JANUARY 28, 2024, ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA, USA, held an interesting new Quintet style Team x Team project in the world of submission grappling (find out more on the ruleset here). The plot twist here was that this was not a competition between jiu-jitsu teams/academies or brands (as seen in AIGA), the Battle Of The Promotions put up a challenge between 4 North American Submission Grappling promotions.
The challenge was set between well-known submission-only promotions, namely Enigma, Sapateiro, Midwest Finishers, and Finishers Sub Only, who put together squads using talent that had competed in previous editions of their shows. The event was set to have good clashes between well-regarded names of the sub-only circuit such as Ethan Crelinsten, Deandre Corbe, Kieran Kichuk, Andre Porfirio, Paul Adrila, Sergio Ardila, John Combs to name a few.
The event did produce some interesting bouts, but, for the submission-only purists, the ruleset may leave something to be desired, since it does seem to produce a lot of draws. An issue that has been observed in many other iterations of Team x Team shows. Of the 15 matches on offer, only 2 ended with submissions, both by Andre Porfirio, the tournament MVP, who single-handedly got Team Sapateiro through to the semi-finals by taking out 3 Midwest Finishers players.
Among the best matches of the evening were the clashes between Max Hanson & Reese LeFever, John Combs & Abraham La Montagne, and the always entertaining Estevan Martinez who faced Andrew DeGraff in a super fight, losing to the Nova Jiu-Jitsu coach via EBI Overtime fastest escape. The event was streamed on the Enigma website (enigmajiujitsu.tv) Below are the results of the Battle Of The Promotions main matches.
Semi-Finals:
TEAM ENIGMA x TEAM FINISHERS
– Hunter Colvin drew with Sergio Villas
– Sean Yadimarco drew with Reese Lefever
– Ethan Crelinsten drew with Kai Rudolph
– Deandre Corbe drew with Kieran Kichuk
– Rene Sousa drew with Abraham La Montagne
Team Enigma advanced after a draw in the matches, using the EBI Overtime bonus round via fastest escape (selected players: Rene Sousa for Finishers & Reese Lefever for Enigma).
TEAM SAPATEIRO X TEAM MIDWEST FINISHERS
– Ryan Aitken drew with Sergio Ardila
– Paul Ardila drew with John Combs
– Andre Porfirio def. David Stoyle via straight ankle lock
– Andre Porfirio def. Ernesto Rivera via straight ankle lock
– Andre Porfirio drew with Chris Wojick
Team Sapateiro advanced via 2 matches to 0.
Final:
TEAM ENIGMA x TEAM SAPATEIRO
– Hunter Colvin drew with Ryan Aitken
– Max Hanson drew with Reese Lefever
– Adrian Nez drew with Kai Rudolph
– Andre Porfirio drew with Deandre Corbe
– Abraham La Montagne drew with John Combs
Team Enigma won, after a draw in the matches, using the EBI Overtime bonus round via fastest escape (selected players: Abraham La Montague for Enigma & John Combs for Sapateiro).
