EBI 7: The Featherweights Rundown

By Corey Kuropas, June 21, 2016

On July 17th, the seventh edition of the Eddie Bravo Invitational returns to the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles, California for another night of submission only action! Eddie Bravo has made this tournament for the featherweights this time around and will have some of the best featherweights in the world competing. Here is the full list of competitors for EBI 7…

Eddie Cummings

Geo Martinez

Joe Soto

Kim Terra

Rafael Domingos

Denny Prokopos

Mike Davila

Mike Main

Joao Alfredo Tavares

Baret Yoshida

Ara Muradyan

Sergio Hernandez

Ashley Williams

Jose De Jesus Gutierrez

Bill Cooper

Alex Ecklin

While some of these names may look familiar, some may not. Either way, this will be one hell of a tournament. Out of the sixteen competitors, there are five men that I believe will make it to the reaches of the tournament and could win the whole damn thing. Here are those five men…

Eddie Cummings:

Eddie Cummings is the current EBI featherweight champion. And by that alone, makes him the favorite. Eddie comes from Renzo Gracie’s and is a part of the now infamous Danaher Death Squad. Known for his devastating leg locks and hard to pass guard, I fully expect him to make it to the finals to defend his title.

Geo Martinez:

Geo Martinez, also known affectionately as Freakazoid will make this tournament really interesting. Coming from Eddie Bravo’s own 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu, he is a dangerous grappler. Known for his use of the truck and leg attacks, he himself is a former EBI champ which puts him to the front of the line. A very submission orientated fighter, he has beaten some big names in the grappling world such as Jeff Glover and Mark Ramos.

Joe Soto:

Joe Soto, primarily an MMA fighter who is a former Bellator MMA champ is returning to EBI. Soto, a former collegiate wrestling champ and a current BJJ brown belt, Soto has made it to the finals to an EBI before. At EBI 4, he was able to defeat Eddie Fyvie, Geo Martinez, and Joao Miyao to reach the finals before being beaten by Eddie Cummings. He is a grinder and a very competent grappler. Don’t be surprised if he makes it far in this tournament.

Kim Terra:

Kim Terra, brother of the legendary Caio Terra, is one of the most accomplished Jiu Jitsu fighters in the tournament. Terra is a multiple time champ and medalist in some of the biggest BJJ tournaments in the world. He will give anyone in this tournament a run for their money.

Denny Prokopos:

The last name on the list to look out for is Denny Prokopos. Prokopos is Eddie Bravo’s first black belt and a former EBI lightweight champion. Returning to take another EBI championship, he trains with Eddie Bravo, JJ Machado and even Caio Terra. He has a great rubber guard and will be looking to utilize it to take home some victories.

This is going to be another slam dunk of a Jiu Jitsu tournament. It is not one that any fan of Jiu Jitsu or no gi grappling will want to miss. You can watch it on UFC Fight Pass come July 16th. Don’t sleep on anyone as this could be anyone’s game!