When the email came asking if he'd be interested in a superfight with Nicky Ryan, Kennedy Maciel admits to not even knowing who he was.

A quick search told him everything he needed to know: "He's coming from Renzo's in New York. He's the younger brother of Gordon Ryan, who's winning everything in EBI," Maciel said.

Maciel is a IBJJF purple belt world champion and a blue belt no-gi world champion. Many other grapplers would have turned down the superfight series match at Studio 540 in Solana Beach, California, on Saturday, Dec. 17, simply because of the rules: a 30-minute round with EBI overtime rounds.  

Watch Kennedy Maciel fight Nicky Ryan in the Studio 540 superfight series on Dec. 17,  FOR FREE, when you sign up the day of the event FloGrappling


Kennedy Maciel trains no-gi with his father Rubens 'Cobrinha' Charles. Photo: Erin Herle

That's not to mention the leg locks.

"They can go for heel hooks and reaping the leg, stuff like that. It's how they do, right?" Maciel said.

Watch Video: Kennedy Maciel Training No-Gi With Cobrinha

Maciel accepted the challenge after some consideration. For most grapplers who primarily compete in IBJJF competitions, heel hooks are totally foreign and usually to be feared.

At first I thought it would be a little dangerous, but then I said let's do it. We started getting ready. It's not something you can go without training. You got to respect heel hooks, you can damage your career if you don't tap.

Maciel has a helpful figure in his corner. His father is Rubens Charles (better known as "Cobrinha"), a four-time gi world champion, four-time no-gi world champion, and a two-time ADCC champion.

Along with the rest of the Cobrinha Jiu-Jitsu team, Maciel has been working on a strategy to deal with Ryan's well-known leglock game -- which positions to avoid and attacks to defend.

"If you're not familiar with [leg reaping and heelhooks], 100 percent you're going to get hurt," Cobrinha said. "We've been working on mostly defending the leglocks. Our goal is practicing the attack as well, but we're focusing more on the defense."

Cobrinha on the danger of heel hooks

Maciel's style is similar to that of his father: a lot of sit-up guard, triangles, and taking the back. It's not a case of Maciel blindly following in his father's footsteps.

"I like it, and it works for my body type," Maciel said.

Also on Saturday's card at Studio 540 are matches featuring Gordon Ryan vs Felipe Pena, and Garry Tonon vs Kim Terra.

With Maciel and Ryan going head to head in the opening bout, there will be plenty of attention on these two young men. The prospect of taking more superfights like this excites Maciel though, and he's already thinking to the future.

Maybe if they like it, they can start promoting another superfight. I'd be down for that, and it'd be a whole different jiu-jitsu. It'll be really good to have other superfights and opportunities.

Additional reporting by Erin Herle

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