The submissions were flying at the ADCC West Coast Trials with six out of seven of the finals getting taken care of in the opening round. 

With 342 competitors the biggest North American Trials to date saw a diverse cast of characters among the entrants, from multiple-time No-Gi World champions such as Josh Hinger, to teenage stars in the making like William Tackett, the Ruotolo brothers and– of course– Nicky Ryan. 

The women's divisions saw fierce competition for the all-important ticket to the ADCC World Championships in September, featuring some of the biggest divisions we've ever seen to feature female athletes– five matches to win gold. 

John Danaher's squad continue to soar and there were four members of the extended Renzo Gracie family making the finals. The prevalence of leglocks in every division prove that his influence on jiu-jitsu is only growing in magnitude. 

While we saw veterans like Josh Hinger and Jena Bishop realize their dreams of going to ADCC, a gang of fresh faces filled the podium with the tough John Combs emerging top of the 112 man-strong 77kg division, brown belt Mason Fowler taking gold in -99kg, the surging Nick Rodriguez– a former D3 wrestler who has only been training jiu-jitsu for 8 months– crush the +99kg division, and multi-talented combat sports athlete Amanda Leve hit a spectacular finish to take the +60kg division. 

66kg: Nicky Ryan tears through the opposition in toughest challenge

Five matches, five submissions for the 17-year-old wunderkind. It's been a minute since we saw Nicky compete in a tournament setting, as he's prioritized high profile superfights of late. His success in that arena is undeniable, but it was interesting to see how the young Danaher protege would handle the challenges of competing in this kind of environment. The answer was clear: he blew through the 66kg division with a 100% submission rate, submitting Ara Muradyan, Antonio Lopez, Kade Ruotolo, Richard Alarcon and Keith Krikorian to earn the right to compete at the 2019 ADCC World Championships. 

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77kg: Life changes for John Combs helped delivered finest performance to date

Combs was a regular face on the competition circuit until late, but a series of life changes and injuries saw Combs take a backseat from the tournament scene and focus more on teaching and training. The Boulder, Colorado-based black belt reps Easton BJJ and has long been known for his huge heart and breakneck style, but a composed and mature performance at Trials saw him submit five out of his six matches. The gigantic 77kg division was loaded with dark horses but Combs took them in his stride, including the teenage William Tackett in the final, who Combs submitted via mounted guillotine.  

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88kg: Bucket list trip to ADCC on the horizon for Josh Hinger 

Veteran grappler Josh Hinger came close to qualifying for ADCC in 2017, taking bronze at the West Coast Trials two years ago. This time around Hinger left nothing to chance, with three submissions in five matches. The Atos black belt has been carrying a pec injury since November but powered through the setback in classic style. His guillotine attacks– known as the Hingertine– proved decisive, with his sharp submission game saw him win with a triangle in his opening match and in the final via anaconda choke. Hinger passed up on a trip to Thailand for the Trials on his coach Andre Galvao's advice, and now can be satisfied that his "bucket list" item of going to ADCC is one step closer to becoming a reality. 

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99kg: Fowler earns gold, and attention of his idol

Norcal grappler Mason Fowler isn't a big name on the international competition circuit– yet. The former MMA fighter and jiu-jitsu brown belt, now training with Caio Terra in San Jose– has made waves in both gi and no-gi tournaments, but none so big as his emphatic and exotic submission win in the -99kg final at the ADCC West Coast Trials. Fowler's use of the rubber guard as a tactic from bottom earned him the attention of his "idol" Eddie Bravo, and some unsolicited but welcome matside coaching midway through his matches. A choke from the omoplata position in the final against Diego Vasquez of Carlson Gracie Temecula earned Fowler his place at the 2019 ADCC Worlds. 

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+99kg: 8 months of submission grappling training no barrier for Nick Rodriguez 

The statuesque figure of Nick Rodriguez stands out on the mat even before he blasts through his opponents with a potent mix of strong wrestling and growing submission game to submit three out of five matches. Yes, it's true: Rodriguez has only been training jiu-jitsu for nine months. However, the blue belt from New Jersey is training "two to three time a days, six days a week". His coaches Steve Bongiorno and Jay Regalbuto has been entering him into as many local tournaments and superfights as possible, and periodic trips up to the main Renzo Gracie Academy in New York to work with Gordon Ryan and co has helped accelerate his development into the fearsome specimen we see now. The only question is how much can Rodriguez improve between now and September, where he'll need to face off with world-class black belts. 

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-60kg: Bishop's conviction carries her to ADCC Worlds

It's remarkable that only Jena Bishop's opponent in the final could last the distance, as the Alliance black belt submitted everyone until then in a matter of minutes. Bishop is a mainstay on the comp scene and her experience showed– she played an attacking game that rarely left her opponents little chance to counter, and worked her way to the finish in four out of five matches. Bishop says she made the decision to compete at ADCC last year, and that conviction saw her come out on top of the -60kg division. 

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+60kg: Leve's spur of the moment trip ends with trip to ADCC

MMA, kickboxing, jiu-jitsu... Philly-based Amanda Leve is a multi-talented competitor who has been training since she was a child. Signing up for the Trials on just a few days notice at the behest of her dad and her coach, Leve emerged top of the very competitive +60kg division with an 80% submission rate in her five matches, including a rear naked choke over the 2017 Trials winner Lis Clay and an impressive armbar over the tough Maggie Grindatti in the final. 

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