Diego Pato defeated Keith Krikorian via unanimous decision to defend his WNO lightweight title in front of his new home crowd in Costa Mesa, CA at WNO 26.

Pato, a two division champion at WNO, earned the mount position in the opening minute of the match. After losing the position, Pato spammed leg locks from his guard, but couldn't catch hold of Krikorian's legs. Krikorian is the first person to survive the scheduled length of a match against Pato since the WNO Championships (WNO 10) in 2021.

After his victory, Pato called for a rematch against Diogo Reis, offering to put his featherweight belt on the line against the reigning two-time ADCC champion and former WNO featherweight champ.

Pato moves to 6-1 on the WNO mats, with a 4-1 record in the lightweight division.

Roberto Jimenez had one of the most thrilling submissions of the night with his flying armbar victory over Elder Cruz. Jimenez now holds the second fastest submission in WNO history, also the second fastest armbar and the second fastest submission in the light heavyweight division with his 16-second win over Cruz. Only Achilles Rocha leads him in each of those three categories.

Jimenez' standout performance put him in the clear running to contend for the WNO light heavyweight title, currently held by Pedro Marinho. 

El Natural was not the only light heavyweight to earn title shot consideration at WNO 26. In his WNO debut, Ryan Aitken defeated Luccas Lira via unanimous decision, putting himself within striking distance of a title shot. Lira got ahead early, but Aitken picked up momentum toward the halfway point of the match, using submission threats from the bottom to attain top position.

Aitken has a legitimate claim at a WNO title shot; he submitted WNO light heavyweight champion Pedro Marinho at ADCC last August.

Tainan Dalpra moved to 4-0 in his WNO career with a submission win over Rene Sousa via reverse katagatame.

Dalpra threatened the same choke on three separate occasion. On the first try, Sousa escaped as Dalpra tried to turn it into a darce choke. On the second attempt, Dalpra used it to take Sousa's back and lost the position. He finished the third opportunity for his second career WNO submission.

While Dalpra is quickly climbing through the ranks at middleweight, he may have to wait for a title shot. The title is currently occupied by his AOJ teammate, Jonnatas Gracie.

In his first WNO match in three years, Ronaldo Junior defeated Jay Rodriguez via decision.

Rodriguez controlled the first 12 minutes of the match, using counter wrestling to secure top position on several occasions. But in the final period Ronaldo swept to mount, attacking a katagatame then chasing the back. While Rodriguez returned to his feet, he couldn't do enough to overcome Ronaldo's dominant position and submission threat.

Former WNO champion and reigning ADCC champion Rafaela Guedes returned to the win column with a unanimous decision over No-Gi Worlds silver medalist Paige Ivette. Guedes racked up a litany of submission attempts, attacking arms, legs and neck. While Ivette showed stubborn and intelligent submission defense, she struggled to find her own opening to attack. Ivette's best moment of the match was a near guard pass which she attempted to turn into a back take. Guedes countered that with a chain of submission attempts that endured for much of the final three minutes of the match.

In the opening main card bout, Michael Sainz earned an impressive win in his WNO debut. The 18-year old put a heavy pace on WNO veteran Daniel Sathler, using his wrestling and pressure to overcome the ever-scrappy Alliance representative.

Four of the five WNO prelims ended in submission. In the first match of the evening, AOJ's Icaro Moreno earned a rear naked choke victory in the first-ever WNO kids match. The 12-year old displayed high level wrestling, a slick kimura trap and some flashy crab ride work before wrestling up from a leg entanglement to get the submission from the back.

Rana Wilink, Daughter of Jocko Wilink, won her WNO debut in less than one minute, collecting an outside heel hook over Solange Van Doorn. Sarah Galvao, brown belt no-gi world champion and daughter of Andre and Angelica Galvao, won her own debut against Katie Carr with an armlock from the triangle. The 18-year old passed the guard in the first minute and attempted several tricky back attacks before resetting and returning to back control for the finish.

Long-time black belt Victor Silverio defeated Ian Butler via rear naked choke in his WNO debut. And IBJJF black belt No-Gi World Champion Zach Kaina defeated Isaac Cordova via decision after a nine-minute leg lock shootout.

As WNO came to a close, FloGrappling announced the headliner for WNO 27 in Round Rock, TX scheduled for April 18. 2024 CJI heavyweight champion Nick Rodriguez is slated to face 2024 ADCC double gold champion Kaynan Duarte in a battle between two of the most dangerous current heavyweights in jiu-jitsu.

WNO 26 Full Results:

• Diego Pato def Keith Krikorian via decision
• Roberto Jimenez def Elder Cruz via flying armbar (0:16)
• Ryan Aitken def Luccas Lira via decision
• Tainan Dalpra def Rene Sousa via reverse katagatame (7:00)
• Ronaldo Junior def Jay Rodriguez via decision
• Rafaela Guedes def Paige Ivette via decision
• Michael Sainz def Daniel Sathler via decision
• Zach Kaina def Isaac Cordova via decision
• Victor Silverio def Ian Butler via rear naked choke (2:56)
• Sarah Galvao def Katie Carr via triangle armlock (5:46)
• Rana Willink def Solange Van Doorn (0:56)
• Icaro Moreno def Christopher Sarkissian (4:27)

How To Buy Tickets For WNO 27

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What Is WNO

WNO (Who's Number One) is an up-and-coming grappling promotion known for its submissions. It features some of the world's best grapplers, from the most experienced to the young, overachieving in some of the quickest and most intense matches.

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