Polaris Announces Absolute Grand Prix

Europe’s leading professional grappling organization will return to the International Convention Centre in Newport, Wales, on April 4, and it will do so with a new concept: the Polaris Absolute Grand Prix.

Polaris has previously arranged single-fight cards stacked with some of the best grapplers on the planet, including Craig Jones and Nick Rodriguez. It has also spent time helping build European fighters’ careers—Ffion Davies and Ashley Williams are notable examples—by giving them the platform on which to showcase their talents. This time, however, Polaris will invite eight of the best grapplers available to battle it out for a tournament crown, with the added benefit of no weigh-ins.

This event marks the first departure from the traditional Fight Night format Polaris has previously employed to great success, and some of the rules the organization normally uses have been amended to suit the grand prix. The biggest change? The length of each match: They will be 10 minutes, not the typical 15 that Polaris uses for main card fights. This change was made in order to prevent fatigue in the athletes who reach the final. Polaris fights are also normally judged without points by splitting the fight into three equal segments and judging the winner of each one individually; the athlete who wins two out of three is declared the victor. For the Polaris Absolute Grand Prix, however, a simplified points system will be utilized in order to keep the action moving.

While there are no entrants listed yet, Polaris has often featured fighters who would undoubtedly welcome the opportunity to compete at an event like this. The aforementioned and Jones have competed in Polaris numerous times; Kaynan Duarte is always eager to compete in tournament formats; and Freddy Vosgrone is a criminally underrated Polaris favorite who would be a fantastic dark horse addition to the roster.

This article originally appeared on grapplinginsider.com.