Post-lock-down tournament type cards have been heavy on recycling the few competitors willing to travel and compete in the current climate. This re-use of the same names seemed to have somewhat saturated the submission grappling audience, but in came Third Coast Grappling with a few new, yet well-known faces.
Names such as Guilherme Augusto, Roberto Cyborg, Arnaldo Maidana, and Nicky Rod have joined the party in this 4th edition of 3CG’s Kumite tournament, the second of the series in no-gi rules. Below is a short description of who each of these Kumite athletes are and what to expect.
Event Date: JULY 11, 2020
Broadcast: Flograppling
NICK RODRIGUEZ
Team: Renzo Gracie Academy
A strong candidate to reach the final is Rodriguez. The New Jersey native is very elusive and hard to score on, with great scrambles and incredible speed for a man of his size. Nicky will face, arguably, his toughest style-match in round one, against Roberto Jimenez.
Stylewise Jimenez is a dangerous challenger for Rodriguez, being also a fan of the scramble, though technically more evolved in the range of games at his disposal. Rodriguez will have a big power advantage.
If he advances over Roberto, he will likely face Cyborg in the semis, a man he has beaten in the past.
ROBERTO JIMENEZ
Team: Studio 76
A jiu-jitsu prodigy, the 20-year-old has competed nearly every weekend since the jiu-jitsu pro circuit re-opened. Gi, no-gi, submission-only, points, if the mat is open, Roberto will be there. This attitude will likely give Jimenez an edge when the amateur circuit re-opens.
On the horizon for Roberto is also the possibility of a rematch with Lucas Barbosa, who is the favorite on the other bracket. First, however, Jimenez will have to go through men much larger than himself.
With a severe experience and size disadvantage, it is hard for us to point to Jimenez as a heavy favorite here, yet, he absolutely has the talent to take this considering how much he has evolved in recent times and the rhythm he will bring to the mats on game-day.
ROBERTO “CYBORG” ABREU
Team: Fight Sports
Still holding strong at 39 years of age is former ADCC open weight champion, and Fight Sports team founder/leader, Roberto Abreu.
Solid wrestling, incredible guard defense/offense, power in droves, and experience at the highest level, that is who Cyborg’s opponents will face this weekend. Cyborg may not be as quick as he used to be, but speed was never a crucial part of his game. He remains a solid challenger to any event he sets his mind to, and we are sure he would love nothing more than to roll back his past loss to Nicky Rod, so expect a very motivated competitor in Roberto.
ARNALDO MAIDANA
Team: Checkmat
A very solid competitor, Maidana has put himself through the gauntlet, competing in every show that would allow him in. Submission-Only, ACB rules, IBJJF rules, FIVE Grappling rules, and now 3CG. He comes in with a wealth of tournament knowledge, though his record has been mixed as of late, being 5-5 in his previous 10 matches.
FELLIPE ANDREW
Team: Zenith
One of the most talented jiu-jitsu players in the sport, when Andrew is on, he is a force to be reckoned with. His berserker style has also cost him a few wins, as his willingness to trade submission for submission has resulted in almost 100% of his losses to come via submission.
LUCAS “HULK” BARBOSA
Team: Atos
Most of these men are able to take the grand prize, yet, considering his recent form, expect Hulk to be leading the pack in terms of favoritism. Very hard to take down, a masterful pressure passer who has worked hard also on his submission ratio as of late, Lucas is a force here and may very well be “the man to beat”.
GABRIEL ALMEIDA
Team: Checkmat
A late replacement for the injured Johnny Tama, Almeida will be the smallest athlete in this roster, yet he is also one of the fastest and a great scrambler. If given room to work, Almeida will overcome his size disadvantage with speed and stamina.
Almeida is also very complete, with good leg-locks, solid pressure passing, and a well respected Single-X guard. He has wins over a few people on this roster, including Lucas Hulk, by submission.
GUILHERME AUGUSTO
Team: Alliance
Although a huge talent, Guilherme often does not get enough recognition for what he’s accomplished in this game. The Alliance standout is as high-level as you can get in this sport with three medals in the IBJJF World Championships in the adult black belt division and a two-time black belt Brazilian Nationals champion.
Well rounded with a solid pressure passing game and a crafty guard, Augusto is not known for his no-gi game. In fact, we remember ever seeing him shed his gi. This could be a massive handicap to overcome, yet, he is no stranger to a challenge.
The Kumite event will also feature two super fights and an exhibition bout as displayed below.
– Gordon Ryan vs Brian Martin (special charity exhibition match)
– Maggie Grindatti vs Vedha Toscano
– Mona Bailey vs Natalia Santoro
