NOVEMBER 16, 2019, Beverly, Massachusetts – USA saw the first edition of the BJJ Fanatics Grand Prix event, a submission-only invitational tournament that gathered some of the top athletes in the world today, including members of the Danaher Death Squad, Atos HQ, 10th Planet, Fight Sports, Checkmat, Gracie Barra and more.
With the amount of talent on the mats tonight, there was plenty of room for a number of dream match-ups. One of the most anticipated was that of footlock magicians Quentin Rosenzweig (10th Planet) and Jason Rau (Serra BJJ), who are regarded as among the very best single-game specialists in the game. The match did not disappoint, with Quentin sticking to his game of utter aggression and submission-chain grappling. Unfortunately for the 10P athlete, Rau defended well and as soon as Rosenzweig exposed a limb of his own, Jason grabbed it and forced the tap. Quick but exciting match.
Another highly anticipated clash was that of Lucas “Hulk” Barbosa and Nicky Rodriguez. Hulk pulled guard early, an unusual tactic for him but very reasonable given Rodriguez’s takedown prowess. From the guard, Barbosa went straight to business, trying to submit and sweep the big man from New Jersey. Rodriguez played his traditional snap downs and push and pull tactics, but never truly attempted to pull the trigger with his passing. In the end, Hulk would take the win in the overtime rounds by quickest escape.
There were plenty of great matches on the card, but if we were hard-pressed to choose one, that would go to teenage rising star William Tacket versus Tex Johnson. Severely outsized the young Checkmat athlete put Tex through a real war, one largely won by Tackett if it were a points match. Several guard passes and mount positions stabilized by the young athlete, but he could not finish. Johnson was also dangerous with his leg entries and managed to take the match to overtime from William.
THE FINAL MATCH
The final was set between the most recent of 1oth Planet black belts, Mr. Kyle Boehm (click here for profile), and Atos standout Lucas Barbosa, both being equally dominant in their respective brackets. Lucas and Kyle appeared to be exhausted by the time they hit the final, but still, tried their best with a couple of good exchanges in regulation. Barbosa’s strategy appeared to be: trying and pass Kyle’s guard and be the aggressor, while Boehm played a counter-attacking game.
Neither was successful at achieving the submission and he overtime quicked in. Going into overtime rounds played right into Boehm’s “A game”, the top overtime specialist on the tournament.
The overtime ended up being pretty exciting with both athletes doing well with very close ride times going into the 3rd round, having everyone at the edge of their seats, but it was Kyle Boehm who took the win with the fastest escape/longest riding time.
Round 1:
– Kyle Boehm def. Valdir BB Monster by inside heel hook
– Nick Rodriguez def. Victor Silverio by EBI overtime R1 (RNC)
– Joey Baize def. Corey Guitard by outside heel hook
– Lucas Barbosa def. Khalil Fadallah by armbar
– Jason Rau def. Quentin Rosensweig by straight ankle lock
– Mike Mucitelli def. Yosof Wanly by outside heel hook
– Nick Fiore def. Garret Lavaggi by EBI overtime R1 (RNC)
– Jonnatas Gracie def. John Combs EBI overtime R2 (RNC)
– Willam Tacket def. Harry Gretch by calf-slicer
– Kody Steele def. Rodrigo Alonso by RNC
– Tex Johnson def. Keith Kirkorian by EBI overtime R1 (armbar)
Round 2:
– Kyle Boehm def. Jordan Lutzky by outside heel hook
– Lucas Barbosa def. Nick Rodriguez by EBI overtime (ride-time)
– Jason Rau def. Joey Baize by footlock
– Jonnatas Gracie def. Mike Mucitelli by arm-in guillotine
– Willam Tacket def. Nick Fiore by EBI overtime R1 (RNC)
– Kody Steele def. Lucas Wilhan by EBI overtime R1 (RNC)
– Tex Johnson def. William Vincent by straight ankle lock
– Jesseray Childrey def. Lucas Valle by footlock
1/4 Finals:
– Kyle Boehm def. Jason Rau by EBI overtime (ride-time)
– Kody Steele def. Jonnatas Gracie by EBI overtime R1 (RNC)
– Lucas Barbosa def. Jesseray Childrey by katagatame
– Tex Johnson def. Willam Tacket by EBI overtime R1 (armbar)
Semi-Final:
– Lucas Barbosa def. Kody Steele by straight armlock
– Kyle Boehm def. Tex Johnson by EBI overtime R1 (RNC)
Final:
– Kyle Boehm def. Lucas Barbosa by EBI overtime (ride-time)
