• Lucas Barbosa (Atos) overpowers a fired up Roberto Jimenez (Alliance) at Fight 2 Win 137 in Denver, Colorado over the weekend in the main event that took Fight of the Night 

• Michael Liera Jr. remains undefeated with a technical display of guard play against Marcio Andre, becoming welterweight champion 

• Jake Watson plays it smart versus the dangerous Rudson Matheus and wins via decision. 

In an absolute barn burner, no.2-ranked medium heavyweight Lucas “Hulk” Barbosa took on no.6 pound-for-pound ranked black belt Roberto Jimenez. New to the black belt division, Roberto Jimenez has taken it by storm, undaunted by the level of competition with wins over some of the biggest names, like Keenan Cornelius and even submitting Felipe Andrew. While guys like Cornelius and Andrew have more similar games to Jimenez (relying on length, leverage, and dexterity in their guards) the match with “The Hulk” posed a different type of challenge, stylistically, for the new black belt, notorious not only for soul-crushing power and pressure, but an ability to go into deep waters, escape and come back on top. 

Both men came out strong: Jimenez attacking take downs and Barbosa countering explosively and effectively. Jimenez was looking confident and composed withstanding the relentless pressure of Barbosa, attacking loop chokes and armbars, and technically winning on those “invisible points” that rack up when there is no submission at Fight 2 Win. 

With a few minutes to go, Lucas countered a backtake attempt by Jimenez with a big slam, quickly moving from a kimura to vicious armbar for the win. With three and a half minutes left, Lucas Barbosa took the victory by way of submission in an absolutely phenomenal main event that showcased Hulk’s greatest attributes and highlighted his world class abilities. 

Liera Jr. keeps win streak going

Improving his record to 6-0 Michael Liera Jr. (Atos / Logos Jiu Jitsu) became the Fight 2 Win welterweight champion, in a co-main event against no.4-ranked featherweight, Marcio Andre. 

These guys have been competing against each other since they were brown belts, and now they are both not only black belts, but gym owners too. With Marcio excelling in the scramble Liera Jr. says his goal was to stay in control and he did just that, using his single-leg X-guard and excellent bottom game to control the pace of the co-main event. They went the distance and it was the controlled attacks of Liera Jr. that secured the unanimous refs decision against a visibly frustrated Marcio Andre. 

Liera Jr plays guard vs Marcio Andre

He’s been on a tear recently, but now Liera Jr’s focus is shifting back to his gym Logos Jiu Jitsu in Denver. “My dreams are so much bigger than this and they started with waking up and going to the gym to teach the next morning... What we have at our gym is really special, especially considering we have only been open for two months.” 

Other notable results:

• No.7 medium-heavy weight Jake Watson (Maracaba BJJ) defeated no.4-ranked Rudson Matheus (CTA) in a strategic battle. This is a huge win for the rookie black belt entering the 2020 competitive season. 
• Nikki Sullivan (Atos) won via kneebar over Erin Johnson.
• YJ Lee (Logos) took home submission of the night with a flawless choke from the back.

Watch the full event replay for Fight to Win 137