Mindset / News / Training Tips / Highlights / History / Lifestyle / Techniques / New to Jiu Jitsu / Jiu Jitsu Style Magazine
POLARIS PROFESSIONAL JIU JITSU INVITATIONAL
As you are no doubt aware, there’s a brand new professional jiu jitsu event coming to Europe on January 10th – and it’s creating quite a buzz! We caught up with the Polaris Jiu Jitsu Invitational organisers to discuss their hotly anticipated debut show.
What was your initial motivation behind the conception of Polaris?
We wanted to create a professional, high level jiu jitsu event that reflected the growing interest in our sport around the world. There's no reason why a jiu jitsu event can't be as exciting or essential to our sport, as the UFC or Pride are (and were) to MMA.
Aside from the ADCC, you’ve probably put together the best fight card Europe has ever seen. Is it your intention to always have such high calibre fighters on the show?
Our intention will always be to showcase talent in jiu jitsu or grappling, whether from established stars or more up and coming competitors. The theme of the show will always be putting on good, exciting, interesting matchups.
We know you’ve gone for the submission only format, which is awesome. Why did you opt to go for that format and what other rules are you going to implement?
We briefly thought of having a modified rule set and points, but in the end decided that submission only would be the way forwards. No room for human error in judging and hopefully more exciting fights for the fans.
The venue in particular looks fantastic, so what can attendees expect from the night – awesome jiu jitsu aside?
We want the live experience to be a real experience, where the fans can sit down with a drink, be comfortable, and soak up the atmosphere of a live event. We'd also advise you to bring your pocket money, as our sponsors will have stalls and possibly limited edition items for sale exclusively at the event.
What do you hope will make Polaris stand out from other professional jiu jitsu events? Essentially, what do you think you will do differently?
We're doing our best to look after the competitors and collaborators behind the scenes, as well as the audience. We'd like a reputation as a good organisation to work with. And we'll constantly be working to improve every aspect of the show, from the live experience to the PPV.
The whole event seems to be put together extremely professionally – we assume there has been significant investment from sponsors etc?
Polaris is primarily backed by Tatami Fightwear and Scramble, two UK companies who felt that the time was right to bring a professional jiu jitsu event to Europe (and the rest of the world via PPV).
Do you see Polaris becoming an annual, bi-annual, or quarterly event?
We'll see how the reception is but we'd like to think that the BJJ culture in Europe and across the world can support multiple events per year. We have plans for future events that will take full advantage of Scramble, Tatami and BJJ Style's reach across the world, with competitors from all corners of the globe battling it out on our stage.
We know you still have two fights to announce – any hints!?
We're in talks with a couple of the biggest American stars of jiu jitsu at the moment.
Thanks for your time guys, was there anything else you wanted to share with our readers?
We're looking forward to seeing everyone at the event in Cardiff. It's an easy train ride from most places in the UK, and the nearby Bristol airport makes it accessible for people coming from further afield. It's going to be an incredibly exciting event to see in person. We're hoping that the inaugural Polaris will be a historic occasion, a landmark for jiu jitsu in Europe. And we're working hard to bring a PPV that can be viewed online by anyone. As the event will be on Saturday evening, that would be the daytime for most of the USA which should be convenient for fans there.
The full fight line-up includes:
KEENAN CORNELIUS vs ABRAHAM MARTE
JT TORRES vs VICTOR ESTIMA
DEAN LISTER vs PABLO POPOVITCH
MIKE FOWLER vs EDUARDO TELLES
AJ AGAZARM vs OLI GEDDES
KIT DALE vs VICTOR SILVEIRO
MICHELLE NICOLINI vs ANGELICA GALVAO
DARRAGH O CONAILL vs MAX CAMPOS
For more information and to book your tickets visit: www.polaris-pro.org
Issue 23, with cover star Rickson Gracie, is AVAILABLE NOW! See what's inside HERE.
What was your initial motivation behind the conception of Polaris?
We wanted to create a professional, high level jiu jitsu event that reflected the growing interest in our sport around the world. There's no reason why a jiu jitsu event can't be as exciting or essential to our sport, as the UFC or Pride are (and were) to MMA.
Aside from the ADCC, you’ve probably put together the best fight card Europe has ever seen. Is it your intention to always have such high calibre fighters on the show?
Our intention will always be to showcase talent in jiu jitsu or grappling, whether from established stars or more up and coming competitors. The theme of the show will always be putting on good, exciting, interesting matchups.
We know you’ve gone for the submission only format, which is awesome. Why did you opt to go for that format and what other rules are you going to implement?
We briefly thought of having a modified rule set and points, but in the end decided that submission only would be the way forwards. No room for human error in judging and hopefully more exciting fights for the fans.
The venue in particular looks fantastic, so what can attendees expect from the night – awesome jiu jitsu aside?
We want the live experience to be a real experience, where the fans can sit down with a drink, be comfortable, and soak up the atmosphere of a live event. We'd also advise you to bring your pocket money, as our sponsors will have stalls and possibly limited edition items for sale exclusively at the event.
What do you hope will make Polaris stand out from other professional jiu jitsu events? Essentially, what do you think you will do differently?
We're doing our best to look after the competitors and collaborators behind the scenes, as well as the audience. We'd like a reputation as a good organisation to work with. And we'll constantly be working to improve every aspect of the show, from the live experience to the PPV.
The whole event seems to be put together extremely professionally – we assume there has been significant investment from sponsors etc?
Polaris is primarily backed by Tatami Fightwear and Scramble, two UK companies who felt that the time was right to bring a professional jiu jitsu event to Europe (and the rest of the world via PPV).
Do you see Polaris becoming an annual, bi-annual, or quarterly event?
We'll see how the reception is but we'd like to think that the BJJ culture in Europe and across the world can support multiple events per year. We have plans for future events that will take full advantage of Scramble, Tatami and BJJ Style's reach across the world, with competitors from all corners of the globe battling it out on our stage.
We know you still have two fights to announce – any hints!?
We're in talks with a couple of the biggest American stars of jiu jitsu at the moment.
Thanks for your time guys, was there anything else you wanted to share with our readers?
We're looking forward to seeing everyone at the event in Cardiff. It's an easy train ride from most places in the UK, and the nearby Bristol airport makes it accessible for people coming from further afield. It's going to be an incredibly exciting event to see in person. We're hoping that the inaugural Polaris will be a historic occasion, a landmark for jiu jitsu in Europe. And we're working hard to bring a PPV that can be viewed online by anyone. As the event will be on Saturday evening, that would be the daytime for most of the USA which should be convenient for fans there.
The full fight line-up includes:
KEENAN CORNELIUS vs ABRAHAM MARTE
JT TORRES vs VICTOR ESTIMA
DEAN LISTER vs PABLO POPOVITCH
MIKE FOWLER vs EDUARDO TELLES
AJ AGAZARM vs OLI GEDDES
KIT DALE vs VICTOR SILVEIRO
MICHELLE NICOLINI vs ANGELICA GALVAO
DARRAGH O CONAILL vs MAX CAMPOS
For more information and to book your tickets visit: www.polaris-pro.org
Issue 23, with cover star Rickson Gracie, is AVAILABLE NOW! See what's inside HERE.
Subscribe to our newsletter
Promotions, new products and sales. Directly to your inbox.
