What We Learned From Polaris 24

on
Polaris just finished what I believe was their 2nd event of the year and I have to say it was a success. There were 2 title fights and I was happy with the names that were included. Unfortunately the Ryan Hall vs Ash Williams match was cancelled, but I think the other matches made up for it. Personally I think there last event was better, but this was still a very solid event with some nice action. If you haven't watched it already give it look. Luckily the matches are fairly exciting and the event isn't too long. 

Results



Mateusz Szczeciński def Jed Hue via  Aoki lock


Ethan Crelinsten def Nathan Orchard via decision


Keith Krikorian def Tom Halpin via RNC


Dinu Bucalet def Ollie Webb via decision


Eoghan O’Flanagan def Hunter Colvin via decision


Jason Rau def Matty Holmes via Armbar


Martina Vola def  Rosie Clarke via decision




Stats




This time we got 1 submission from each category. All other matches ended in decision. I think a few matches could have actually been finished, but the choices by some competitors caused decisions. 3 out of 7 submissions isn't too bad and isn't worth complaining about though.



We got a RNC, and armbar and an aoki lock(that might have been an ankle lock). Mateusz Szczeciński's reign of terror continues as he breaks another foot. This one was particularly nasty and Jed Hue needed to be helped off the mat. The armbar was a bit controversial as Matty Holmes said he didn't tap but started speaking as the submission was being applied and it was counted as a verbal tap. However I personally believe Rau had him dead to rights. Keith Krikorian seemed a bit disappointed with his RNC, but it was impressive to see him submit a top level competitor IMO.


As you'd expect the RNC came from the back and the armbar came from mount. Recently there has been a large increase in the useage of mount. It seems to have become popular again and is used as much or more than side control. However many people are struggling to finish from mount. Hopefully in the future we will see people convert the mount into submissions more reliably.


For some reason there were a lot of kneetaps, but only 1 yeilded a takedown. There were 2 mat returns, although 1 was more of a back take. Besides those there was 1 double leg takedown. It seemed that people weren't so interested in standing in these matches, especially because it gave them no points.



Sweeps following submissions and the kiss of the dragon were working well during this event. I don't think there was ever a clean kiss of the dragon sweep, but it often off balanced people and allowed the sweeper to come on top. Because of the nature of these rules, sweeping didn't seem to be much of a priority for more competitors although there was a 50/50 sweep for some reason.


Half guard style passes were the most popular at this event. The knee slice and 3/4 were most effective. I'm guessing because of the popularity of the mount people are electing to go to 3/4 mount and pass directly instead of going to side control. There were a few other passes such as the duck under, that found success as well.

Matches


Martina Vola vs Rosie Clarke - A fairly good match, but with a slow start. Vola started dominating in the later part of the match, but couldn't get the finish. Watch it if you want to see some good top control and pressure. It wasn't bad, but it is skippable.


Jason Rau vs Matty Holmes - This was a clinic. Rau used his RDLR guard well and off balanced Matty to get to the top several times. Rau quickly passed and got to mount 2 or 3 times. He finished with a nice "in the armpit" armbar. This is quick and work watching for either for fun or technical study.


Eoghan O’Flanagan vs Hunter Colvin - This was a fairly even match and IMO it could have been a draw. Unfortunately there wasn't too much that happened. Both would attempt something and the other would immediately shut them down. I you want to see some defensive/submission prevention work check it out, but otherwise skip it. 


Dinu Bucalet vs Ollie Webb - This was almost a wrestling match with very little ground work. They did attempt takedowns, so it wasn't a terrible handfighting only match, but it was nowhere near Owen Livesey vs Chris Weidman. This match is skippable.



Keith Krikorian vs Tom Halpin - This was a really nice back and forth match that was completely different from what I expected. I thought it would be a leg lock battle, but I'm not sure if either attempted any leglocks. It was a nice back and forth until Keith passed and secured the RNC. This is the match to watch from the event. 


Ethan Crelinsten def Nathan Orchard - This was fairly one sided. Ethan basically brutalized Nathan the whole time. He mounted him multiple times, but seemed to only want to smoother Nathan. I don't know what Ethan's strategy was, but it seemed personal. Although there wasn't a finish it was somewhat entertaining to see someone be so vicious from mount. It was worth watching for the passing a top pressure.


Mateusz Szczeciński vs Jed Hue - There wasn't too much to this match as it last less than 1 minute. Mateusz came out and tried a bolo and then when it didn't work just grabbed a leg and cranked it. That was all she wrote and Jed had to be carried off. This match is so short it is a must watch. Don't let Mateusz touch your legs. 

 


 Overall


I liked this event. The timing was good and I was interested to see most of the names. I think that too often grappling shows try to get 1 really big name, but shows with many somewhat smaller names can be really good. I'm excited to see more of Ethan and Mateusz as champions. I hope they can get the Ryan Hall match as well, but I don't know if that will ever materialize.

Because of the low number of matches I won't update the year to date stats, but I'll include these finishes with the next article. 

Comments

Post a Comment