being stuffed by Checco as he seems to enjoy the scrap. Emmons turns belly down and winces, looks as if he’s in major pain. Checco lands a couple of hard unanswered strikes to garner a stoppage by the referee. Emmons has his knee checked as the fight is ended, clearly sustaining a leg injury in transition that could not bear weight as he’s walked off the mat.
Tamdan McCrory
Broome County Jiu-Jitsu
Vs.
Jon Blank
10th Planet Bethlehem
Blank pulls butterfly guard, holding a steady clinch and landing in a quick omoplata control, neutralized with strikes by McCrory. McCrory brings the heat with his strikes, Blank keeps his composure as he recovers to butterfly guard. In a flurry, Blank snatches an armbar via an omoplata setup to get a quick verbal tap by McRory, bringing a swift conclusion to the round of 16.
QUARTERFINALS
Jesse Taylor
Vs.
Matt Secor
Secor pulls a quick butterfly guard amidst a front headlock exchange. A pop triangle attempt by Secor is read perfectly by Taylor as he times the guard pass. Utilizing a neck wrap Taylor gets to full mount, looking for the Marcelotine. He’s neutralized to ashi, Taylor spins out. Taylor gets caught in a kimura trap landing him on bottom in a dangerous situation in half guard. Secor transitions to mount and subsequently a back take transition as submissions are defended well by Taylor. Taylor fights hard for head position and spins into full guard. Ground and pound exchange occurs in Secor’s closed guard as neither fighter is gaining the upper hand. Secor locks in one of his trademark triangles, maintaining a constant head pull, forcing the tap and his advancement to the semis.
Josh Neer
Vs.
Dan Martinez
A flying triangle attempt by Martinez doesn’t land; an armbar transition leads to closed guard. Martinez pulls rubber guard to New York, having cleared the hand to the mat. Neer carefully tip-toes to half guard, Martinez initiates a stellar dogfight cradle sweep, landing in the guard of Neer. Martinez feeds body shots, dominating Neer’s hips to one side as he passes to mount utilizing a blistering cross face. He locks in a kimura transition to back mount, tightening a body triangle. Martinez smoothly switches body triangle sides as Neer is neutralizing all submission attempts. Martinez squeezing the face does little to phase Neer. Neer spins out back into the half guard of Martinez. Good distance control is performed by Martinez, taking little damage from Neer. Martinez spins to a heel hook on a pass attempt. Despite a slippery spin out by Neer, Martinez takes top position. Martinez splits the guard and appears immune to Neer’s leg lock attempts. Time expires. Martinez is holding fort in OT with his body triangle wizardry, seamlessly switching the lockup on Neer’s attempts to change directions. Neer picks an armbar startup first as Martinez escapes relatively quickly. The second inning is more of the same, though Neer chooses to start from the back. Martinez appears to dominate the round in terms of riding time. In the third inning, armbar attempts by Neer fall short as Martinez capitalizes on his body triangle proficiency to take the match by riding time.
Felipe Fogolin
vs.
Kyle Chambers
A single-leg by Fogolin is countered by Chamber’s kimura leading him to top position, looking to lock up the legs but gaining the pass in the process. Chamber’s holds tight in twister side control, looks to roll for the truck but is reversed by Fogolin. Fogolin looks to calf slice but is neutralized by strikes from Chambers. Continuing to work the crab ride, Fogolin lands in the back mount and pulls his leg up to the body triangle. A near finish by Fogolin garners thunderous applause as Chambers holds his neck down, battling and getting out of the body triangle, spinning out. The two clinch and Chambers rolls for a leg lock, pulling open guard. A quick sweep by Chambers lands him in side mount. The two scramble to their feet after a sweep attempt by Fogolin. Chambers sits guard inviting the scrap. Fogolin approaches, eating a few straight shots from Chambers. Fogolin swings back and Chambers swims to a kneebar, the leg entanglement ensues as time expires. After escaping Fogolin’s back control, Chambers starts with an armbar lockup, a quick explosion by Fogolin seemingly gets him out, but Chambers spins through to a triangle transition. Fogolin is mounted in a triangle, hugging his leg for defense. An angle change and Chambers locks in a kimura, ending the match in the bottom of the first.
Gabriel Checco
Vs.
Jon Blank
Blank sits to a leg lock entanglement, looking to end the match quickly. Checco fights the hands well, fending off the heel hook finishing pressure. Blank turns belly down and manages to overcome the arm grabs, ending the match early.
SEMIFINALS
Dan Martinez
vs.
Matt Secor
A head grab and guard jump are performed by Martinez as he looks to lock up Secor’s shoulder to no avail. Martinez’s Z-guard holds steady as he enters a dogfight underhook position, but Secor neutralizes by standing up. The two are on their feet. And explosive double leg by Secor puts him in Martinez’s closed guard. Secor holds him down making no major attempt to pass, his pressure makes transitions difficult for the usually dangerous closed guard of Martinez . After a few minutes, Martinez attempts a quick rubber guard transition, shut down by the pressure of Secor. Little action occurs as the two remain in closed guard, Secor not electing to take any risks as he deliberately keeps the action at a still pace. The match enters overtime. Martinez has the back first as he employs a body triangle early to maintain solid riding time. Secor takes the back, Martinez pins the bottom hook but Secor shoots the chin, locking it up. The foot pin is lost as the angle of the back attack changes, landing Secor in the perfect spot for a strangle and advancing him to the CJJ Welterweight finals.
Blank
Vs.
Chambers
Blank initiates a quick rear clinch, looks to body slam which is absorbed well by Chambers as he rolls into Z-guard . Blank looks for a heel hook as the two roll out of bounds. The action starts from the feet again as Chambers pulls a similar type of guard. Blank works to a reverse half guard pass, locking up a kimura and rolling for the kimura trap back take. Chambers scrambles to fight the hooks, Blank is able to take the back and pin one hand of Chambers. Blank uses his palm to cut off the air supply to Chambers’ mouth and nose, forcing Chambers to react and expose his neck. This is just the opportunity Blank needed to intercept the neck, the squeeze follows, ending a valiant all-around tournament effort by Chambers.
FINALS
Secor
Vs.
Blank
Blank pulls to full guard and breaks Secor’s posture, entering rubber guard. Blank clears the neck with the foot and transitions to omoplata as Secor rolls away, Blank attempts the omoplata sweep but Secor stands up out of it. Secor utilizes a foot sweep as he wraps Blank’s neck and looks to roll for a guillotine to anaconda transition, anticipated well by Blank as they stand back up. Secor works an underhook to enter a dogfight position, Blank uchimatas him to the mat and lands in half guard, slicing right to mount, wrapping the neck in the process. Blank adjusts his hands as he switches to a Marcelotine, falling into guard. The wrap is tight. The choke is cinched, the tap follows. The title goes to Blank.
10th Planet Bethlehem’s Jon Blank is the new EBI CJJ Welterweight Champion.
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