JULY 31, 2022, AUSTIN, TX, USA, the Lone Star State was once again the center of no-gi jiu-jitsu, a trend that started during the COVID pandemic and has kept on pushing forward through organizations like Enigma Jiu-Jitsu.
In many ways, the Texas grappling scene is becoming for no-gi jiu-jitsu, what the São Paulo competitive circuit became for gi competitors for many years, a booming environment filled with “smaller” professional events that spawned from the lack of investment from the big amateur federations (IBJJF and AJP) in the sport at a crucial time when demand was high. This thriving environment has greatly benefited the athletes and spectators and is showing no signs of slowing down so far, quite the contrary.
The Enigma Invitational, in particular, is now on its 8th event and is clearly one of the market’s leaders given the star quality they have managed to bring forward this weekend alone. IBJJF World medalists, ADCC Trials champions, ADCC World Championships veterans, and more were on full display at the latest event produced by the Austin-based organization.
Taking place at the V.O.W. BJJ Academy in Austin, the Enigma Open Weight Tournament saw New Wave’s Giancarlo Bodoni come out with the grand prize after he overcame steep opposition in every round, with all his wins coming via submission. An excellent test ahead of the ADCC World Championships, which will take place 1.5 months from now.
Equally interesting was Oliver Taza’s clash with Hunter Colvin, one of the rising stars of no-gi in America. Hunter is traditionally a heavyweight while Taza often competes in the middleweight division. This time, however, the two studs met at 88-kg under the ADCC ruleset with the match being one of the best of the night. A clash won by Taza via points.
Also on the mats was the latest B-Team addition, Mr. Kenta Iwamoto fresh off his ADCC Trials win in Australia. Iwamoto is not particularly well-known outside of Japan, having mostly trained under Shinya Aoki in the past. At Enigma, Kenta met the well-known Hindutine specialist from 10th Planet, Ben Eddy, whom Iwamoto dominated from a passing position, taking the win via points. Below are the full results from last night’s event.
SUPERFIGHTS
– Kenta Iwamoto def. Ben Eddy – Points
– Oliver Taza def. Hunter Colvin – Points
– Nick Ortiz def. JT Little – RNC
– Matheus Frota def. Malik Belhaj – Points
– Abraham La Montagne def. Timothy Cundiff – RNC
– Joe Cox def. Ricky Peoples – Darce Choke
– Philippe Caron def. Landon Elmore – Heel Hook
– Henrique Camargo def. Alpha Kabine Kaba – Ankle Lock
– Liam Crelinsten def. Noah Eledge – Heel Hook
OPEN WEIGHT TOURNAMENT
Quarter-finals:
– Bruno Matias def. Zach Shoemaker – Guillotine
– Joshua Richards def. Moises Cavazos – Heel Hook
– Joe Dierkhising def. Kemoy Anderson – Darce Choke
– Giancarlo Bodoni def. JB Bechtloff – Triangle
Semi-finals:
– Bruno Matias def. Joshua Richards – RNC
– Giancarlo Bodoni def. Joe Dierkhising– Guillotine
Final
– Giancarlo Bodoni def. Bruno Matias – Smother Choke
