After Year-Long Absence, Sean Roberts Is Back To Make His Mark
After Year-Long Absence, Sean Roberts Is Back To Make His Mark
Sean Roberts made a name for himself by sweeping through divisions and accepting superfights in a number of different jiu-jitsu promotions, quickly becoming known as one of the top American jiu-jitsu phenoms.
Sean Roberts made a name for himself by sweeping through divisions and accepting superfights in a number of different jiu-jitsu promotions, quickly becoming known as one of the top American jiu-jitsu phenoms. Whatever the rule set and whoever the opponent, Roberts was game.
A master of the triangle submission, Roberts has been somewhat absent from the competition scene over the past two years.
Now he is looking to come back with a vengeance, starting with the Five Super League Welterweight Pro Invitational in San Diego on December 3.
Roberts is no stranger to submission-only tournaments. In December 2012, he was one of the brown belts invited to Lloyd Irvin's first "Kumite" event. In March 2014, he faced Zak Maxwell in Metamoris III. He has also competed in several Dream Jiu-Jitsu tournaments, fighting under a submission-only, no time-limit rule set.
The Five Super League will offer a very different challenge, with only six minutes to submit one's opponent and a referee's decisions at the end of a match with no submission.
"So it's definitely different," Roberts said. "I have to be a little bit quicker, and I can't rely on holding my opponents down as much. But since it's sub only, I don't have to rely on the points strategy."
There are some familiar faces in the bracket for Roberts. He faced Bill Cooper six years back when he was just a purple belt and Cooper was already a black belt. He fought Brian Morizi on several occasions and Marcelo Mafra twice.
Others, such as Michael Liera Jr., Edwin Najmi, and Dillon Danis, received their black belts during the time Roberts stepped away from much of the competition scene, so he hasn't had the opportunity to face them until now.
"I'm just down to fight anyone," Roberts said. "Even those I've fought before, I haven't fought in a while, so it's like fighting a new opponent again."
Roberts admits that he doesn't want to face Mafra in the first match though, simply because they used to be training partners. Nevertheless, Roberts said he's ready to fight anyone on the card.
"You have to be prepared to fight anyone anyway, because you don't know who you're going to fight next," he said.
Although his last tournament was over a year ago (at the SJJIF 2015 Worlds Championship) and under a points-based rule set, he doesn't expect this to affect his performance. In fact, his semi-hiatus from the major jiu-jitsu events may play to his advantage.
"There's not a bunch of footage on me, so that's a good thing," he said.
Unlike many of his opponents.
The Five Grappling Super League goes down on December 3 and you can watch it live here on FloGrappling.
STREAMING: Available only on FloGrappling for $20 monthly or $150 yearly. A yearly FloPRO subscription provides access to ALL FloSports sites. SIGN UP HERE
A master of the triangle submission, Roberts has been somewhat absent from the competition scene over the past two years.
Now he is looking to come back with a vengeance, starting with the Five Super League Welterweight Pro Invitational in San Diego on December 3.
Roberts is no stranger to submission-only tournaments. In December 2012, he was one of the brown belts invited to Lloyd Irvin's first "Kumite" event. In March 2014, he faced Zak Maxwell in Metamoris III. He has also competed in several Dream Jiu-Jitsu tournaments, fighting under a submission-only, no time-limit rule set.
The Five Super League will offer a very different challenge, with only six minutes to submit one's opponent and a referee's decisions at the end of a match with no submission.
"So it's definitely different," Roberts said. "I have to be a little bit quicker, and I can't rely on holding my opponents down as much. But since it's sub only, I don't have to rely on the points strategy."
There are some familiar faces in the bracket for Roberts. He faced Bill Cooper six years back when he was just a purple belt and Cooper was already a black belt. He fought Brian Morizi on several occasions and Marcelo Mafra twice.
Others, such as Michael Liera Jr., Edwin Najmi, and Dillon Danis, received their black belts during the time Roberts stepped away from much of the competition scene, so he hasn't had the opportunity to face them until now.
"I'm just down to fight anyone," Roberts said. "Even those I've fought before, I haven't fought in a while, so it's like fighting a new opponent again."
Roberts admits that he doesn't want to face Mafra in the first match though, simply because they used to be training partners. Nevertheless, Roberts said he's ready to fight anyone on the card. "You have to be prepared to fight anyone anyway, because you don't know who you're going to fight next," he said.
Although his last tournament was over a year ago (at the SJJIF 2015 Worlds Championship) and under a points-based rule set, he doesn't expect this to affect his performance. In fact, his semi-hiatus from the major jiu-jitsu events may play to his advantage.
"There's not a bunch of footage on me, so that's a good thing," he said.
Unlike many of his opponents.
I study on all of my opponents," Roberts said. "My strategy is to take them out of their element and put them in mine. It's hard to dictate what's going to happen in the match, but I study them and watch for repetitive things. Look at what they do and don't do... things to watch out for. A lot of guys have a trick up their sleeve that they pull out during tournaments, and I don't want to walk into anything stupid.Although Roberts hasn't been as active in the competition scene recently -- focusing on teaching and growing his academy -- he promises that jiu-jitsu fans will be seeing a lot more of him in the coming year.
The Five Grappling Super League goes down on December 3 and you can watch it live here on FloGrappling.
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