Month: April 2022

Team USA is now over half-full ahead of Polaris 20 as both Geo Martinez and Mason Fowler join the team of elite American competitors. Martinez is returning from the last Polaris Squads event where he impressed in four different matches, three ending in a draw and one he won by way of injury to his opponent Dan Strauss. Martinez is a three-time EBI Invitational winner and he is actually the fourth 10th Planet representative to join the team after Keith Krikorian, Jon 'Thor' Blank, and his older brother Richie 'Boogieman' Martinez. He will be joined by Polaris debutante Mason Fowler. Fowler is a student of Caio Terra and has quickly established himself as one of the top competitors of his generation after defeating Craig Jones twice in order to become Submission Underground absolute champion. Fowler is also a two-time ADCC trials winner, getting submitted by Jones in his first appearance at ADCC 2019 and no doubt eager to get back on the mats against his old foe in 2022.

Read More

Team USA and Team Brazil now have their first athletes competing at under 75kg, with one representing each nation. Stepping in for Brazil is Fabricio Andrey, who will be joining his teammate Mica Galvao in the squad. Andrey is the reigning IBJJF world champion at 70kg and the 22 year-old has been dominating elite competition since he was promoted to black belt at the end of 2020. Andrey has already got off to a fantastic start this year as he managed to reach the podium on his first attempt at ADCC trials, only to do even better on his second attempt and winning gold. The USA will also be keeping the event as a close-knit affair as another Tenth Planet representative joins them at under 75kg, Keith Krikorian. He has also been a force to be reckoned with at ADCC trials over the years, as Krikorian narrowly missed out on a place at ADCC 2019 when he finished with a pair of silver medals from both North American trials. After another silver medal in the 2021 East Coast trials, Krikorian finally managed to clear the final hurdle earlier this year with a gold medal at the West Coast edition.

Read More

The teams representing Brazil and USA at Polaris 20 are slowly growing, and both have now got one more athlete competing in the under 95kg section of their respective teams. First up is ADCC veteran Jon 'Thor' Blank who will be joining USA team captain and fellow Tenth Planet competitor Richie 'Boogieman' Martinez. Blank impressed at ADCC 2019 when he narrowly missed out on a podium position after losing to Craig Jones in the semi-final and being edged out on points by Josh Hinger in the battle for bronze. He has already flown the American flag on the Polaris mats once before, coming up against Dan Strauss twice at the third Polaris Squads event and drawing both times against him. Opposite Blank on Team Brazil is the young Mica Galvao, who will be making his Polaris debut at the event. The exciting eighteen year-old has been a phenomenon over the past few years and his rise to the top has been virtually unstoppable. He is no stranger to elite competition despite his age and already owns victories over the likes of Oliver Taza, Espen Mathiesen, and Dante Leon. His crowning achievement has come just recently as he managed to submit...

Read More

The first competitor for Team Brazil has just been announced as they make their debut in the Polaris Squads format against the reigning no gi champions, Team USA. Weighing in at under 95kg, Igor Tanabe will be returning to the Polaris mats after he made a successful debut at Polaris 18. He took on Tommy Langaker in a tough matchup but managed to register an impressive finish by locking up a choke after taking his back. Tanabe has won several major IBJJF tournaments at the coloured belt levels throughout the years and his crowning achievement came in 2018 when he won both the gi and no gi world championship at purple belt. He was eventually promoted to black belt in May 2020 and has struggled to compete frequently at the highest level since then due to restrictions in place to combat the pandemic. He has managed to stay somewhat active locally though and has still won nineteen straight matches at black belt without a single loss. Tanabe might have less competitive experience at this level than some of his opponents, but he's been one to watch for quite some time and he'll be eager to make a statement at Polaris...

Read More

Team USA will be returning to defend their no gi title against promotional newcomers Team Brazil at the fourth Polaris Squads event, and they will be led by the same man who led them to victory against the UK at the last squads event. The latest edition of Polaris Squads will take place on June 25th at Polaris 20 and Richie 'Boogieman' Martinez will be returning alongside seven other elite American competitors. He is one of Tenth Planet's top competitors alongside his brother Geo Martinez and he's a veteran of elite Jiu-Jitsu competition for a wide variety of different promotions. He has managed to register three draws during his time serving as captain for Team USA and he'll no doubt be eager to improve upon that record when he leads his fellow countrymen into battle against Team Brazil.

Read More