JULY 18, 2021, HOUSTON, TEXAS, USA, this weekend saw Fight 2 Win return to the state of Texas for another exciting night of professional grappling. Widely known as one of the longest-running martial arts shows on American soil, the promotion featured an exciting main event between former IBJJF World Champion Rafael Lovato Junior and former Brazilian National Champion Alexandro Ceconi.
Also on the menu were interesting “old guard” clashes such as Bernardo Pitel versus Carlos Catala or “new school versus old school” type fights like Pedro Marinho‘s war with ADCC veteran Davi Ramos.
MATCH OF THE NIGHT
Not often do we see a MOTN mentions going to the main event as these tend to be too evenly matched to provide high levels of entertainment, but there are exceptions in any rule. Although Rafael Lovato Jr. and Alexandro Ceconi proved to be just as evenly matched as we would expect, and despite both being Masters division athletes, this truly was a spectacular clash. Submission attempts, throws, sweeps, passes, etc. These veterans did not stop moving throughout the bout, a testament to how hard they still work on the mats every day.
Closely behind in entertainment value was another Masters clash, that of Bernardo Pitel and Carlos Catala. A relentless pace was set by these two men. But luckily for the fans, the excitement did not stop with these 2 contests. Marinho x Ramos was equally fiery, Maria Malyjasiak’s short but entertaining battle with Kendall Reusing was a very enjoyable also, as were plenty more on the card.
SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT
A star on the rise is Gracie Barra’s José Bruno Matias. Competing with the gi, Matias had a fantastic night at F2W, dominating Kristopher Bickham and ending the match with a beautiful cachecol choke (scarf choke), using his own lapel around his opponent’s neck. Beautiful work.
THE PRODIGAL SON RETURNS
Once hailed as the next big thing out of the Gracie Barra camp, Pedro Araújo never truly got his competitive career going after earning his black belt back in 2016, opting to focus on his work as an instructor. This weekend, Araújo returned in a hard-fought battle with Nonso Ebede. A very worthy opponent that pushed Pedro to the fullest. This was a solid and victorious performance by Pedro, who we hope to see more of in the near future.
BLACK BELT MATCHES
– Rafael Lovato Jr def Alexandro Ceconi via decision
– Maria Malyjasiak def Kendall Reusing via Toe Hold
– Bernardo Pitel def Carlos Catala via Choke
– Pedro Marinho def Davi Ramos via decision
– Jose Llanas def Joshua Sharpless via decision
– Davin Ordinario def Mohammed Magharef via decision
– Arthur Atencio def Robert Ezzell via decision
– Bruno Matias def Kristopher Bickham via Cachecol choke
– Robert Yamashita def Shawn via Choke
– Edgar Christian Benitez def Jared Chafee via Choke
– Jarrah Alhazzaa def Dustin Ordinario via decision
– Pedro Araujo def Nonso Ebede via decision
– Vinicius Borba Zani def Randy Baker via decision
– Arian De melo def Michael Esquivel II via decision
– Joel Heinen def Caio Nucci via decision
BROWN BELTS MATCHES
– Dan Dykeman def Benjamin Leal via decision
– David Albarracin def Randall Goodson via Choke
– Brian Brunham def Anthony Fitzgerald via decision
– Cristian Guzman -def Alexander Torres via decision
– Felipe Costa def Andy Van Hook via Choke
