This weekend, June 27 (Saturday), Third Coast Grappling will present its first Summer event, and their 3rd show this month, which will follow the Kumite style format of the 2 previous ones, albeit, this being a no-gi event.
The event will be broadcast through FloGrappling and will feature an 8 man no-gi tournament, the aforementioned Kumite, which is set under 180lbs with a $10,000 winner takes all cash prize. The 3rd Kumite will continue to feature also, grapplers who have been active over the course of these past 6 weeks since professional jiu-jitsu made its return from COVID19’s enforced break. Names such as Tye Ruotolo, Roberto Jimenez, John Combs, Johnny Tama, Pedro Marinho, Kody Steele, etc.
Below is a short description of what to expect from the ¼ finals matches on the 3rd Coast Grappling Kumite III and super-fights.
– Tye Ruotolo X Roberto Jimenez
Roberto has hit the post (soccer term) twice this month, placing 2nd at 3CG’s first Kumite (gi) and Jitz King’s no-gi tournament, so expect him to come extra motivated for this one. Ahead of Jimenez is the mega-talented Tye Ruotolo, a teenage brown belt phenom.
We can never count Tye out, as he has proven to be extremely resilient on plenty of occasions, yet, it is safe to say Jimenez will have the size, power, speed, and experience advantage here, particularly on the size and speed, and not by a small margin.
Both athletes are known for their relentless pace, though Ruotolo being more measured and strategic than Roberto. Expect this to be a scrambly affair.
– Pedro Marinho X Pierre-Olivier Leclerc
We know little of Pierre-Olivier. He is a young representative of the TriStar MMA gym, who trains regularly with John Danaher at the famous Blue Basement. Although “just” a purple belt, Leclerc is game tested. We’ve seen him at the Kasai Pro and at the IBJJF Pans last year in the no-gi category, which he won.
One of the key weapons of Pierre-Olivier might very well be the element of surprise against Pedro Marinho – arguably the #2 seed of the tournament. Marinho is coming from very positive performances on the pro-circuit these past few weeks. If on a good day, Pedro could very well take gold, as seen at Jitz King.
The “old” guard versus the new. Both athletes play similar styles, favoring no-gi, and the top position, their differences lie in the smaller details. Vagner is prone to use “brute” jiu-jitsu to get into his opponents’ heads, being heavy-handed on the collar ties and well known for his muffler (hand on the mouth) control. But his jiu-jitsu is not prone to scrambles, preferring a more methodical, slow pressure type game.
Kody is very different in his path to victory. Equally top game heavy, Steele does enjoy a scramble and a frenetic rhythm when grappling. This is a very even match, though the experience is heavily on Vagner’s side. Whoever establishes top control will likely come out with his hand raised.
Potential match of the night here, as both these men love a good scrap. John has a devastating guillotine, so do not expect Tama to shoot in on Combs’ legs, which means: Expect a guard pull.
Tama is very aggressive from his back playing dangerously from X, while Combs has a very solid flow style from the top. A perfect style clash for the fans. We do not expect any of these men to stall as it is not in their DNA, also, expect fun scrambles and likely a submission.
– Andressa Cintra X Maggie Grindatti
We are unsure if this is a gi or a no-gi match, but regardless, we have the reigning black belt world champ (Cintra) versus current brown belt world champ (Grindatti – now promoted to black belt). This is a very fun clash, Maggie will likely have an advantage in athleticism and speed, Andressa, on the other hand, has more experience and has beaten better opponents at the highest level. We would give a slight edge to Cintra here, but this is a very even clash.
We do go on about style clashes with frequency, but this one is as clear of a style clash as jiu-jitsu has to offer. Valente is one of the savviest guard players in the world today, currently holding a silver medal at the IBJJF World Championships. Pedro, on the other hand, is a former freestyle wrestler who plays almost exclusively from a top position.
Both very tactical and proficient in their fields, and both with a finish rate above the 60% mark in their careers as black belts, we might very well see a submission finish here.
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