Izaak Michell became the Season 1 “Who’s Next” champion when he submitted Kyle Chambers after more than two hours of grappling.
On Thursday, July 14, Izaak Michell and Kyle Chambers battled in a no-time limit match for the inaugural “Who’s Next” title. The match was the culmination of FloGrappling’s new competition reality show “Who’s Next;” both Michell and Chambers defeated three opponents on the show to earn their spot in the final.
Michell found dominant position early, moving to a body triangle on Chambers’ back just three minutes in the match. Michell attacked steadily, but Chambers defended and was eventually able to escape the position about six minutes later. Again Chambers would escape, and the pattern would repeat itself several more times with Michell generally dominating the positional battle, alternating between mount and back control. For his part, Chambers conserved energy, tightly defended his neck, and used efficient escapes to avoid submission danger.
One of the most dramatic moments happened at 49 minutes in, when Michell launched an attack from an inverted triangle, threatening both a choke and arm attacks. Chambers escaped the position and immediately went on the offensive, slamming Michell to the mat.
From there, the match continued into a predictable pattern of Michell attacking from dominant position while Chambers defended.
At 98 minutes, Chambers attacked a deep triangle choke, the closest submission attempt up to that point. Moments later, the match was paused so that Gordon Ryan and Pedro Marinho could hold their match for the vacant WNO heavyweight title.
The finish came nearly 30 minutes later. With Michell attacking from mount, Chambers attempted to escape, leaving his arm behind for Michell to secure a belly-down armbar, concluding the two-hour-plus contest.
WNO: Who’s Next Finale results and highlights:
Main card
- Gordon Ryan def. Pedro Marinho (for heavyweight tile) via rear-naked choke
- Nicholas Meregali def. Breylor Grout via arm triangle
- Andrew Tackett def. Rene Sousa via rear-naked choke
- Giancarlo Bodoni def. Jacob Rodriguez via unanimous decision
Preliminary card
- Mike Rakshan def. Spencer Fossier via camel crush
- Daniel Manasoiu def. Tristan Overvig via inside heel hook
- Max Hanson def. Fabian Ramirez via split decision
The post WNO results: Izaak Michell submits Kyle Chambers after 2 hours to win ‘Who’s Next’ appeared first on Grappling Insider.
The post WNO results: Izaak Michell submits Kyle Chambers after 2 hours to win ‘Who’s Next’ appeared first on Grappling Insider.