This was a follow up event to last month's WNO tournament and although it couldn't live up to last month's WNO : The Return of Gordon Ryan was a very good event. Of course some matches were obviously better than others, none of them were boring. I believe there were only 2 or 3 stalling penalties issued the whole show.
New Champions
Bia Mesquita defeated Luiza Montero via a decision in an up and down match. This match had some really exciting passing sequences mixed in with stalling. Bia looked good overall, but I think that she may have been worried about the 15min time limit, so I feel she never opened up 100%. Luiza also looked good, but just couldn't get started. She had some interesting entries, but they never really went anywhere.
Ffion Davies defeated Nathalie Ribeiro via a decision in a mostly stand up match. Surprisingly Ribeiro decided to stand with Ffion and she didn't look half bad. I'm not sure if either actually hit a clean takedown, but it wasn't for lack of trying. They both went for shots and clinches, but ended up canceling each other out. There was also some guard pulling to mix things up. At the end Ffion pulled guard and went for a Caio Terra anklelock, which was nice and broke up all the stand up wrestling. This was a even back and forth match worth watching.
Mikey Mucumeci defeated Richard Alarcon via "Mikey Lock". This was a very quick match. Mikey sat to guard, Richard tried a few quick toreando passes and then Mikey grabbed his arm in order to suck him into K-guard. From there Mikey swung his leg around and broke Richard down to backside 50/50. Richard back-stepped and instead of going to the heelhook Mikey keeps Richard's foot on his neck and applies twisting pressure similar to an inside heelhook or a lateral kneebar. This match was over in less than 1min.
How people won
At this event we saw a completely even distribution when it comes to types of submissions. At the recent Ibjjf No-gi worlds we saw a concerning lack of triangles, but they came back in full force with this event. We had 1 triangle from Brianne Ste Marie and a triangle armbar from Jacob Couch. The leg lock came from Mikey Mucumeci. Of course Gordon hit quite a few submissions too, but that was an exhibition match so I'm not counting it.
Trends
Passing from the knees seems to be making a bit of a comeback with Bia Mesquita and Brianne Ste Marie putting on the pressure from the top. It worked for both of them and their opponents didn't have any defense against it. Perhaps things will come back around and non-standing passes will make a comeback.
The K-guard was looking strong with many competitors attempting the K-guard to heelhook entry. Levi Jones-Leery attempted it a few times, Luiza Montero also used it briefly, but Mikey hit it and actually got the submission. Since Lachlan Giles' win at the last ADCC, I've seen the popularity of this technique skyrocket. K-guard seems to be growing in popularity in the no-gi scene with more and more people adding it into their games.
What to watch for in each match
Estevan Martinez vs Damien Anderson
This match showed some great wrestling and wrestling defense. Estevan's escapes and his fireman's carry were highlights for me. Damien kept attacking and was flowing well though various positions. Check this match out if you want to see some great scrambles.
Brianna Ste Marie vs Bri Robertson
Ste Marie showed how patience and pressure can defeat a tricky guard. It also had a great triangle finish.
Jacob Couch vs Hunter Colvin
The highlight for me was the slick guard pull into the triangle. It was a nice setup and showed how to properly switch to the armbar as they posture up. It also showed how to be likeable and attract new fans with a post fight interview.
Levi Jones-Leery vs Oliver Taza
The first part of the match was a masterclass on how to counter the saddle with a berimbolo and crabride. After this Oliver showed good defensive skills from the back and managed to escape. The rest of the match was a bit lackluster, but the first exchange was a must see.
Mikey Mucumeci vs Richard Alarcon
There was basically only one move this match, but what a move it was. The K-guard entry into the "Mikey lock" was a thing of beauty. You can't get any better than a 1 shot kill.
Ffion Davies vs Nathalie Ribeiro
This match had a lot of good scrambles and something I noticed, was the interesting way Ffion was getting the underhook by circling her elbow over Ribeiro's forearm. I'm going to have to add that to my game.
Bia Mesquita vs Luiza Monteiro
The things I took away from this is the passing from the knees and the pressure passing combinations. Although things weren't always exciting with this match the few passing sequences and the final heelhook attempt are worth looking at.
Gordon Ryan vs Philip Rowe
This was a somewhat interesting exhibition match and we got to see some interesting triangles. I enjoyed the side triangle and I'll be watching the match again just to check out the triangle setups. He also had a really nice foot sweep that I really need to learn,
Overall the event was very good. Of course I would like to see more submissions, but people were trying and I was happy to see people moving an not stalling once they got a lead to win. Its a bit of a shame the way it worked out with the exciting finishes all coming first and then 3 matches in a row won by decision, but what can you do? I didn't really like it on Weds, but I'm happy that now there are of champions in various weight classes. I'm interested to see future title defenses and the next WNO championship show. The biggest complaint I have is there won't be another WNO until next year.
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