Judo and BJJ black belt Travis Stevens showed great Newaza and was able to win by holding down his opponent for 20 seconds to score an immediate victory by ippon.
In his third Olympics, Travis Stevens has a real chance to medal for the first time. The fifth seeded Stevens, won his first three matches during the preliminary rounds of the men’s 81kg tournament. During two of these matches the Judo and BJJ black belt was able to defeat his opponents with his superior ground game: Uzbekistan’s Shaxzod Sobirov and Bulgaria’s Ivaylo Ivanov.
The semi final will start at 2:30 p.m. ET. Stevens will face world No. 1 Avtandil Tchrikishvili of Georgia.