Josh Hinger Wins Double Gold In Master 2 Division At Master Worlds

18 Dec, 2020

Josh Hinger will be going home with some serious hardware after his performance at Master Worlds.

Hinger celebrated the achievement as breaking “the curse of the silver medal,” referring to his significant collection of second-place finishes at the prestigious tournament. He reached the top of the podium in both the medium-heavyweight division and the open class, getting no points scored against him and achieving three submissions in his seven matches on his way there.

“Today was a good day. Finally broke the curse of the silver medal at Master Worlds. I think I have 5 silver medals and a few bronzes from the past 5 years competing at this tournament. It’s a tricky tournament with very short time to work against guys with years and years of experience. Anyone who’s ever competed here knows that it’s a place where you can’t make a single mistake. One mistake and you’re likely done because there just isn’t enough time to get it back. Luckily today I didn’t make any mistakes.”

In the medium-heavyweight final against Fabio Trindade, Hinger put the first points on the board with a takedown. He then passed his opponent’s half-guard to get to mount, transitioning to a tight armbar that got him the tap in just over a minute.

Hinger’s match against Rafael Barbosa in the open weight final went the distance, but was nevertheless a resounding victory for the double-champ. He passed Barbosa’s guard straight to mount early on to get the 7-0 lead that he maintained until the end of the match. Though Barbosa was able to reguard, he was unable to score any points against the dominant Hinger.