Grappling Coverage: BJJ, Wrestling, No-GiHyped Bravo-Gracie Rematch Ends in Stalemate at Draw-Dominated Metamoris 3
Metamoris 3 came to a conclusion on Saturday afternoon with a
fiery, yet inconclusive rematch nearly a decade in the making.
Twenty minutes wasn’t enough to decide the main event pitting Eddie Bravo against Royler Gracie -- which took place from a makeshift enclosure on the roof of Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles – which capped off a card where four of the six bouts ended in a draw.
The 48-year-old son of jiu-jitsu founder Hélio Gracie had a score
to settle after being finished by the upstart Bravo via triangle
choke at the Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World
Championships in 2003. This time around both men had prime
opportunities, but neither could force the stoppage.
At the outset, Gracie utilized shoulder pressure to control his opponent from top position, but after a crazed sequence that featured an explosive transition from Bravo, the 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu owner ended up hanging from the back of Gracie. Following two banana split attempts from Bravo, the two found themselves at the edge of the mat and earning a restart from the referee.
It was a fitting sequel to a legendary jiu-jitsu pairing, and it left the door open for an unconventional type of trilogy.
In the co-main event, Clark Gracie took on Rafael Mendes in what turned out to be the most technical pairing of the show. They too went the fully allocated time and ended in a draw, with each man successfully using the berimbolo maneuver to transition into dominant position multiple times, but neither was able to capitalize and lock in a viable submission attempt.
What was originally scheduled to be Keenan Cornelius vs. Vinny Malgalhaes ended up being Cornelius against Kevin Casey. The current number one contender for Resurrection Fighting Alliance’s middleweight title was called upon 30 minutes prior to the start of the online pay-per-view after Malgalhaes was forced to withdraw due to a staph infection.
Casey valiantly tried to hang with the faster and much more experienced grappler but began to tire about halfway through the round and was mounted following a double-leg takedown. This marked the beginning of the end. After briefly getting back to his feet, Casey was taken down again following a leg sweep attempt that went awry and found himself about to be locked into a heel hook. Before Cornelius could extend the submission, “King” verbally submitted.
Ultimate Fighting Championship alums Dean Lister and Renato Sobral closed out the first half of the event. The match ended in a tie after Lister spent most of the round sitting and butt-scooting, imploring “Babalu” to enter his guard. Sobral refused to take the bait, thus making for some inactive periods during the round and drawing groans from those in attendance.
Earlier, Gui Mendes made quite an impression after earning the submission victory over Samir Chantri after patiently working his way from half guard to side control and sinking in a baseball choke.
The opening bout of the night saw Zak Maxwell go the distance with Sean Roberts. Both competitors had multiple submission opportunities, but neither was able to garner a stoppage.
Twenty minutes wasn’t enough to decide the main event pitting Eddie Bravo against Royler Gracie -- which took place from a makeshift enclosure on the roof of Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles – which capped off a card where four of the six bouts ended in a draw.
Advertisement
At the outset, Gracie utilized shoulder pressure to control his opponent from top position, but after a crazed sequence that featured an explosive transition from Bravo, the 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu owner ended up hanging from the back of Gracie. Following two banana split attempts from Bravo, the two found themselves at the edge of the mat and earning a restart from the referee.
After a fumble in repositioning by the arbiter, bickering ensued
between the two competitors over position. Things were sorted out
following a quick glance at instant replay, and the action
restarted. The final five minutes consisted of Bravo putting Gracie
in dire straits via calf slicer and heel hook, but the Brazilian
refused to tap.
It was a fitting sequel to a legendary jiu-jitsu pairing, and it left the door open for an unconventional type of trilogy.
In the co-main event, Clark Gracie took on Rafael Mendes in what turned out to be the most technical pairing of the show. They too went the fully allocated time and ended in a draw, with each man successfully using the berimbolo maneuver to transition into dominant position multiple times, but neither was able to capitalize and lock in a viable submission attempt.
What was originally scheduled to be Keenan Cornelius vs. Vinny Malgalhaes ended up being Cornelius against Kevin Casey. The current number one contender for Resurrection Fighting Alliance’s middleweight title was called upon 30 minutes prior to the start of the online pay-per-view after Malgalhaes was forced to withdraw due to a staph infection.
Casey valiantly tried to hang with the faster and much more experienced grappler but began to tire about halfway through the round and was mounted following a double-leg takedown. This marked the beginning of the end. After briefly getting back to his feet, Casey was taken down again following a leg sweep attempt that went awry and found himself about to be locked into a heel hook. Before Cornelius could extend the submission, “King” verbally submitted.
Ultimate Fighting Championship alums Dean Lister and Renato Sobral closed out the first half of the event. The match ended in a tie after Lister spent most of the round sitting and butt-scooting, imploring “Babalu” to enter his guard. Sobral refused to take the bait, thus making for some inactive periods during the round and drawing groans from those in attendance.
Earlier, Gui Mendes made quite an impression after earning the submission victory over Samir Chantri after patiently working his way from half guard to side control and sinking in a baseball choke.
The opening bout of the night saw Zak Maxwell go the distance with Sean Roberts. Both competitors had multiple submission opportunities, but neither was able to garner a stoppage.
More
