KASAI Pro To Feature ADCC Champ vs Champ Superfight
KASAI Pro To Feature ADCC Champ vs Champ Superfight
New York will get a massive superfight in December thanks to KASAI Pro: two ADCC champions will go head to head.
New York is getting a massive superfight in December thanks to KASAI Pro. Two ADCC champions will go head-to-head when 88kg champ Gordon Ryan meets 99kg champ Yuri Simoes in a no-gi clash at the new promotion's World Lightweight Championship tournament.
KASAI Pro made waves earlier this week when it announced the eight-man round robin will feature elite lightweight grapplers such as Garry Tonon and Mansher Khera.
Adding to the show will be the mouth-watering showdown between Ryan and Simoes, which is all the more interesting because of the history between them.
Gordon Ryan. Photo: FloGrappling
Ryan and Simoes have met once before, in the semifinals of EBI6 in 2016. Ryan won that day in overtime, submitting Simoes from the back. At the time, Ryan was a young up-and-comer while Simoes was an ADCC and no-gi world champion. The significance of that victory is not lost on Ryan, who sees it as a turning point in his career.
"He was the first big name I submitted that allowed me to break into the big leagues as far as submission grappling goes," says the 23-year-old Ryan, one of the youngest ADCC champs in history. "Yuri made a huge statement this year winning ADCC twice in a row and at two different weight classes."
Yuri Simoes. Photo: Hywel Teague / FloGrappling
This time the match will be fought under a different rule set: 10 minutes of submission-only, with six minutes of overtime which will see points come into effect (but no advantages).
"Gordon made a name for himself off of mine," says Simoes, who is now a two-time ADCC and two-time no-gi world champion. "I never made an excuse for why I lost. I just told him congratulations and kept evolving as a grappler and a person.
"Now he's saying he's going to finish me and derail this or that. He's coming off the biggest win of his life and he's confident. I like that, but all the confidence in the world isn't going to save him."
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KASAI Pro made waves earlier this week when it announced the eight-man round robin will feature elite lightweight grapplers such as Garry Tonon and Mansher Khera.
Adding to the show will be the mouth-watering showdown between Ryan and Simoes, which is all the more interesting because of the history between them.
Gordon Ryan. Photo: FloGrappling
Ryan and Simoes have met once before, in the semifinals of EBI6 in 2016. Ryan won that day in overtime, submitting Simoes from the back. At the time, Ryan was a young up-and-comer while Simoes was an ADCC and no-gi world champion. The significance of that victory is not lost on Ryan, who sees it as a turning point in his career.
"He was the first big name I submitted that allowed me to break into the big leagues as far as submission grappling goes," says the 23-year-old Ryan, one of the youngest ADCC champs in history. "Yuri made a huge statement this year winning ADCC twice in a row and at two different weight classes."
He's on a roll now and I'm looking forward to derailing that train and submitting him inside 10 minutes, which is something I failed to do in our first match.
Yuri Simoes. Photo: Hywel Teague / FloGrappling
This time the match will be fought under a different rule set: 10 minutes of submission-only, with six minutes of overtime which will see points come into effect (but no advantages).
"Gordon made a name for himself off of mine," says Simoes, who is now a two-time ADCC and two-time no-gi world champion. "I never made an excuse for why I lost. I just told him congratulations and kept evolving as a grappler and a person.
"Now he's saying he's going to finish me and derail this or that. He's coming off the biggest win of his life and he's confident. I like that, but all the confidence in the world isn't going to save him."
I almost tapped him with a torn ACL and meniscus the last time we had a match, and this time around I plan to finish him. Good luck Gordon, because that's the only way you're going to win.Gordon Ryan and Yuri Simoes will face off at KASAI Pro on Dec 9. Watch it LIVE or On Demand ONLY on FloGrappling
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