WNO 31 is shaping up to be one of the most compelling cards of the year, packed with title matches, high-stakes rematches, and ranked contenders facing off in grappling super fight action. It's all going down in Round Rock, TX on December 5th and we’re breaking down the biggest storylines to watch out for and keep in mind before the athletes step on the mat.

Get your tickets here for WNO 31 in Round Rock, TX on December 5th!

WNO Men's Heavyweight Championship - #1 Felipe Pena vs #2 Luke Griffith

If you hold the heavyweight title, you are the baddest man in the sport. WNO needs a champion, someone who will headline shows and get more big opportunities on one of grappling's biggest stages. That title belt belongs to the best heavyweight in the world and that gets determined on December 5th.

Felipe Pena and Luke Griffith will face off as the top two heavyweights on Earth when they take the mats in Round Rock, TX. The title will be on the line after Luke's mentor and coach Gordon Ryan vacated it after ADCC. Luke now gets the chance to keep that title belt in Austin, TX - but to do so the star pupil will need to beat Gordon's biggest rival, Pena.

The rivalry between Gordon and Felipe is well documented, culminating at ADCC 2024 with their super fight. This is now the next chapter and evolution of that rivalry, as Pena faces off against this next generation. At that same ADCC, the very next day, Pena and Luke faced off for the first time. Luke was able to storm his way to a huge lead but it was Felipe escaping and firing back, finishing with a dramatic submission in a match that ultimately only lasted a few minutes.

After that, we saw a huge change in Griffith. He dropped fifty pounds and focused on cardio instead of power - and it paid off when he returned at WNO 27 against the hulking Victor Hugo. In a reversal of his ADCC final, it was Griffith escaping Hugo's back control before turning the tides, taking his back, and winning the match. Luke had turned his failure into motivation, and that motivation into a noticeable breakthrough improvement in his already elite game. That win set him up for a title shot against Felipe Pena for the vacant belt.

Then at CJI, they faced off again. Luke went out first to face off with Diego Pato, and was able to secure the submission against the top pound-for-pound grappler. Felipe Pena took the mats next, and in one of that weekend's most impressive performances he sprinted his way to the armbar victory - but after he had nothing left and had to survive the next round against Dorian Olivarez.

I think we need to be careful putting too much on that one result - the last time we saw Luke Griffith lose to Felipe Pena, he totally changed his life so that he could improve himself. We saw that improvement against Victor, one of the best in the world. He lost again, after already having a match right before, but I don't think we can assume that the same guy will show up at WNO 31. Luke is clearly on an upward trajectory and has shown in every match that he's only an adjustment or two away from victory.

Whoever wins claims the number one spot in the world in the FloGrappling rankings, with this currently being between 1 & 2. Pena can claim the only major championship to ever evade him, having won in IBJJF, ADCC, and basically every promotion he's ever competed for. Pena's longevity really is underrated, and with this win he can further establish his greatness across generations. This can be a legacy defining win for a career that is already full of them.

WNO Men's Lightweight Championship - #1 Diego Pato vs #4 Deandre Corbe

Earlier this year, Deandre Corbe scored the upset win over then-#1 Diego Pato at Sapateiro BJJ on his way to winning that $100,000 tournament. He took the win, the number one spot, and the money. Since then, he's proven himself more and more that he belongs with the best int the world. Now, he's back to take Pato's WNO lightweight title.

At Sapateiro, Corbe won a close decision under ADCC rules, thanks in part to his stellar wrestling and leg lock defense. Since then, Pato has reclaimed the number one spot but (speaking as the guy who does the rankings) those top-4 (which also includes Fabricio Andrey and Dante Leon) are razor close and any of them can beat one of the others on any given day. The parity and level of precision at the top of this division is unreal and I expect one of the year's most technically brilliant bouts when these two hit the mats.

Pato is one of the most dangerous grapplers ever, a modern Rousamir Palhares who has submission power that's like one punch KO power. He doesn't even need a deep bite on a submission lock to produce devastating results, and he melds that with a classically strong game that focuses on a world-class guard. Pato has proven it time and again, he's one of the best in any weight class and a fearless competitor.

Deandre Corbe has only continued to build up his stock with repeated impressive performances and victories against the best in the world. With his team's modern 'ecological' approach to training, they have been able to produce incredible results over and over. Part of Deandre's keys to winning at Sapateiro was the leg lock defenses and calmness in danger that Corbe has developed with that ecological style. Can lightning strike twice here, with Corbe taking out number one Pato again?

WNO Women's Featherweight Championship - #1 Helena Crevar vs #18 Julia Boscher

Helena Crevar now sits at the most interesting intersection of her career yet - she is now going from the hunter to the hunted. For years it's been hard to get this teenage phenom matches against some of the best, even though she stays very active. Now, after winning the historic tournament at CJI 2, she's on top and everyone now is taking aim at knocking her off. This sport is full of competitors, they all want to beat the best in the world, and that's now Helena - so how does she react to this sudden shift? Now that everyone is focusing on how to defeat her best attacks, what changes?

The first woman to face Crevar for that newly won WNO title will be world-ranked Brazilian contender Julia Boscher, an aggressive, brawling Brazilian who comes to Round Rock with an upset in mind. She's got the strength and pressure that has given Crevar problems before, although most of those matches were in the gi. If Boscher can find ways to apply those same tactics here, she's as dangerous as anyone.

Heavyweight Bout - #3 Gabi Pessanha vs #7 Paige Ivette Clymer

Gabi Pessanha, the apex predator of women's jiu-jitsu, now finally makes her long anticipated super fight debut - and she's taking on one of the toughest women in the division right out of the gate in Paige Ivette Clymer. Gabi's reign of dominance over every tournament she has ever entered cannot be overstated - still in her early prime, she's already easily the greatest women's black belt competitor in the gi ever. She regularly goes through these tournaments with double gold performances in just a few minutes combined.

Gabi comes from the favelas of City of God, Brazil, and has built herself up into being the single most fearsome and dominant combat sports athlete on the planet. She sets goals and destroys them. Now that she enters the WNO scene, we're going to get to see more of her powerful, submission-oriented style that leaves opponents in genuine physical danger.

For even 99% of women's black belts, they have next to no hope of competing with Gabi. That's not the case with Paige. Paige, who was one half of WNO's most exciting women's match ever earlier this year, has the power, technique, size, and style to meaningfully compete with Gabi - and even beat her. Even though Gabi will be heavier, Paige's background as a bodybuilder and physical preparation leave her second to none for power in the women's divisions. She has shown the leg locking skill necessary to stay safe in Gabi's incredible leg locks. She has the game to attack and put Gabi on the defensive. If anyone can do it, it's Paige.

Paige Ivette Clymer has had to battle back and rebuild after a catastrophic knee injury. She was right on the precipice of breaking through then. Since returning, she's come close again with silver medal performances at major events like No-Gi Pans and Worlds. Since those events she has only continued to improve and look better and her last two matches on WNO really looked like the Paige we were seeing pre-injury. I think she's now fully back in a way she wasn't even during that IBJJF run and we are going to see the best version of her yet.

Welterweight Bout - #5 Dante Leon vs #20 Andy Murasaki

Dante Leon has a habit of accepting the toughest challenges in the sport, over and over again. At WNO 30, he made it to the finals of the Open Weight GP as the lightest competitor and nearly won the whole thing. This match is no exception now as Dante faces off against Andy Murasaki. Andy is one of the best in the world but he has been competing almost exclusively in the gi over the last few years. Even still, Dante is all-in on this high-risk matchup. Dante, to his credit, is the last man to beat the current WNO champion Mica Galvão, submitting him with an ankle lock in the absolute at ADCC. Now, a win here could finally establish Dante as the man to face Mica when he returns to defend that strap.

For Andy, he's clearly established himself as one of the best in the world at any weight class in the gi even though the black belt world championship has evaded him. Now that he is making more of an effort to get back into no-gi, maybe this is a sign that Andy is broadening his horizons and may chase more major championships in no-gi as well. Andy is always testing himself against the best there is, and he jumps right into the deep end of this division by agreeing to face Dante Leon. Can he jump to the head of the line for a title shot with a win here? Andy has a history with champion Mica and a rematch is still an option after their controversial world final in 2024.

Light Heavyweight Bout - #5 Felipe 'Laranjinha' Costa vs Abe La Montagne

Two of Austin's best big men face off here in an early main card match at WNO 31, when Felipe 'Laranjinha' Costa faces off with Abe 'The Mountain' La Montagne at 205lbs. There's plenty of local bragging rights on the line between these two, but more than that it's a great opportunity for both men. Laranjinha enters this match after a 1-2 start on WNO, including a recent semifinal finish at WNO 30's GP. He still hasn't shown the full depth of his arsenal on the super fight stage, with most of his best performances coming in tournament settings like ADCC Worlds. Can we get a dialed & dominant Laranjinha on December 5th? Will he look like the guy that he has shown us in flashes? Or will he struggle with one of the division's dark horses?

Abe La Montagne is flying a little under the radar but the Kingsway product has all the tools to contend with anyone in this division. He's as strong and muscular as any grappler at 205lbs and has a devastating leg lock that is highlighted by the reverse closed guard toe hold that now often gets called by his name ('The Abe Lock'). He's had success under IBJJF rules, ADCC rules, and even has a win over Vagner Rocha at an ADCC Open. Now, he gets the biggest opportunity of his career here, one that he has been working towards for years. If Abe can rise to the occasion, it'll vault him into a new stratosphere.

WNO 31: Pena vs Griffith Full Card

• WNO Men's Heavyweight Championship - Felipe Pena vs Luke Griffith
• WNO Women's Featherweight Championship - Helena Crevar vs Julia Boscher
• Light Heavyweight Bout - Xande Ribeiro vs Faris Benlamkadem
• Heavyweight Bout - Gabi Pessanha vs Paige Ivette Clymer
• Light Heavyweight Bout - Felipe 'Laranjinha' Costa vs Abe La Montagne
• Middleweight Bout - Oliver Taza vs Chris Wojcik
• Preliminary Bout - Joslyn Molina vs Katie Bochenek
• Preliminary Bout - Grayson Henley vs Michael Bannach
• Preliminary Bout - Sean Magnus vs Nick Fritz

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