Month: May 2023

Both Ashley Williams and Ryan Hall have been forced to withdraw from the main event of Polaris 24, so a new title-fight has now been booked to replace them. The lightweight title will still be on the line for the main event, but with the belt now vacated it is guaranteed to be going to a new home. One of B-Team Jiu-Jitsu's founding members, Ethan Crelinsten, will be facing 10th Planet legend Nate Orchard for it. Crelinsten came within inches of winning a Polaris title before but lost a close decision to Williams, and he'll no doubt be eager to not leave it in the hands of the judges this time. He's a two-time ADCC veteran and he's known for a fast-paced and exciting grappling style. His opponent in the main event, Nate Orchard, also has experience on the Polaris mats as he helped drive Team USA to victory at Polaris Squads 3 with a submission win over Kieran Davern. Orchard is known for his unique and innovative approach to grappling, making him a notoriously difficult opponent to prepare for. While Crelinsten has plenty of fantastic training partners in Austin, Texas, it will be tough to be fully ready for...

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Two more matches have just been added to the main card for Polaris 24 on 3rd June, 2023, bringing the total number of main card matchups to five. Opening the main card of Polaris 24 is an exciting women's match featuring Rosie Clarke and Martina Zola. Clarke is actually fresh off making her debut on the Polaris mats at the last event and the talented BJJ purple belt is no doubt eager to build on that success. Zola on the other hand is a 10th Planet brown belt from Italy who trains in London, and she's looking to break through to the top level of competition in Europe after earning some impressive wins on the UK competition circuit. The second match added to the main card also features a competitor who's been making waves on the competition circuit, Matty Holmes. He is a BJJ black belt from Next Generation MMA in Liverpool and he'll have his hands full with a very tough opponent at Polaris 24. Holmes will be facing Jason Rau, one of the most well-respected grapplers and proficient leglockers in the US. Rau is known for the incredible depth of knowledge he possesses and many of the world's...

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The preliminary card of Polaris 24 has doubled in size now, as five more matches can be confirmed for 3rd June, 2023. Dinu Bucalet is returning to Polaris for an individual match after representing Team Europe at two Squads events, and he will be facing top prospect Ollie Webb. Another talented youngster Will Nichols is competing in the second preliminary match announced, and he will be taking on Elite Jiu-Jitsu's Leo Blum. The third match announced is between a pair of Polaris veterans known for their exciting styles and fast pace, Dominic Dillon and Nathan Kay. Next up is actually a gi match between two incredibly well-respected and prolific UK competitors. Matt Inman and Yousuf Nabi will be competing against one another in what is sure to be a close match, as both men have seen it all by now. The final preliminary match confirmed in this batch is the first women's match of Polaris 24, between professional MMA fighter Shanelle Dyer and Carlson Gracie Hull product Julia Scardone.

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Polaris 24 was already set to star 3 ADCC veterans in the main and co-main events, and now 3 more will be joining the main card just beforehand. Keith Krikorian and Tom Halpin will be facing one another at 70kg during the main card of Polaris 24, although both men are known for competing in the 66kg division at ADCC. Halpin earned his chance at glory at ADCC 2019 by winning the European trials, while Krikorian achieved the same feat in North America to book his place at ADCC 2022. Both men are known as exciting grapplers with incredible depth of leglock knowledge, so it'll be interesting to see how they match up against one another. The second recent match added to the main card will feature the 4th place finisher from the 88kg division at ADCC 2022, Eoghan O'Flanagan. Not only is O'Flanagan a fan-favourite on the Polaris mats already, but he won his place at the tournament by winning European trials as well. Although he's been one of the best in the UK for a long time, ADCC 2022 announced his arrival at the very top of the sport as he took out both Xande Ribeiro and Mason...

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With the main card of Polaris 24 already starting to take shape, the first five matches of the preliminary card can now be confirmed too. First up is an exciting match between a pair of MMA veterans in Ash Grimshaw and Fabrizio Calio. Grimshaw fought for virtually every UK MMA promotion that existed in the last two decades and Calio is known for his exciting style in the cage. The second match to be confirmed features two rising stars of the professional grappling scene in the UK; London Grapple's Peter Sharmakou and one of Jed Hue's top students, Francesco Bartolotta. Aeon BJJ's Sam Gibbs will be facing the IBJJF no gi European champion at purple belt, Hejraat Rashid, in the third match of the preliminary card. Next up is Chris Macken and Jaye Paul, two competitors who are known for excitement and creativity in how they approach their matches. The final match of the first five preliminary card announcements will see Nathan Jones returning after an exciting debut at Polaris 19, to take on Jack Gover in what should be an incredibly tough match for both men.

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Along with the headline match between Ashley Williams and Ryan Hall, another title-fight has just been added to Polaris 24 as the co-main event. Jed Hue and Mateusz Szczecinski will be battling it out for the welterweight title on 3rd June, 2023, as Edwin Najmi has now vacated the title. Hue is a fan-favourite on the Polaris mats and has a perfect 4-0 record in superfights along with several matches representing Team UK & Ireland in Polaris Squads, and a fantastic run in the middleweight grand prix. Hue made it all the way to the final despite competing up in weight and really put the eventual champion Roberto Jimenez to the test in their match. Szczecinski also competed up in weight for the middleweight grand prix, although he wasn't able to make it out of the opening round. Regardless, the fearsome Polish leglocker is known all across Europe as being an incredibly difficult opponent for anyone. He was even invited to compete in the 77kg division at ADCC 2022 and pulled off a brilliant submission win in the opening round against William Tackett, announcing his arrival on the world stage in impressive fashion.

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Polaris 24 is set for 3rd June, 2023 and the main event is going to be a fantastic title-fight between elite grapplers. Ashley Williams will be putting one of his three belts on the line as he faces off against UFC veteran Ryan Hall. Ryan Hall will be challenging for the lightweight title in his first grappling match in several years, although he hasn't been completely out of combat sports. Hall has been busy making a name for himself in the UFC, where he won The Ultimate Fighter 22 and has since put together a 5-1 record in the promotion and a 8-2 professional record overall. Grappling fans will likely know Hall best from his ADCC trials win back in 2008 and subsequent bronze medal in the 66kg division at ADCC 2009. Ashley Williams on the other hand has been significantly more active on the professional grappling scene, including his journey to become the first Polaris triple-champion. Williams is the reigning bantamweight, featherweight, and lightweight champion while also winning the ADCC European trials in 2021. That booked his place in the 66kg division at ADCC 2022 where he lost out to the eventual champion, Diogo Reis, in an incredibly close...

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