Cain Velasquez Out On Bail, MMA World Erupts

By
Filip Zanki
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Cain Velasquez released on bail
UFC star Cain Velasquez, who got arrested on February 28 on 10 different counts, including attempted murder has been released on bail after he was denied the same on three different previous occasions.

Cain Velasquez, the former UFC heavyweight champion of the world, was released on bail after spending eight months in jail. As part of the bail conditions, Velasquez has to wear a GPS tracker at all times. He is also prohibited to come within 300 yards of the alleged victims: Harry Goularte, Patricia Goularte, and Paul Bender. Other terms of his release include no weapons, TBI/CTE outpatient treatment, counseling, and search and seizure conditions.

A Santa Clara County (California) judge granted Cain Velasquez bail after a 13-hour-long pre-trial hearing.

“This incident is extremely serious but appears to be isolated behavior by Mr. Velasquez.  There is also a viable heat of passion defense,” said Judge Arthur Bocanegra.

Cain Velasquez spent 8 months in prison or allegedly shooting at a car carrying Goularte, who was accused of melting Velasquez’s 4-year-old son. A bullet hit Goulate’s stepfather in the arm.

Harry Goularte, 43, ran a home-daycare business where he allegedly molested Cain’s son on multiple occasions.

At the pre-trial hearing, Judge Bocanegra told Cain Velasquez:

“Mr. Velasquez, I would not release you if I was not convinced that upon a release at this time, eight months later, that you would be a danger to Harry Goularte primarily, Patricia Goularte or Paul Bender. If you are as devoted a husband and father, I’m confident and have to believe you will not jeopardize anything that would take you away from your son, your daughter, your family. I hope you don’t prove me wrong.”

Velasquez replied shortly with: “I won’t, your honor.”

Cain velasquez Released From Jail

Mark Geragos, Velasquez’s attorney, who requested bail on three different occasions, stated for NBC Bay Area:

“We’re gratified, and he’ll be able to go home and start the healing process. It’s been a long slog, and after eight months he’s finally going home.”

“It’s been quite a fight, but today is a good day.” added Geragos for MMA Junkie.

Velasquez’s bail is set at $1 million. His last fight in the UFC was his knockout win over Francis Nganou in 2019.

The entire MMA community cheered and greeted the release Cain Velasquez.

Who Is The Highest IQ Grappler?

By
Filip Zanki
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Highest IQ grappler Diogo Reis Baby Shark

Who would you say is the most intelligent grappler in the world today? It is difficult to figure it out, as grappling intelligence is not the same as the IQ measured on tests, but here’s an interesting video that analyzes one grappler’s ADCC performance naming him the most intelligent in the BJJ world.

Baby Shark – The Highest IQ Grappler?

Diogo Reis, a.k.a. “Baby Shark” was definitely in the mix for some kind of a medal in the 2022 ADCC, but instead, he took it by storm, cruising past every one of his opponents to become the -66 kg ADCC champion.

Diogo was completely unknown when he signed up for the South American ADCC trials. He won the whole thing, tactically dealing with everyone in this way, including submitting favorite Fabricio Andre, who happens to be Baby Sharks’s teammate and out-wrestling Diego Pato in the finals.

With strength, precision, an abundance of confidence, and eventually, the achievement of being the least scored upon ADCC grappler, Diogo’s display may now earn I’m the title of BJJ’s highest IQ athlete.

Match 1

Baby Shark first faced Ash Williams, who knew Diogo is better at wrestling and chose to sit down and play guard. Reis obliged, constantly threatening Williams with passes, wearing him out and not allowing him to establish his dangerous leg lock game.

In one of many surprises, but incredibly genius tactical decisions throughout the ADCC that qualify Baby Shark for the highest IQ grappler, he chose to sit down and engage in a leg lock battle just before the point period started.

He turned out to suppress Ash Willimas’ dangerous leg lock game by hunting for toe holds, ankle locks, and heel hooks himself.

As the end of regular time approached, Reis baited Ash to stand up and try to pass, easily controlling the guard and getting up at will to dominate the wrestling. Since Williams couldn’t pull guard without getting negative points, he had to wrestle Baby Shark who easily won those exchanges.

Match 2

A re-match with teammate Fabricio Andre saw the pair immediately enter leg entanglements. Fabricio was way more aware of Diogo’s leg locks, and was able to defend them, getting up to pass, but couldn’t solve Bay Shark’s guard.

In overtime, Andre got Reis down but did not hold him down, nor managed to establish hooks after getting a rear-naked choke. It got him ahead on decision and this is where Baby Shark’s tactical brilliance came to the rescue.

Reis got a tight body lock, took Fabricio down, didn’t manage to score a takedown, and then decided to let go and disengage. He did the same at the trials, leaving everyone puzzled.

His tactics proved effective once again. He was able to shoot for another takedown, not scoring, but getting ahead in the referee’s scorecards, which eventually scored him a referee’s decision.

Match 3

Dangerous grappler Josh Cisneros faced Baby Shark in the semi-finals. Reis chose to wrestle, trading a takedown each with Cisneros before the scoring started.

He used JOsh’s takedown right before the points to establish a guard and started playing his leg lock game from there, shutting down Cisneros in the process.

When leg locks did not work, he easily stood up, made Cinseros wrestle, and took him down for the win by points.

Tactically speaking, the young grappler demonstrated great strategy by constantly forcing Josh backward, even though he had the lead. This made it impossible for Cisneros to set up takedowns and saw baby Shark cruise to the finals.

Match 4

A very competent wrestler in Gabriel Sousa was the final hurdle for Reis. Baby Shark won every wrestling exchange in the opening portion, before point scoring.

As points started, Baby Shark was already in guard, looking to enter a backside heel hook or toe hold several times.

When that failed, he once again turned to wrestling, using arm drags to expose Sousa’s back and scoring points for a standing back take, before going back to guard and employing the same tactics as winning the semi-final, constantly attacking to prevent the opponent from scoring.

Closing Thoughts

The burning question is whether it was Baby Shark that is the most genius grappler out there or his coaches and camp for coming up with the tactics. No doubt, Reis is one of the very best grapplers out there, and a match with Mikey Musumeci can’t be far, can it?

AJ Agazarm Stirs Up Trouble With Gordon Ryan Online

By
Filip Zanki
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AJ Agazarm And Gordon Ryan Start Facebook Beef
AJ Agazarm likes to escalate things when people tease him. He quickly a “soft” comment from Gordon Ryan on one of his recent Facebook posts from zero to 100 in no time by making it very personal in his reply to the “King”.

AJ Agazarm is a very polarizing person, with most people in the BJJ world choosing to hate him rather than love him. Strangely, while people buy in the bad-boy trash-talker persona Gordon Ryan has going on, they do not at all enjoy AJ’s interpretation of it.

In a recent post that AJ Agzarm made on his Facebook page, he shared an old photo of him competing as a brown belt, captioning it:

“The object of jiu-jitsu is a lot like golf – be sharp, tactical, and do the least amount as possible”.

Gordon Ryan was quick to respond, teasing AJ Agazarm by writing:

“Also to win, you forgot that part.”

AJ was very quick to respond and did not pick his words too much, or he did so extremely carefully if making it very personal was his goal. His response to Gordon’s tease was:

“Oh yeah, even if that means destroying your stomach and a relationship with your brother.”

AJ Agazarm Gordon Ryan Feud

AJ Agazarm is referring to the complicated chronic stomach illness that Gordon Ryan has which has interfered with his performances in the past, even forcing the “King” to retire from competition for a year.

The second comment hits a lot closer to home, with John Danaher recently citing arguments between Gordon and younger brother Nicky Ryan back when they lived in Puerto Rico as the main reason for the disbandment of the Danaher Death Squad. The brothers now fight for opposing teams, Gordon on Danaher’s New Wave Jiu-Jitsu and Nicky choosing to side with Craig Joens and his B-Team.

We’ll see where this online exchange between AJ Agazarm and Gordon Ryan will lead, and whether it will turn into a new feud.

The Ruotolos Are Building A Gym In Costa Rica From Scratch

By
Filip Zanki
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Brand New Ruotolos Gym In Costa Rica
The Ruotolos are putting their money where their mouth is, literally, and using their recent cash prizes to build a brand new gym in Marbella, Costa Rica, completely from scratch.

Kade and Tye Ruotolo, the most famous grappling brothers at the moment, have had a very fruitful 2022. They both had highly impressive performances at the ADCC and in ONE FC, which, apart from championship accolades, brought them a significant amount of cash. The Ruotolos claimed on more than one occasion that they’ll put the money towards building a new gym in Costa Rica, and they are now doing exactly what they said.

And, in this case, the word building is literal. The Ruotolos are building a gym from the ground up in Marbella. They recently shared their progress on their joint Instagram account:

The Ruotolos also told Jiu-Jitsu Times that:

“It won’t be the type of gym where we’re doing classes every day, it’ll be kind of a “head” training spot for us, so that when we’re out there, we can keep training, and can also run Jiu-Jitsu camps.

The goal would be to bring people out for a week, teach them how to surf, and offer private tsessions hroughout the week, along with other activities. Fishing, archery, mountain biking, all of that.

The plan’s already in motion, we’re trying to make it happen – the gym should be up and finished by the end of the year. That’s the goal.”

How the Ruotolos will manage their new project along with their highly busy competition schedule remains to be seen, but the brothers seem to have a great handle on things for now.

At the moment, there are no scheduled bouts for the Ruotolos, although Tye got into it with Gordon Ryan on social media recently, opening the door for some potentially highly entertaining matches against New Wave Jiu-Jitsu members, or even the “King” himself soon.

From Radical Surgery To Double World BJJ Champion

By
BJJ World
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Brian Germain From Surgery to Double BJJ ChampionC

Brian Germain is a 63-year-old lifelong martial artist who underwent major surgery (radical prostatectomy) in April of 2021, only to become a double BJJ champion by winning gold in his division and the absolute at the 2021 World Masters BJJ Championships only 6 months later.

Meet Brian Germain

Brian The T1000″ Germain is a Judo and BJJ Black belt, currently aged 63, a world BJJ champion and a USA Judo Olympic Alternate.

Busy training as much as he could since he was 13, mostly Judo in his 20s and early 30s, and later on, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu through his 40s and 50s. He was using grappling to stay in shape and felt and looked really healthy.

(Un)luckily for him, COVID happened and forced Germain into a hospital, where he discovered an elevated PSA, which is a substance that indicates the presence of prostate cancer.

“Through all my years of training, I had neglected my checkups. I mean, I didn’t know about PSA screenings and how simple they were, but that’s no excuse.” the BJJ champion said. “I take full responsibility for being a dumba** in that regard. I should have known. If I had simply gone to a doc to get checked up I would have known.”

With all the COVID shutdowns, though, it took a year before the Lakeland, FL got to Brian. Just shy of his 62nd birthday, Germain got surgery called radical prostatectomy, which means he removed his entire prostate.

This was April 12, 2021.

Brian Germaine Surgery to BJJ Champion

From Surgery To Double Gold BJJ Champion In 7 months

Germain, being the lifelong martial artist he is, trained right up until his surgery date:

“I trained for my surgery like I would have trained for a tournament. It helped me handle the stress and it got me in really good shape. I figured I’d be ready for anything that came my way.

I even held out the carrot of a comeback to the mat at some point.  I was determined not to let this procedure ultimately define me.”

And that comeback happened in style. Seven months to the date, on November 12, 2021, Brian Germain competed at the IBJJF World Masters BJJ Championships in Las Vegas.

“Training for a world event, at a black belt level, while recuperating from the aftermath of a prostatectomy wasn’t easy, but it made my double gold even more satisfying” – said the double BJJ champion, with an eye on repeating the performance in 2022.

Brian’s fight with his cancer is still not over, as there is still a risk it may come back:

“I must always be ready because, statistically, at least in my head, my cancer has a good chance of reoccurring. So, training for competitions helps me stay ready for any fight. I guess it’s the price I have to pay for being a dumba** and not getting checked out sooner.

That’s why I tell all the guys on the mat to know your PSA. Get it checked regularly starting as early as 40 but definitely by 50.”

The BJJ Champion currently lives in North Carolina with his wife and is not thinking about slowing down his training, or his competition preparation.

Double Masters BJJ Champion Brian Germain

First Hispanic Blind BJJ Black Belt Shares His Moving Story

By
BJJ World
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First Hispanic Bling BJJ Black Belt Carlos Alvarez
The very first Hispanic blind BJJ Jblack belt in the world, Carlos Alvarez, shares his inspiring story about the journey from a kid who got bullied heavily in school, in a country where there is no real future for disabled people, to finding a purpose and passion through Jiu-Jitsu.

Carlos Alvarez is a Braziliabn Jiu-Jitsu black belt. Even though there are more and more people with the rank in the world, getting one is still not an easy feat to accomplish. In the case of Alvarez, it was a humongous feat, as he goe down into history as the very first Hispanic blind BJJ black belt.

In the words of Carlos himself:

“I am the first blind Hispanic to be a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu

I used to get bullied in high school like nobody’s business. They used to make my life very miserable when I was in high school because I was like a big target for bullying. I always wanted to learn how to defend myself.

And one day, one friend in high school introduced me to Jiu-Jitsu. I fell in love immediately of Jiu-Jitsu. So, I started to train and I never stopped.”

The first Hispanic blind BJJ black belt proudly attributes his current standing in life to discovering and sticking with Jiu-Jitsu:

“Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a gift that God gave me to add purpose in my life. Because, when I used to live in my country, it was almost impossible for me to go to college or to get a job. So, I didn’t have anything to do. And the only activity that I was able to do as a blind person in my country was Jiu-Jitsu.

Jiu-Jitsu has helped me to improve in everything in my life. It has made me more strong, more positive. And also, I had gained so much confidence. It has repaired my life in a big way.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Mat Made (@matmade_show)

Plenty of BJJ and UFC stars, including Ricardo Liborio, Justin Wren, Din Thomas, and Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera supported and commented on Carlos’ video after it came out on the Matmade Show Instagram account.

blind bjj black belt Carlos Alvarez

 

Tom Hardy BJJ Training At Daisy Fresh (VIDEO)

By
BJJ World
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Tom Hardy BJJ Training At Daisy Fresh
Actor Tom Hardy has been lighting up the BJJ World lately, showing up to train at some of the best academies in preparation for yet more tournaments under his blue belt. The last academy to host a Tom Hardy BJJ visit was none other than everyone’s favorite Daisy Fresh.

Tom Hardy has been going really strong at Jiu-Jitsu lately. After making headlines for winning a couple of gold medals at two local tournaments, the famous “Venom”, “Batman”, and “Peaky Blinders” actor has been training with some of the best in the business. Less than a couple of weeks ago, we reported the Tom Hardy BJJ visit to Danaher’s gym, and the praise the mastermind of grappling had for the actor.

Hardy has been going at it strong, ending up in another high-level competitor academy in Heath Pedigo’s unique Daisy Fresh school (which is actually called “Pedigo Submission Fighting”).

As you can see from the video, Tom Hardy is carefully listening and learning about Pedog’s knee cut pass details, joining the class much to the amusement and pleasure of all the other students.

As you can hear Pedigo saying, Tom DeBlass is to “blame” for the Tom Hardy BJJ visit his academy got.

DeBlass has been writing a lot about his namesake on his Instagram account, and the two look like they are developing a bond:

“A few weeks ago I woke up to an Instagram tag from Tom Hardy. Turns out he was in the Cincinnati area filming and popped into my affiliate @nkymartialartsacademy with the great Scott Smith my (black belt and police chief).

We ended up exchanging phone numbers.

From that day on there have been some days we FaceTimed two hours straight. Not just jibberish, we talk in depth. From conundrums, ideologies, irony to oxymorons.

The parallels between certain aspects of our life is almost too coincidental. We speak of Jiu-Jitsu often, I send him techniques that I believe can help his style. He’s just quickly becoming an incredible friend, and I am so thankful to have connected with him.

Last night we spoke of my Father. Since my Father died, in the manner in which he did. I felt largely responsible for his death.

Tom is a smart smart man. He knew exactly what to say and how to say it to remove the dagger that has been sticking in my heart since his death. I will replay those words for the rest of my life.”

Brianna Ste-Marie vs. Mayssa Bastos To Make WNO History

By
Filip Zanki
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Brianne Ste-Marie vs mayssa bastos WNO history

Brianna Ste-Marie is absolutely enjoying life after ADCC, set to fight fellow ADCC competitor Mayassa Bastos in the first-ever WNO women’s main event, and getting honored by the mayor of her hometown Montreal for her ADCC success.

The First Ever WNO Women’s Man Event

Brianna Ste-Marie is a Canadian Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt representing Brazilian Top Team. The Who’s Number One (WNO) 135 lbs champion and ADCC silver medalist is set to become a part of history once again in 2022 by facing off with 4x World champion, EBI champion, and WNO champion Mayssa Bastos.

The two exceptional grapplers will face off in the main event of the November 11 WNO event, after the original main event between light Heavyweight champion Pedro Marinho and Giancarlo Bodoni fell through because of injury.

Brianne Ste-Marie has only been a black belt for less than a year but is already writing history and becoming one of the best pound-for-pound grapplers. Her stellar ADCC silver medal performance saw her take out one of the favorites Bianca Basilio.

Mayssa Bastos, on the other hand, is an experienced black belt with titles in IBJJF, EBI, AJP, WNO, and CBJJ. She also competed at the ADCC, which is the only title she lacks at the moment, but lost to favorite and eventual bronze medalist Bia Mesquita.

Brianna Ste-Marie will face Mayssa Bastos at bantamweight but is going to have the size advantage. With Ste-Marie favoring pressure passing, and Bastos the owner of one of the most exciting guard gams in BJJ, this main event promises to be an action-packed affair.

 

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A post shared by FloGrappling (@flograppling)

Brianne Ste-Marie Is On A Roll

After her impressive ADCC performance as a fresh black belt, the first Canadian to ever get an ADCC medal, Brianna Ste-Marie was honored back home by the mayor of Montreal.

Montreal mayor Valerie Plante sent the following letter to Brianne Ste-Marie congratulating her on her historic achievement at the ADCC:

“It is with true Montreal pride that I wish to express to you my enthusiasm following your victory at the last world grappling championship. First Canadian medalist at this competition and athlete honored more than once on the podium, you contribute to the spread of your sport in the most beautiful way.

Behind each victory and each title belt, I detect your discipline, your sacrifices, and your enormous passion. This determination commands the greatest respect. The significance of your success at the 14th ADCC (Abu Dhabi Combat Club) Submission Fighting World Championship is, however, historic. At 26, you have already made national grappling history and the future is just as promising.

On behalf of Montrealers, I congratulate you on your performance. In the process, I also underline the importance of your achievement for a more active metropolis, in particular through the various Brazilian jiu-jitsu courses that you offer to the population.

Wishing you a long career at the height of your ambitions, please accept, Madame Ste-Marie, the expression of my distinguished consideration.”

 

Kyle Bohem STRIPPED Of Polaris Title For Instagram Comment

By
Filip Zanki
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Kyle Boehm Stripped Of Polaris title
Kyle Bohem is ending up drawing attention to himself quite a lot lately. Now, Polaris has decided to strip him of his heavyweight Polaris title as a result of comments about the Holocaust he made on Instagram.

10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu black belt and top competitor Kyle Boehm needed up without his Polaris Heavyweight world title after commenting on NBA player Kyrie Irving’s post on Instagram in regards to the Holocaust.

Kyle Boehm denied the Holocaust in a post from Irving where the NBA player apologized for unintentionally posting an anti-semitic documentary “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America” which landed him in trouble.

Bohem’s claimed in his comment that the Holocaust was a hoax, replying to one person on the comments thread:

“That’s the truth, it didn’t happen”, and following that up with a reply to another person “it’s a hoax.”

Kyle Boehm Polaris title strip comments

While everyone is entitled to their opinion, Polaris seems to employ a zero-tolerance policy for behavior like this and have decided to strip Kyle Boehm of his Polaris title following his comments.

A story on the official Polaris Instagram account stated that:

“We were recently made aware of comments made by Kyle Boehm on social media that are not in line with Polaris’ code of ethics.

In response to Boehm’s actions, we have stripped him of his Polaris title and he will not be invited to compete for our promotion again.”

Polaris strip Kyle Boehm of title

Just recently Kyle Boehm accused the former Danaher Death Squad, and now the New Wave Jiu-Jitsu team of fixing matches in some of the biggest professional BJJ events, by doing fake close-out matches, and denying other athletes a real chance at winning something.

Bohem’s latest grappling performance was at EBI 20: the Absolutes, where he lost for the first time ever in the Eddie Bravo Invitational to B-Team’s Nick Rodriguez via a rear-naked choke in overtime.

Heel Hook Finish In A Street Fight (VIDEO)

By
Filip Zanki
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Heel Hook Finish In Street Fight
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu might not be the most glamorous way to engage in a street fight, but in a 1 on 1 scenario it has yet to fail. Here is an example of a heel hook finish ending a scrappy street fight with lots of cringy grappling in it.

Would you use Jiu-Jitsu in a street fight? If your answer is “it depends on the situation” then you are one of the smart ones. Going for a heel hook finish in a street fight might not seem like a good idea, but when a street fight enters grappling mode, pretty much anything is a go. Obviously, knowing leg locks can come in handy, even if you do them like in the WWE.

In the video below, a recording of a street fight shows two people engaged in a street fight, with one of them clearly intent on grappling his way to victory. Preceding the heel hook finish of the fight, as the video starts the “grappler” is holding some sort of a very bad single leg takedown position.

The other person is obviously heavier and throws several punches to the abdomen and ribs of the “grappler”, who eventually gets the fight to the ground, getting in top half guard. He then decides to stand to his feet, getting a heel hook grip on one leg as the bottom person tries some hook kick/up kick hybrid.

The “grappler” is now obviously set to go for a heel hook finish, and he sits back, throwing a leg over to enter a sloppy double outside ashi, with an outside heel hook now pretty tight.

He is forced to roll once, as the other guy preceded to kick him with the free leg, but at the end, gets a cranking heel hook finish, as the onlookers (and whoever is recording) urge the other guy to tap out.

A guy comes to pull them apart after the tap.

 

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