IBJJF

Diniz Taps Tonon At 2015 No-Gi PanAms, Promises Gold At Worlds

Diniz Taps Tonon At 2015 No-Gi PanAms, Promises Gold At Worlds

Matheus Diniz tapped out Garry Tonon in the black belt openweight division of the 2015 IBJJF No-Gi Pans, next is the 2015 IBJJF No-Gi World Championships on 7. Nov.

Oct 5, 2015 by Hywel Teague
Diniz Taps Tonon At 2015 No-Gi PanAms, Promises Gold At Worlds
Matheus Diniz tapped out Garry Tonon at the 2015 IBJJF No-Gi PanAms in New York on Saturday in the finals of the black belt openweight division. 

The submission victory gave Diniz his second podium finish that day; earlier on, he took silver after closing out the middle heavyweight division with team mate Marcos Tinoco. 

In his match with Tonon, Diniz scored two points for an early takedown and would control his opponent from top half guard. Staying low he easily avoided a kimura set-up that threatened a back take, keeping Tonon on the mat before resuming a similar pass attempt on the opposite side. 

While on top half guard, Diniz left onlookers wondering what had happened when he forced Tonon to verbally submit from nowhere with a wristlock. The move was so unexpected onlookers barely realised the match was over. 

“I let out a knee jerk reaction yell, that's a tap [and] those are the rules,” Tonon wrote on Facebook. “It is what it is, not much I could've done about it, gotta work on not yelling like a little girl. I need to get some work in with Steven Seagal I guess.”

Diniz is 22 years old and hails from the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil. He lives in New York and trains with five-time IBJJF world champion and four-time ADCC world champion Marcelo Garcia, receiving his black belt earlier this year. 

“It’s pretty awesome, I was training every day for this,” Diniz said. “I feel like it’s mission complete, and now I’m looking forward for the next step.” 

That next step is the 2015 IBJJF No-Gi World Championships on 7. Nov, and Diniz will try to repeat his double podium finish performance. 

“I feel like I can [do it]. I always believe in myself. I train hard and I’m always focussed. Why not? I will try my best.”