The IBJJF No-Gi Europeans ended yesterday, and there was one moment on the mats that had nothing to do with Jiu-Jitsu and everything to do with chaos. Chechen black belt Muslim Patsarigov hit Oliver Taa in the face in their absolute division match
Unsportsmanlike behavior marred the otherwise entertaining and competitor-filledIBJJF No-Gi Europeans last weekend. The vent took place in Rome from November 11 to 13 and featured close to 300 athletes from around the world, including some household grappling names.
During the third match of the absolute black belt division, which featured Oliver Taza and Chechen-Norwegian black belt Muslim Patsarigov, due to reasons known only to himself, and perhaps Taza and the referee, Patsarigov decide to punch Taza in the face, right in the middle of the IBJJF No-GI Europeans mats.
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The move warranted an immediate DQ, which, Patsarigov most likely anticipated, as this is not the first incident of the sort he has been involved in.
Five years ago Muslim Patsarigov famously punched AJ Agazarm at the IBJJF No-Gi Europeans, getting DQed on that occasion as well. The Chechen-born Norwegian is no stranger to violence-related controversy and has sent death threats to ADCC head organizer Mo Jassim, according to Tom DeBlass.
Muslim Patsarigov is a black belt under Felipe “Gargamel” Mota, and trains at his academy in Sandnes, Norway. The big heavyweight is explosive and aggressive in his game and has medaled in some of the world’s biggest BJJ tournaments like the Abu Dhabi Pro, NO-Gi Wolds, and IBJJF No-Gi Europeans.
Apart from a strong wrestling background (started wrestling at the age of 4) Patsarigov obviously has a short fuse that somehow gets triggered at the IBJJF No-Gi Europeans.
It remains to be seen whether the DQ is the only punishment he is going to get. Since this is not his first offense, he might be in for a lengthier ban. The ball is in IBJJF’s court.
