KASAI continues to raise the bar for high-performance professional jiu-jitsu with the introduction of its Super Series.

The main event pits jiu-jitsu superstar Gordon Ryan against ADCC 99kg and Absolute silver medalist Joao Gabriel Rocha.

Rocha’s selection may seem surprising to those new to the sport—he's been predominantly seen in gi competition in the last two years—but as the aforementioned ADCC titles should imply, the Soul Fighters Competitor is truly game for the challenge.   

Will Joao slay the king? Is Gordon truly unstoppable? Read on for our analysis.

Watch KASAI Super Series LIVE, Feb. 2

The Rules

The rules for this match are simple: 10 minutes submission-only; heel hooks are legal. 

Should time expire without a submission, the match will move into overtime, which will consist of one five-minute round with the addition of points being in play (there are no advantages, but a single POINT is awarded for a near submission attack).

The Challenger's Keys to Victory

It’s no secret that Joao has been heel hooked before, four times in fact, but his team was very open and cognizant that this is a perceived area of weakness, and they have been strengthening Joao's skill with the attack and ability to avoid them altogether.  

With that said, simply "avoiding Gordon's leglocks" is not a comprehensive game plan; we've seen over the past two years that Gordon's an exceptionally well-rounded athlete—his passing, wrestling, submission game has expanded to cover all reaches of the game. 

Essentially, Gordon is comfortable everywhere, so Joao will need to get creative—and vicious—in order to force Ryan on the back foot and impose his own will.

The best route to achieving that aim is to set a harsh pace against the DDS squad member from the opening bell; should Joao be able to successfully harness his surprisingly agile wrestling to his advantage, he could set the tone of the match when the game hits the floor.

Joao used a heavy snapdown to begin a slick scramble that led to the back at ADCC 2013.

Passing Gordon's guard is no easy task—no one's been able to do it in recent memory (Felipe Pena has a route to the back that we've all seen, but still, not a "pass" and also not sequence we'll likely see Joao go to), but if Joao can capitalize off of a scramble from the feet and hit the ground in an opportunistic sequence, he could shock the world.

Playing guard is not going to be a strength for Joao in this case, and the Soul Fighters athlete should absolutely stay on top at all costs.  

Gordon's Keys to Victory

The obvious route is to force the leglock game, but we don't think the match is going down that way.  

Gordon was disappointed that he wasn't able to test his evolving wrestling skills against Matheus Diniz at the last KASAI Pro, and stated he felt uncomfortable doing so at IBJJF No-Gi Worlds due to accumulation of minor injuries; perhaps a brief winter break provided enough of a reprieve to let old wounds heal and give him the chance to wrestle. 

Which,  would actually make things quite interesting, because as mentioned above, Joao is a very dangerous wrestler himself—it would be an excellent test for both athletes to see how this plays out on the feet.  

Should Gordon put Joao on his back and keep him on the ground, the match is probably his: he just has too many options for submissions or pathways to the back. But we also think Joao's camp knows this and have been drilling their scrambles and escapes in order to reset the position back on the feet.

Where does that leave us then? Gordon ultimately has the exhausting task of trying to keep Joao on his back and work his passing game and back attacks, or he can choose to play guard and force Joao into a leg pummeling war that he is likely to win.