BJJ Fanatics Shine At Third Coast Grappling Championship

The recent Third Coast Grappling Championship 3 featured a stacked lineup with some of the very best of today’s competitors. From top to bottom the card was packed with talent, but the show reached its peak with the addition of a few top stars.  These athletes included Gordon Ryan, Romulo Barral, Edwin Najmi, Lucas Valente, and Andressa Cintra, all of who are BJJ Fanatics Instructors!

It was amazing to see how these athletes were able to implement the very techniques that they teach against the highest level competitors, under the lights with the world watching. In fact, 4 of the 5 BJJ Fanatics Instructors finished their fights with submissions! The submission is the ultimate goal in any jiu-jitsu match, so being able to achieve that in live competition speaks to the effectiveness of their techniques.

Let’s take a look at each competitor and how they used effective technique to win.

Gordon Ryan vs Bo Nickal

Gordon vs Bo was an interesting matchup under a hybrid ruleset that paired the best no-gi grappler in the world today against one of the most elite college wrestlers of the day. Some of Gordon’s best attacks, his leg locks, were not allowed due to the rules, so he was forced to work upper body submissions only.

Bo Nickal’s best chance at winning this match was to take Gordon down as many times as possible and control him on the ground without being submitted. This was no easy task.

Gordon actually was the one who took Bo to the mat more in the match by landing 3 scissor takedowns. Unfortunately, he could not capitalize on these takedowns due to the no leg locks rule, and Bo was savvy enough to work his way to the sidelines or escape.

The turning point in the match came when Gordon baited Bo into a takedown by giving his back in a standing exchange. Bo seized the opportunity to land a beautiful belly-to-back suplex, however, Gordon was the one to benefit from the position as he was able to then attack from the guard.

Attempting to sweep Bo with the sumi gaeshi, the same sweep he used topple Buchecha in the ADCC absolute final, Gordon skillfully switched to a triangle after Bo thwarted the sweep attack.

With the triangle locked in Gordon was able to maintain the position as Bo attempted to escape with slams. Gordon used the armbar in combination with the triangle to ultimately get Bo to submit with just a few minutes left on the clock.

Overall, it was a great display by both athletes with jiu-jitsu earning the victory in this one.

Edwin Najmi vs  Ben Leny

Edwin Najmi has been hitting the competition scene hard lately and we were happy to see him get a match on the the 3CG card after his original opponent had to pull out.

Edwin is a scrapper and always willing to bring the fight. Dangerous from all positions, Edwin brings an arsenal of attacks including flying triangles, back takes, Estima foot locks, and his signature Darce.

In this match it was the Darce that sealed the deal for the Gracie Barra black belt, but not before he ran up the score and attacked persistently with a flying triangle, Estima locks, passes, and sweeps.

The Darce is often overlooked in the gi, as many athletes opt for it as a main attack in no-gi due to having more space and the lack of collar chokes available. Edwin is an expert Darcer with or without the gi, and he showed again just how effective it is even with the gi on.

Congratulations to Edwin on taking home the belt and another big win.

Romulo Barral VS Jake Shields

It was great to see the legendary Romulo Barral back in action as he took on Jake Shields in a fierce no-gi matchup. Jake Shields, once better known for his MMA credentials, has remained very active in the jiu-jitsu competition scene since roughly 2017. 

Jake is a game competitor who trains regularly with the Danaher Death Squad in New York City, and has a variety of chokes and leg attacks at his disposal.

However, in this match it was Romulo who was on the offensive most of the time. Rumolo brought the match to the ground with a nice front headlock snapdown and was later able to set up and control an omoplata on Shields, which is no easy task without the gi.

Romulo’s guard also proved to be too difficult for Shields to pass or pose any sort of a threat. However, when overtime came Romulo elected the top position against Shields who is known for he top game prowess, not his guard.

Here, Romulo was able to capitalize on the position and beat Shield by judges' decision. After the match Romulo teased the idea of facing Damian Maia or Marcelo Garcia in an upcoming super fight. We would LOVE to see that. Congrats Romulo!

Lucas Valente vs Don Zani

Lucas Valente sky rocketed onto our radar after finishing second at the 2019 IBJJF World Championship. Seemingly coming out of nowhere, Valente is a top level black belt under Draculino with a nearly impassable guard.

In fact, his guard hasn’t been passed once in competition in the last seven years! Even the great Lucas Lepri wasn’t able to conquer it in the final of the recent world championship.

It was nice to see Lucas shed the gi in this matchup and show that he has a versatile game and is ready for anything. He also showed that he is no newbie to leg locks, as he eventually caught his opponent in a nasty inside heel hook to get the submission and the win.

We can’t wait to follow this young star through his budding career as a top level black belt.

Andressa Cintra vs Veronica Messina

Andressa Cintra is another rising star who caught our attention after winning a gold medal in the 2019 world championship in a hyper-competitive division of the world’s best. Also a black belt under Draculino, Andressa is tactical guard player who is very dangerous from everywhere, including the top.

This match was actually a rematch, however when the two first met it was under sub-only rules where neither was able to get the finish. Andressa has happy to get the opportunity to face Veronica again and described her opponent as super strong with amazing grip strength.

Andressa controlled most of the fight during regulation but was not able to achieve the submission within the time period. In overtime, however, she elected to assume the guard position and was able to secure a devastating knee bar on her opponent to get the win! 

Andressa showed her versatility in the match and proved once again why she is a threat from everywhere and one of the world’s best.

Congratulations to all of the BJJ Fanatics competitors at Third Coast Grappling and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for these bright stars.