10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu’s Denny Prokopos, Geo Martinez Reign at Eddie Bravo Invitational 2

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The second edition of the Eddie Bravo Invitational on Friday at Florentine Gardens in Hollywood, Calif., featured two 16-man tournaments to crown champions at bantamweight and lightweight. When it finally came time for the finals in each weight class, 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu held three of the four slots.

The tournament was contested via 10-minute matches, with wins by submission only. If a match failed to end in submission, an overtime period took place. The extra period is similar to extra innings in baseball; if one team goes to bat and scores two runs, the other has to score three to win. There were three potential rounds of overtime, and a competitor can choose to start by either “spider web” or “over-under, both hooks in.” Then it becomes a test of submitting and escaping as quickly as possible, with quickest overall escape or submission winning.

In the end, Denny Prokopos and Geo Martinez emerged victorious. Both competed four separate times over the course of the event, which concluded at 2 a.m. PDT.

Prokopos defeated Rich Chavez, Eddie Fyvie, Russ Miura and Nathan Orchard en route to his title. The first jiu-jitsu black belt graduated by Eddie Bravo and subsequently the first black belt generated from Bravo’s 10th Planet system, “300” made his way to the final via two rear-naked choke finishes and one “Twister” submission -- a move made famous by his instructor.

Orchard was no walk in the park for Prokopos, as both men seemed in tune with one another’s strengths. There were moments in the final where each seemed on the verge of being finished, but they managed to wiggle free and guarantee extra time. The 10th Planet San Francisco product took the title after racking up the quickest escapes in overtime.

Martinez made his 135-pound run look easier than his 145-pound march at the first Eddie Bravo Invitational. “Freakahzoid” ran through Javier Vasquez, Kerry Phan, Richard Alarcon and Fabio Passo via submission to grab the hardware. The accomplished break dancer utilized a heel hook, rear-naked choke and two calf-slicers to emerge as champion.

While 10th Planet did reign supreme, other competitors also stood out along the way, namely Miura and Baret Yoshida in the 155-pound bracket. Miura, out of Subfighter MMA, finished both of his opponents before losing in overtime to Martinez. On the other hand, Yoshida, who also competed at Metamoris 4, cruised through Adam Morrison and Rafael Domingos before falling victim to the patented “Dead Orchard” armbar.

After the event, Bravo expressed to Sherdog.com that he was pleased with how everything had fallen into place. He felt comfortable enough not to oversee every single match for the first time since the event’s inception.

“Words can’t express how proud I am of how EBI 2 unfolded,” Bravo said. “Endless roars were conjured up and countless hearts were broken, but in the end, when it was finally over, it was all love, love for everyone that had the courage to step up for their families and extra special love for those who stood at the top of the mountain when it was all said and done.”

Bravo revealed that plans are already in motion for the third event, with February as the target date. Bravo also said that the much-sought-after video footage will also make its way to the Internet in “few weeks or so,” although some bootleg versions will probably turn up sooner.

For complete results and coverage from the event, check out the Eddie Bravo Invitational 2 event page.