The sport of grappling has several rulesets, each of which has its own intricacies, strategies, strengths and weaknesses. But none are purer, or more central to the spirit of the martial art of jiu-jitsu than submission-only. 

No time limit, sub-only grappling is stripped of all of the subjectivity that comes with referee decision; it’s stripped of the gamesmanship that comes with point scoring varieties of grappling competition. The game of no time limit, submission-only is simple: the first person to tap loses.

FloGrappling’s reality series, Who’s Next: Submission Fighter Challenge presented by Tezos, exclusively features no time limit, sub-only matches, which will push the 16 contestant to the limit, testing not only their technical and athletic abilities, but also their endurance, their raw attacking abilities, and — most importantly — their will to win.

The game of no time limit, submission-only is one of the easiest to understand. There’s no complex rulebook with points and penalties. There are no rounds, judges, or scoring criteria. The way to win is primal and instinctual. Make your opponent give in, no matter how long it takes.

The grapplers who thrive in this ruleset harness the most important attributes of a skillful grappler. They execute positional control, they can survive in and escape bad positions, they can flow with their opponent’s energy, they can endure the test of competition for extensive lengths of time. And most of all, they have what it takes to bring a match to an end.

This most basic of grappling formats requires athletes to dig deep in their toolkit, as no number of skills is more valuable than the submission. It is the crux of grappling; it’s the knockout blow. And it’s the only way to prove with any certainty who is the better grappler. 

On Who’s Next, 16 competitors will have to showcase all of their grappling skills: athleticism, strategy, technical ability, and the raw desire to win. The no time limit, submission-only format will guarantee that whoever comes out on top will have all of the most important attributes of a future grappling superstar.