POLARIS PRO 4: OUR PREDICTIONS

Polaris Pro 4 is set for October 29^th and we’re starting to get quite excited! Here’s the full fight card and – for fun – a little look at our predictions.

FERNANDO ‘TERERE’ VS VITOR ‘SHAOLIN’ RIBEIRO
When Polaris Pro dropped news that these two legends of jiu jitsu would be facing-off on their latest show, we lost our shit! Vitor Shoalin is a multiple world champion, but perhaps best known for his exploits in PRIDE FC and the world of MMA. Having returned to competitive jiu jitsu in recent times, fighting (and submitting) opponents at both the WPJJC in Abu Dhabi and Polaris Pro 2, Vitor is on top form heading into this match.

What more can be said of Fernando Terere? The Carioca is truly one of the most-liked athletes in out sport, and despite being relatively quiet on the competitive scene in recent times, we’ve no doubt he’ll head into this match in great shape.

OUR PREDICTION: Terere victory.

GILBERT ‘DURINHO’ BURNS VS GARRY TONON
Garry Tonon is arguably the single most important athlete behind the rise in popularity of ‘submission only’ or non-IBJJF events over the last few years. His super fight CV is ridiculously impressive, and who can forget his match with Toquinho from Polaris 3?

After ironing out a few stumbling blocks regarding his weight (mainly thanks to Garry Tonon calling him out on social media) Gilbert Burns will take a break from his UFC career to face Polaris Pro’s golden boy. There’s no denying “Durinho” will bring a level of intensity and pace that will test Tonon’s reserve like never before, and we predict this is going to be an incredibly close match to call.

OUR PREDICTION: Tonon victory.

AJ AGAZARM VS IKUHISA ‘MINOWAMAN’ MINOWA
Love him or hate him, there’s no denying AJ Agazarm is one of the grittiest competitors in our sport, and he seems literally impossible to submit. He always brings excitement to proceedings, but his opponent also knows a thing or two about putting on a show…

Minowa is an absolute legend of both pro-wrestling and MMA in Japan. He will substantially out-weigh Agazarm, and he also possesses a great knowledge of heel hooks and leg attacks. We’ve literally no idea what will happen in this one!

OUR PREDICTION: Ummmm…

JACKSON SOUSA VS DILLON DANIS
As one of Ricardo Vieira’s top students, now based in London, Jackson Sousa is quickly rising to the top of the pile in sport jiu jitsu. Having narrowly missed out on an IBJJF world title earlier this year in LA, Jackson has shown he can hang with the best athletes in the world and there’s plenty more install for him.

Dillon Danis is one of Marcelo Garcia’s top black belts, a regular training partner for Connor McGregor and a VERY talented nogi fighter. Props to Dillon for taking this match, as we imagine he’ll be giving away some weight to Sousa, but it’s set to be a very intriguing match.

OUR PREDICTION: Sousa victory.

MASAKAZU IMANARI VS NATHAN ORCHARD
With Denny Prokopos dropping-out due to injury, it is fellow 10^th Planet representative, Nathan Orchard, who will take on the legendary Masakuzu Imanari. Orchard is a very underrated athlete who will be chomping at the bit to show that he can mix it with the best on the biggest stages.

For Imanari, he comes off the back of a defeat to Garry Tonon at Polaris Pro 2 and will be looking for redemption. With both fighters partial to the occasional leglock, we wouldn’t be surprised if this finishes quickly.

OUR PREDICTION: Orchard victory.

EDUARDO ‘TETA’ RIOS VS CHARLES NEGROMONTE
A black belt under Ricardo Liborio and one of Scandinavia’s pioneering black belts, Eduardo ‘Teta’ Rios has been doing this shit for a long, long time. Though he was on the back foot for much of the match, we were hugely impressed with his Polaris Pro debut against Pablo Popovitch, with the ADCC champion unable to submit Teta.

As a black belt under Ze Radiola, long time training partner of the Estima brothers and instructor at Roger Gracie Academy HQ, Charles Negromonte is one of the best-kept secrets in UK BJJ. There’s no denying Charles is ready to mix it with the elite, having already medalled at the IBJJF Nogi Worlds as a black belt and training regularly with the best athletes in the world.

OUR PREDICTION: Negromonte win.

DOMINYKA OBELENYTE VS YAS WILSON
Dominyka Obelenyte is the lady on top of the pile right now, and she has been for the last few years. Though Yas Wilson will come into this as a dark horse, you’d better not rule her out, as she has shown on many occasions she can mix it with the best athletes in the world. Wilson, who is Roger Gracie’s first female black belt, will take to the mat substantially lighter than Obelenyte, but we’re going to give her our vote of confidence as an underdog!

OUR PREDICTION: Going with the underdog, Yas Wilson.

TOM BREESE VS BEN DYSON
Ben Dyson put on a fantastic performance at the last Polaris event, having weathered an early tirade of leg attacks, nearly concussing himself by hitting the stage, before coming back to win via kimura. Add a Ne Waza Challenge title to his name and all of a sudden Dyson arises as one of the UK’s top submission specialists.

Tom Breese is best known for his exploits in the Octagon for the UFC, so it will be interesting to see how he fares in a pure jiu jitsu event. This is a tough match to call, but we’re going with Dyson based on his current run of form.

OUR PREDICTION: Dyson win.