POLARIS PRO 2: THE PREVIEW

Following on from the success of their first event earlier in the year, Polaris Pro are back with a bang this September 12th, live from St David’s Hall, Cardiff – and boy have they got a show lined up for you!

With eight bouts on the card, contested between some of the most current fighters on the scene and legends of the past, this is sure to be a night to remember for the jiu jitsu community. Here’s our preview of the action instal on what will no doubt be the biggest professional jiu jitsu event Europe has ever hosted.

Pedro Bessa vs Luca Anacoreta (GI)

Nine Nine representative, Pedro Bessa, is one of the most respected black belts in the UK and an extremely talented competitor. Keen fans will remember Bessa’s close contest with Kron Gracie at the European Championships, which is just one of many epic battles on his CV. Luca Anacoreta enters this match as perhaps the slight underdog, but with a wealth of competition experience to his name. The Roman has countless European and WPJJC Trials titles under his belt, and also fought Ricardo Liborio black belt,  Eduardo “Teta” Rios, to a draw under submission only rules.

Eddie Cummings vs Reilly Bodycomb (NOGI)

Coming off the back of his epic performances at the recent Eddie Bravo Invitational and with the ADCC taking place this weekend, Eddie Cummings’ profile is at an all-time high. As one of Garry Tonon’s training partners and a John Danaher disciple, Cummings is well versed as a leglock whizz and will no doubt be hunting for an early submission. However, Cummings’ opponent is no stranger to leglocks. Reilly Bodycomb is a sambo expert who represented his native USA at the 2008 Sambo World Championships. We predicted a leglock finish..

Robson Moura vs Baret Yoshida (GI)

We are super-pumped for this one! Robson “Robinho” Moura is a legend of jiu jitsu who needs little introduction, having won five black belt World titles and described as one of the most dynamic fighters of his generation. It has been quite some time since Robinho dusted off the competition kimono and no doubt the whole community will be glued to the screen when he takes to the mat. Moura will have his work cut out in facing another BJJ great, Baret Yoshida. The Hawaiian is an ADCC medallist and World nogi champion who earned his black belt training under Egan Inoue, having fought against the elite of BJJ with some very solid wins. Fans can expect a high paced, action packed match between these two.

Tom Barlow vs Gianni Grippo (NOGI)

The first of two Brits on the card, Tom Barlow is a World nogi champion, multiple European champion and black belt under Braulio Estima. Barlow also competed at the 2011 ADCC in Nottingham England, where he faced-off against Jeff Glover. Tom’s opponent, Gianni Grippo, has been on a competitive rampage since receiving his black belt under Marcelo Garcia. Having picked up a silver medal at the European championships in January, Grippo went on to be crowned a WPJJC champion in April and will be competing at the ADCC this year. Though the stats suggest Grippo is the favourite, neither fighter has been tested under the submission only ruleset.

Michelle Nicolini vs Gezary Matuda (GI)

Michelle Nicolini is one of three fighters to return for Polaris’ second show, after submitted Angelica Galvao via toehold at P1. Having faced Gracie Humaita’s Mackenzie Dern in pretty much every major final this year, Michelle is probably thankful to be facing a fresh opponent in Wales. Matuda is both a Pan Am and World champion at black belt, and just like Nicolini is known for her aggressive, attacking jiu jitsu. We predict fireworks from the word go in this bout.

AJ Agazarm vs Daniel Strauss (NOGI) 

Coming off the back of his submission victory over Oliver Geddes at Polaris 1, AJ Agazarm has agreed to face Daniel Strauss at –90KG, well over his natural weight. However, Agazarm has made a namer for himself throughout his career due to his willingness to fight larger opponents. His opponent Daniel Strauss is known as one of the most talented nogi fighters in the UK, having qualified for the ADCC in 2011 and picking up a European nogi title as a brown belt. Both fighters are genuine crowd pleasers and – more importantly – submission hungry, so we expect this to be one of the fights of the night.

Victor Ribeiro vs Nakamura Daisuke (GI) 

As if the line up wasn’t stacked enough, Polaris fans are treated to the return of Victor “Shaolin” Ribeiro! As a multiple world champion and MMA veteran, Shaolin is a genuine legend of our sport. Nakamura, also a veteran of Pride FC, Dream, DEEP and K-1,  will be keen to avenge his submission loss to Ribeiro from their Cage Rage MMA fight in 2006, which ended via armlock. Nakamura is by far the more active in sport jiu jitsu over the past few years, with Shaolin having been away from the scene for quite some time.

Garry Tonon vs Masakazu Imanari (NOGI) 

On to the main event of the evening! Garry Tonon’s dominance on the professional jiu jitsu circuit has been quite extraordinary in recent times, and he currently stakes claim to the most devastating leglock arsenal in BJJ. Having submitted talented Bellator star, Marcin Held, at Polaris 1, Tonon now faces Japan’s leglock machine: Masakazu Imanari. With an astounding 21 submission victories in his 45 professional MMA bouts, 12 of which were leglocks, Imanari is a true star of the Japanese fight scene. We know one thing for sure, this match will end with submission.

Get your tickets to the live show or the online pay per view via www.polaris-pro.org