Author: tylerb

Five Grappling Super League 8-Man Light Heavyweight Preview

By David Figueroa-Martinez
On Saturday, March 11th, Five Grappling will be hosting Five Super League Light Heavyweight Pro Invitation in San Diego. It’s going to be an evening of action-packed grappling spanning the gamut of blue to black belts. Aside from the main tournament, the card itself is packed with fifteen undercard bouts and five super fights with noticeable appearances by Baret Yoshida, Sean Roberts, Bia Mesquita, Richie Martinez, Jena Bishop, Tammi Musumeci, and Magid Hage just to name a few.
The highlight of the night being the eight-man super tournament consisting of some of the best light heavyweight practitioners in the world. While the first round draw has yet to be determined, and may not happen until Friday evening, it’s safe to say that the seating will be a healthy indicator of who is expected to succeed. On paper at least. 
While some of these names may not stand out to some of you, as not all of us watch competitions religiously, this rundown should help you familiarize yourself with the participants involved. I’ll be going over some of their backgrounds and accomplishments, ultimately giving you who I believe will pull it out (Then, I suppose I’ll also let Tyler hop in with his opinion as well).  

Who’s competing in the Five Grappling tournament?

Barring any last minute scratches due to injury or illness, the competitors are as follows:

• Lucas “The Hulk” Babosa, ATOS
• Tanner Rice, Soul Fighters
• Joao Assis, Checkmat
• Eliot Kelly, Yemaso
• Nick Schrock, Riberio Jiu-Jitsu
• Ezra Lenon, Cavalo Team
• Tarsis Humphreys, Alliance Jiu-Jitsu
• Leandro Lo, NS Brotherhood

Preview of competitors

Lucas “The Hulk” Barbosa

Barbosa is a relatively new black belt, being promoted by Andre Fabiano back in 2015. While he has yet to garner a world title at black belt he was an Abu Dhabi World Pro Trials Champion and Copa Podio Superfight winner. At brown belt he collected world championships in both Gi and No-Gi respectively. It’s going to be interesting to see how his pressure passing will measure up against the rest of the field.
He does have two losses against fellow tournament competitor Tanner Rice and two wins over Ezra Lenon on his record. I believe the layout of the brackets will be a factor for Barbosa’s success. Can he make the adjustments necessary to win if he gets paired up with Rice at some point?

Tanner Rice

At brown belt, Rice won an IBJJF World Championship and also procured bronze at Pans. Most recently, he was the runner-up at the IBJJF European Open. As stated before, Tanner has two wins over Lucas Barbosa but an armbar loss to Leandro Lo in the finals at Europeans.
There is no shame is losing to one of the greatest of our generation, but will he be able to find the needed adjustments for a possible rematch against Lo?

Joao Asis

Assis earned his black belt from Leonardo Vieira in 2009 and has fought the who’s who of the Jiu-Jitsu world. He has notable wins over the likes of Bill Cooper, Clark Gracie, Bernardo Faria, and Dean Lister to name a few.
His extensive grappling experience both in Jiu-Jitsu and what he picked up working with Team Quest MMA make him a formidable opponent for anyone in this tournament. He is a veteran of this group and will be counting on his experience to carry him to victory.

Eliot Kelly

After receiving his black belt from Marcos “Yemosa” Torregrosa, Kelly has amassed three Masters World medals over the years. As an avid wrestling competitor, Kelly has been able to successfully implement his freestyle techniques into his Jiu-Jitsu, cultivating a solid pressure passing base.
I’m looking forward to seeing how his aggressive approach will play out against the field.

Nick “Moose” Schrock

Nick is more commonly referred to as Moose (or Goose by some). He is world champion in both gi and no gi at the lower belts. Most recently, Nick captured weight and open weight titles at the Long Beach Open.
Still new to black belt, Nick is the kind of guy that is developing on a weekly basis. He is a dark horse for the tournament if he brings his best. He actually has some experience against the field in this tournament as well.
Nick has a victory over Tanner Rice and past losses to Eliot Kelly, Lucas Barbosa, and Eliot Kelly. It will be an uphill battle for Moose, but as we saw with John Combs in the last 5 tournament, the new, hungry black belts can often offer the greatest threat.

Ezra Lenon

Ezra is a no gi Pan champion that boasts victories over notable figures such as; Pablo Popovitch, Jeff Glover, Abmar Barbosa, and Jared Dopp. He is an often underrated figure in the grappling world. A multi-time ADCC veteran, Lenon is known for his half guard and effective leglock game.
Ezra may be quietly one of the most dangerous guys in the tournament; as he has very few holes in his grappling style and is one of the most veteran black belts of the group.

Tarsis Humphreys

The Fabio Gurgel black belt was the first man to receive all his belt promotions under the famed four time World Champion. Humphreys himself has won the European Open, World Championship, and most recently The Los Angeles Bjj Pro Championship last year. His well-rounded game should play well against the other competitors.

Leandro Lo

Leandro Lo is probably the runaway favorite in this bracket. He’s a four time Pan American Champion, multiple weight Copa Podio Champion, multiple time Abu Dhabi World Pro Champion, and a World League Pro World Champion. Lo most recently was at the top of the podium at Europeans this year in both his weight class and in the absolute division.
With wins over Zack Maxwell, JT Torres, DJ Jackson, Clark Gracie, Victor Estima, Keenan Cornelius, and Andre Galvao, it’s extremely hard to bet against him.

Final predictions…

David: Personally, I think that Leandro Lo wins this tournament, but would love to know who you believe will come away with it. 
Tyler: I was right in my pick last time. I think the rules make a world of difference. Lo has not traditionally been known as a submission fighter, and with these 6-minute matches, I could see him being upset in the tournament. I like Nick Schrock and Tanner Rice in this format a lot. Both are underdogs, but I think both have styles built to upset the bracket.

You tell us…

Do you see any upsets brewing? Please let us know and comment or share with your pick on social media.

Gabriel Arges Jiu Jitsu Breakdown & Stats

Notable stats from our jiu jitsu study and breakdown of Gabriel Arges…

• 91% win rate
• 45% of his wins were by submission
• Finished 4 different kinds of submissions
• 6 Different types of sweeps were used
• 80% of passes occurred from standing
• 50% of sweeps were from De la Riva
• Scored first in 8 of 11 wins

Who Would Have Great MMA Jiu Jitsu

With the recent rise and continued success of Jacare Souza and Demian Maia, it begs the question, who will be the next great BJJ competitor to transition successfully to MMA. MMA jiu jitsu is known for being different from traditional sport jiu jitsu, and many great competitors have failed to make the transition successfully.

Even both Souza and Maia struggled early in their careers before ascending to the top of their respective UFC divisions. Other sport greats like Marcelo Garcia and Andrew Galvao have tried their hand at MMA only to return to BJJ; due to a lack of passion for MMA alone.
It takes a special breed of jiu jitsu fighter to make the transition easily. Gone are the days of the Gracies dominating opponents with their superior knowledge. So what up and comers make the list?

Fuji ActiveMove Sauna Suit Review

Through our relationship with Fuji, we have the chance to try out a lot of their new products before they spread across the market. When Fuji released their ActiveMove sauna suit a few months ago, initially, I wasn’t overly excited.

I don’t regularly need a sauna suit, and when I do, hoodies, trash bags, etc. seem to do the trick, right? I guess sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know.
I was actually asked to take the suit for a test run for a spotlight in Jiu Jitsu Magazine that came out about a month ago (you can get a copy of that here). Here were my thoughts…

Mixing Modern BJJ With Old School Jiu Jitsu

Tyler and Jena Bishop rolling after class at Gracie Humaita HQ; where they teach and train every day. The Bishop’s try to mix modern jiu jitsu concepts with old school techniques.
People always ask, do The Bishop’s train together? How do those matches go?

• Tyler: We scrap all the time. We have no ego with each other and always try to push one another to be better. I’m always trying to find ways to trick her.

Competing In & Training Jiu Jitsu With A Torn ACL

I recently started another blog called, injuryhealthblog.com, it is going to be my new place to house injury-related and health optimization content; however, I have been dealing with an experience for the past several months (honestly, years) that I think is much more appropriate for BishopBjj.com. That experience is training Jiu Jitsu with a torn ACL (anterior cruciate ligament).
Below, I’ll tell you about my first ACL injury and subsequent surgery, my second ACL injury, and my experiences training jiu jitsu and competing in sporting activities without an ACL.

Predictions for Jiu Jitsu Trends 2017

I watched, competed in, or did the live broadcast for just about every major Brazilian Jiu Jitsu event in 2016. It may have been one of the most progressive years in jiu jitsu history, and looking back, there were a lot of unprecedented things that happened that will likely shape the future of our martial art for years to come. Ultimately, it paints a very vivid picture for jiu jitsu trends I believe we will see in 2017.

It’s Science: Josh Hinger Jiu Jitsu Breakdown

Abstract: All matches observed of Josh Hinger used in this small sample occurred at major jiu jitsu events in the years 2012-2016. Only techniques, occurrences and outcomes that were recorded are displayed in the data below (i.e. if no butterfly sweeps occurred, there will not be a representation of that in the sample data charts). Matches were selected at random. This is a limited sample – but given the estimated amount of matches in this time period – it is well above the percentage necessary to create a scientifically validated trend sampling.

Notable Jiu Jitsu Study Stats

• 91% win rate
• Scored first in 83% of matches
• Secured takedown in 41% of matches
• Average match length was approximately 6:38
• 50% of passes originated from half-guard or half butterfly guard
• 50% of his submission wins were by triangle

The Breakdown:

Josh Hinger took the no gi scene by storm earlier this year by securing his first IBJJF no gi world title at black belt at the No Gi World Championship. In his tear through the tournament, he was able to overcome several of the biggest names in submission grappling. In our breakdown of this Atos standout, we got to see exactly what makes him such a special grappler

Josh Hinger Study:

In a lot of ways, Josh Hinger is outside the box. He is often the elder statesman in many of the adult divisions, he embraces diversity in his attacks, and thrives in the chaos of a match. He is the definition of a grinder – in both the meta and macro game.
An example of the tremendous diversity we saw in Hinger’s game is exemplified in the start of his matches. In 50% of his matches, his opponent eventually pulled guard on him. In the other 50%, he mixed together an unpredictable firestorm of different takedowns. Of all the competitors we’ve ever studied, Hinger showed more diversity in his stand-up game than any other; ultimately showcasing 5 completely different techniques.
In our observations, Hinger was not afraid to color outside the lines in his approach. In approximately 38% of his guard passes, he went straight to mount. In another 38% of his passes, he attacked kimuras or pressured the head and arm enough to pass in a way that I’m ashamed to admit that I did not fully-understand. It actually was difficult for me to categorize many of his different passes; as they fall outside the categories that we’ve used for dozens of other competitors. Again, this is an example of Hinger sort of dancing to the beat of his own drum.
Hinger is the first subject we’ve ever studied that did not record a single sweep in any of the matches we observed. This is even more puzzling once you consider that Hinger secured approximately 33% of his submissions in the study from the bottom position.
I would describe Hinger as a freestyle submission specialist. His diversity often put him in position for very unique and unorthodox submissions. This would often see him snatching submissions very quickly when transferring into new positions against his opponent. Surprisingly, 50% of these submisisons were triangles. I say surprisingly because the rest were a mix of leg locks, arm locks, and monoplata armbars. Again, it’s his diversity and ability to thrive in quick transitions that made him such a threat to opponents.
Ultimately, Hinger was a really fun competitor to study. He was one of the first I’ve observed that I can fully-admit that I had trouble breaking down. His game just had so much fluidity in it that it made it hard for me to understand some of the nuances of his techniques. I can imagine him being a very difficult opponent to prepare for because he has so many different tools to attack with.
It will be interesting to see what we see next from Hinger. He’s proven that he has the ability and prowess to stick around and make waves in his division for years to come.

Five Grappling Super League 8-Man Tournament Preview

On Saturday, December 3rd, eight of the toughest light and middleweight grapplers on planet earth will do battle in a unique and unprecedented format. Five Grappling is back and will play host to this powerful gathering of competitors. While there are other matches on the card, the big draw for the event is the 8-man super-bracket.
I will be there live calling the action and wanted to do my best to preview this exciting event. The first round match-up’s for the tournament have yet to be decided. The event organizers will be doing the brackets by random draw starting Friday night.
While the brackets could end up being key for determining a winner, there are some clear favorites heading into the tournament. Below, I’ll highlight those favorites, give you some predictions, and provide the underdog paths to victory.

Fernando Terere Stats

Full story in the next issue of Jiu Jitsu Style Magazine.

Stats Breakdown

All matches observed of Fernando Terere used in this small sample occurred at major jiu jitsu events in the years 2001-2016. Only techniques, occurrences and outcomes that were recorded are displayed in the data below (i.e. if no butterfly sweeps occurred, there will not be a representation of that in the sample data charts). Matches were selected at random based on freely available matches.