Middleweight tournament finalists
Mike Perez from Atos (silver) and Matheus Diniz from Marcelo Garcia (winner)
By Dan Rod
Kasai is quickly making its mark in professional Jiu Jitsu, with some New York flair and some of the best and upcoming athletes, the second edition of the event proved the tournament style, along with great superfights, makes for a great spectator sport – complete with beer and hot dogs!
The final of the tournament was an action-packed match between Matheus Diniz and Mike Perez. Diniz put on nonstop pressure on Perez, who was able to defend from a major submission, although not always able to stay on the mats – a couple of times the front row folk got more than sweat… In the end it was Diniz who walked away with the belt. When asked what he had done in order to prepare for the match, he recited Marcelo Garcia’s mantra – “Be always prepared – for any match, any time.”
In order to avoid the explosive agility of Renato Canuto, Eddie Cummings “sat” for most of the entire superfight. Every time Canuto tried to step in, Cummings would reply with a grab and attempt a submission. This led to Canuto keeping some distance, which ended up costing him a penalty. Although not entirely exciting to watch, in the end Cummings’ strategy worked, and he “sat” away with the win.
Right before this superfight, we were graced with a match for 3rd place in which the Australian Craig Jones was able to apply a quick and sneaky heel hook on rubbery Californian Richie Martinez, who used his rubber guard skills to eliminate Felipe Mota from the tournament with a beautiful armbar from his exquisite guard in a little over 2 minutes.
Richie’s brother, Geo, had a superfight with Nicky Ryan – a great back-and-forth of attempted ankle locks which ended in a 0-0 tie, later decided by the refs for Ryan. Martinez made sure to let all know he was not happy with the decision, and the New York crowd responded in kind.
In the first superfight of the night, we saw AJ Agazarm relentlessly attack Marcos Galvão’s heels. His insistence was rewarded at the 9-minute mark, when he finally sank it deep and got the tap from Galvão, who had the home crowd going for him the entire length of the match.
Below are the full results.
Undercard
Blue Belt 185 lbs. No Gi
Steven Ramos (Essential BJJ) def. Ryan Kenski (Vanguard Gym) via Points (19×0)
Purple Belt 160 lbs. No Gi
Juan Quispe (Renzo Gracie Brooklyn) def. James Haseman via Points (5×2)
Purple Belt 155 lbs. Gi
Caio Basso (Igor Gracie Academy) def. Andre Solano (Kioto BJJ) via Points (2×0)
Purple Belt 185 lbs. No Gi
Sergio Vilas (Renzo Gracie) def. Kevin Luzardo (Una BJJ) via Submission (Knee Bar at 4:26)
Brown Belt 160 lbs. Gi
Cameron Florczak (Renzo Gracie Ottawa) def. Jason Olcott (Kioto BJJ) via Submission (Bow and Arrow Choke at 1:18)
Brown Belt 145 lbs. No Gi
Frank Rosenthal (Renzo Gracie NY) def. Zach Maslany (10th Planet Jiu Jitsu) via Submission (Heel Hook)
135 lbs. No Gi
Mikael Yahaya (Absolute MMA) def. Tony Bergamo (Mushin MMA) via Points
180 Lbs. No Gi
Steven Kasten (10th Planet Jiu Jitsu) def. Chris Schlesinger (Soca BJJ) via Submission (Triangle Armbar at 1:44)
Black Belt 150 lbs. Gi
Alex Oliveira (A-Force BJJ) def. Thiago Britto (G13 BJJ) via Points (2×0)
Main Card
Middleweight Round Robin 185 lbs. Round 1
Craig Jones (Absolute MMA) def. Nick Calvanese (Tac Team BJJ) via Submission (Triangle Choke at 2:24)
Mike Perez (Atos Jiu Jitsu) def. Dante Leon (GF Team) via Submission (Heel Hook at 4:19)
Felipe Mota (Oxy RGA) def. Pierre-Olivier Leclerc (Tristar Gym) via Points (9×0)
Matheus Diniz (Alliance Marcelo Garcia) def. Richie Martinez (10th Planet Freaks) via Points (7×0)
Middleweight Round Robin 185 lbs. Round 2
Nick Calvanese (Tac Team BJJ) def. Mike Perez (Atos Jiu Jitsu) via Points (4×2)
Craig Jones (Absolute MMA) def. Dante Leon (GF Team) via Points (2×0)
Matheus Diniz (Alliance Marcelo Garcia) def. Felipe Mota (Oxy RGA) via Points (2×0)
Pierre-Olivier Leclerc (Tristar Gym) tied Richie Martinez (10th Planet Freaks) (0x0)
Middleweight Round Robin 185 lbs. Round 3
Dante Leon (GF Team) def. Nick Calvanese (Tac Team BJJ) via Submission (RNC at 1:19)
Mike Perez (Atos Jiu Jitsu) def. Craig Jones (Absolute MMA) via Points (3×2)
Richie Martinez (10th Planet Freaks) def. Felipe Mota (Oxy RGA) via Submission (Armbar at 2:39)
Matheus Diniz (Alliance Marcelo Garcia) def. Pierre-Olivier Leclerc (Tristar Gym) via Submission (Choke at 3:19)
Bronze Match
Craig Jones(Absolute MMA) def. Richie Martinez (10th Planet Freaks) via Submission (Heel Hook at 1:18)
Final
Matheus Diniz (Alliance Marcelo Garcia) def. Mike Perez (Atos Jiu Jitsu) via Points (2×0)
Superfights
AJ Agazarm (Gracie Barra) def. Marcos Galvao (Vitor Shaolin BJJ) via Submission (Heel Hook at 9:03)
Nicky Ryan (Renzo Gracie NY) def. Geo Martinez (10th Planet Freaks) via Decision (Unanimous)
Eddie Cummings (Renzo Gracie NY) def. Renato Canuto (Checkmat International) via Points (1×0)